EU-CONEXUS-RESEARCH FOR SOCIETY is an ambitious 3-years project aiming at the strengthening, modernisation and the internationalisation of the research dimension of the European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (EU-CONEXUS) and the corresponding institutional transformation for its six partner universities: La Rochelle Université (FR), Agricultural University of Athens (EL), Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest (RO), Klaipeda University (LT), Universidad Catolica De Valencia (ES), University of Zadar (HR). EU-CONEXUS has chosen a thematic focus for its transnational inter-university campus that is constructed around education and research on Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SUCS). EU-CONEXUS RESEARCH FOR SOCIETY perfectly completes the ongoing activities of the European University that are financed under the Erasmus+ programme which is more focused on the higher education dimension of a university. The project will show how to develop a joint science and innovation agenda within a transnational research and funding environment and aims at establishing the research focus SUCS on the European and international level. It will contribute to a more comprehensive and socially responsible management system for researchers and other staff contributing to research activities. Joint research infrastructures and resources will be explored, and a common access policy will lead to a more efficient management of these assets. An innovation management strategy will open up new ways of interaction with the innovation eco-system and establish an entrepreneurial mind-set within the researcher community. Finally, methods of open and participatory science will nurture more responsive research practices. During the project implementation EU-CONEXUS-RESEARCH FOR SOCIETY will cooperate with other European University alliances in order to share experiences, knowledges in order to allow a better functioning of European Universities.

Baltic Gender is a consortium of research organisations and higher education institutions from the Baltic Sea Region aiming at reducing gender segregation and gender inequalities in Marine Science and Technology. The diversity of the consortium members (from Nordic, Continental and Eastern countries) with regard to gender equality policies and practices as well as gatekeeping provides an excellent basis for exchange, comparison, collaborative learning and transfer of knowledge. The action will work toward the establishment and implementation of Gender Equality Plans (GEPs) as instruments that can catalyse institutional change. Collection, standardisation and evaluation of gender-segregated data will facilitate the establishment of gender-sensitive indicators and enable the consortium to develop concrete targets and measures for reaching the set goals of the GEPs and to monitor the progress of their implementation. GEP implementation activities will be supported by established approaches and innovative strategies developed in the four core work packages on (i) career advancement, (ii) work and family, (iii) structural changes, and (iv) gender dimension in marine research. Cross-cutting work packages will support action’s progress via giving trainings, strengthening networks, raising awareness, disseminating results and reaching out to a wider scientific community and public in general. The outputs are designed to maximize impact and, due to the inter-disciplinary nature of marine sciences, to have a broader impact in the field of natural science and technology. The deliverables include blogs, brochures, best-practice handbooks, recommendations, training-materials, synthesis reports. Schemes and good practices established during the action (e.g., grass-root networks, work-family balance, transparency in decision making, modernised recruitment processes, mentoring) are foreseen to pave the way for long-lasting institutional practices.