During the Aurora Autumn Biannual in Tarragona between November 16-18, the Aurora Research and Innovation project activities kicked off. The Aurora RI project builds excellent research support structures to complement excellent research and innovation for Aurora universities. It will further deepen and expand the cooperation among the universities and strengthen their identity as research-intensive universities dedicated to societal impact and engagement. Aurora RI aims to develop a research and innovation support agenda framed by the SDGs and based on the four priority domains:
  1. Sustainability and Climate Change
  2. Digital Society and Global Citizenship
  3. Health and Well-being
  4. Culture: Diversity and Identity
The overall objective of this project is to strengthen and streamline research and innovation support to enhance academic excellence and the innovation environment in Aurora universities. This will complement the Aurora Learning for Societal Impact strategy with a long-term Aurora strategy towards research and innovation (R&I) for Societal Impact, aiming to support the achievement of the SDGs. The project focuses on strengthening and empowering research support by sharing research infrastructure, strengthening and harmonizing Open Science policies in line with EU frameworks, cooperating with other actors, and empowering cooperating staff and students. The actions implemented during the project period aim at creating a platform for cooperation that will sustain beyond the lifetime of the project and equip researchers and students at Aurora Universities with a broad toolkit to conduct excellent research and disruptive innovation.