The FERBOPO proposal aims at building a new research group at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu (LBUS) focused on the complex relationship between State, Church and Body Politics that would foster excellence in social sciences and better integrate LBUS in the European Research Area (ERA). To this end, LBUS will create a CHAIR position for Professor Lavinia STAN from St. Francis Xavier University (Canada), whose outstanding academic profile and thorough expertise in the cross-cutting fields of government, religion, economics and epistemology that foster (de)colonial feminist thinking (Lugones, 2010; Manning, 2021) and the institutionalisation of Gender Studies in Romania (Turcescu and Stan, 2005; Stan, 2010) will help increase the number of excellent research staff and improve their capability to attract competitive research funding with significant spill-over effects at societal level, while also assisting LBUS to implement institutional reforms that both align with ERA priorities and facilitate the implementation of the Gender Equality Plan (GEP). The main objective of this FERBOPO is to create a ‘pocket of excellence’ in LBUS by attracting outstanding scientists with internationally mobile academic careers so as to improve the host institution’s organizational culture and the academic outputs of LBUS scholars. Romanian higher education institutions continue to lag behind their Western counterparts in their governance effectiveness and academic performance indicators (Dobbins, 2017). An acute scientific production deficit is related to Gender Studies (Vlase and Terian, 2023). By creating the new chair and research group, the proposed ERA Chair will help LBUS to near European standards of academic performance and institutionalisation of Gender Studies. Through the employment at LBUS of the ERA Chair holder, FERBOPO will contribute to the creation of a knowledge hub in the university, in particular, and the Romanian higher education system, in general.

Demographic trends and the epistemic mutations of the past decades have led to numerous critiques of the nationalist-organicist model of literary history. Furthermore, the ethnic status of the individuals identifying as Romanians has become increasingly complex upon increased migration and the emergence of a new state where they amount to an important share of the total population (Moldova). Consequently, a series of questions are yet to be properly explored and answered: How could and should a transnational history of “national” literatures be written in a post-national age? How can we avoid the methodological protectionism typical of “smaller” cultures against the resurgence of nationalist/populist sentiments? How can we steer clear of narrow nationalism without falling into neoliberal traps and embracing uncritically the theory of free-floating cosmopolitanism? How should a history of Romanian literature look like in the age of globalization? The working hypothesis of TRANSHIROL – and one of its ground-breaking elements – is that a “national” literature should not be regarded mainly as a system (even if it has systemic properties), but rather as a network defined by the transnational communities into which it is integrated depending on its geopolitical situation. Throughout our project, this hypothesis will be operationalized via two sets of innovative instruments: the dichotomy between cultural matrix and cultural model, and a fourfold taxonomy of literary operators (institutional/paradigmatic/connective/imaginary). By combining systematic theorizing with historical scholarship and close reading with distant reading, TRANSHIROL sets out to chart the over five-century-long history of Romanian literature and the progressive evolution of its network toward planetary proportions, since a transnational history of Romanian literature strives to ultimately become a history of world literature written from a Romanian perspective.

<< Objectives >>Thanks to the implementation of the project, we primarily want to support the development of the vocational education sector, due to the need to educate highly qualified staff who are our country's showpiece also on foreign labor markets. The project will allow to look at the problems and needs of recipients from a new perspective, to develop high-quality educational and information materials thanks to the involvement of practitioners and experts in the field of developing digital competences.<< Implementation >>We want to make the most of the resources and experience of our partners and implement the best practices of vocational education in Europe in Poland. Institutional cooperation within the program will also contribute to the promotion and popularization of vocational education and will give it a forward-looking character in the perspective of young Poles. The cooperation of organizations and the full availability of the project results will also be an expression of good practices.<< Results >>As part of the project, we will create a curriculum, educational materials and an interactive textbook, and the result will be fully adapted to the needs of the audience. The needs and expectations of both parties will be determined, which will then be verified and analyzed by the applicant and partners in order to create a comprehensive interactive tool that will allow recipients to develop their competences and increase their awareness of entering the labor market.

Neurosurgery is the branch of surgery that involves the highest accuracy. That is why a transition from classical surgery in neurosurgery; to the new, minimally invasive treatment alternatives must be known, accepted and used globally. The general trend is towards less invasive approach, which improves patient outcomes, recovery time and quality of life. Neurosurgery, due to its complexity, is not included in the curricula of most of bachelor programmes in Medicine, thus, students do not get any orientation when faced with their employment in a Neurosurgical Department. Participating in international workshops is still a big financial challenge for resident doctors and physicians, making the training and access to state-of-art information impossible due to financial and no other reasons. Having carefully analyzed the context and the needs in the field, BrainIT project aimed at: 1. Employ the strategic use of ICT technologies in teaching/training activities by using a telemedicine approach to create an innovative best practice environment in the form of a 3D live-transmission from Operation Rooms where students can experience non-invasive surgery procedures. 2. Create interactive teaching and training aids for students using 3D reconstructions of the skull and brain on various pathologies. 3. Besides offering a modern way of delivering specialist education the program, improving the competences of students and resident doctors participating in the program was one of the main goals, as the remote part of the program was accompanied by 14 days ‘traineeships’ in a working hospital, where they got to experience real life work accompanying the whole diagnostic process. This way the participating students were able to increase their practical skills in neurosurgery, giving them relevant knowledge and assets required by the labour market, for when they decide to have a career in this domain. 4. Create a reader-friendly online platform which can facilitate the access of students, graduates, residents and even physicians without material possibilities to new technologies and new discoveries in neurosurgery. This was available to anyone regardless of their status or situation to get free, unrestrained access to high quality information. 5. Create freely-available “Brain Revealed - Handbook for Students and Practitioners” that was mainly comprise all the important information delivered during the three years project. 6. Make a closer connection between European neurosurgery centers. Transnational collaboration at this time is not a strong one, at least in the case of Romania, the neurosurgery centers are limited to a national collaboration. This project enhanced the transnational highly specialized know-how and expertise which is hard to be found in a single country. Considering the state-of-the-art in the training in neurosurgery, BrainIT project aimed to provide the following innovations: 1: Design, implement and pilot a modular, INNOVATIVE INTENSIVE STUDY PROGRAMME, a hands-on workshop of a very high complexity for the students, combining microsurgery techniques with working on real-life 3D simulated neurosurgical pathologies. 2: Design, test and implement INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGICAL APPROACHES - i.e. 3D printing molds for simulation of surgical interventions, hands-on sessions, team-based learning, problem-based learning, blended learning for theoretical study, on the spot guidelines, personalized learning and treatment options and management, case presentations, all developed in a working hospital. Participants in the ISPs gained real, useful practical competences fitted for the labour market, which will directly benefit them in their future career in neurosurgery. 3: Intersection between MEDICINE and BIO-ENGINEERING for the use of 3D printing technology for simulation of surgical interventions, creating 3D didactic materials that have integrated modules of the existing medical computed tomography (CT) on different types of neurosurgical pathologies; Participants simulated surgical interventions, seeing and understanding pathologies from a perspective that has not existed before. 4: Through BrainIT project CLOSE CONNECTION BETWEEN EUROPEAN NEUROSURGERY CENTERS AND HEIs was facilitated, as with the new technological breakthroughs, a single medical center can no longer be updated with all the therapeutic methods and this is why many therapeutic alternatives often remain hidden for many department. The composition of the consortium was based on the correspondence between the tasks to be completed and the partners' expertise. All the project partners have been selected according to their expertise in NEUROSURGERY and 3D RECONSTRUCTIONS (FEM analysis and modeling, stereolithographic and FDM) and to their capacity of providing professional training to the target group