I would like to formally express my interest in conducting research on the challenges and solutions pertaining to university alliances. As a Ph.D. student, my thesis will center around this specific subject matter. I am open to collaboration with any individuals who share a similar interest and passion for this area of study. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you wish to explore potential collaborative opportunities.

Methodologies for teamworking of researchers – reinforcing transversal collaborative skills, behavioural and implementation sciences

HORIZON-CL2-2024-TRANSFORMATIONS-01-07 / HORIZON-CSA HORIZON Coordination and Support Actions.

HORIZON Lump Sum Grant: *Budget 3M*

The TEAM initiative, funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme, aims to transform the landscape of European academic and research collaborations, aligning closely with UNITE!’s mission of fostering a sense of belonging within the academic community. Over three years, TEAM, led by UPC Nexus 24 (Barcelona, ESP), will create an academic ecosystem that champions cross-border and cross-sector collaborations, mirroring UNITE!’s focus on technology, innovation, and engineering.

Aims:
TEAM’s primary goal is to enhance Europe’s capability in nurturing transdisciplinary research, emphasizing teamwork and collaborative methodologies. This aligns with UNITE!’s vision of integrating diverse academic disciplines, fostering a community spirit, and promoting innovation through collaboration. TEAM will work towards embedding teamwork-focused elements in research curricula, supporting the professional growth and diversification of researchers. This is in harmony with UNITE!’s objective of creating a united academic community.

Activities:
• Collaborative workshops across European universities.
• Policy discussions in Brussels, synergizing with UNITE!’s policy engagement goals.
• Symposiums on teamwork dynamics.
• Prototyping within current Horizon research initiatives.
• Development programs for early-career researchers, echoing UNITE!’s focus on nurturing new talent.
• Sponsorships for teamwork-centered research.
• Digital dialogues between policymakers and the academic community, promoting a collaborative spirit akin to UNITE!.
• A comprehensive Research & Innovation Agenda 2020-2030 focusing on teamwork and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Topics & Themes:
• Promotion of interdisciplinary academic advancements.
• Application of academic learning in real-world scenarios.
• A blend of soft and hard skills focusing on team dynamics.
• Training modules for tackling real-world challenges through teamwork.

Disciplines:
TEAM covers a broad range of disciplines, from social sciences and humanities to
STEM, aligning with UNITE!’s interdisciplinary approach. It emphasizes participatory
and collaborative methodologies, vital in fostering a culture of teamwork and
community in line with UNITE! objectives.

'Specialised education programmes in key capacity areas' (Call
document
<https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/digital/wp-call/2023/call-fiche_digital-2023-skills-05_en.pdf>
) 

The objective is to prepare a proposal that emanates directly from the University government and that has a high impact in a large number of students from all the schools and faculties of each University. The expertise of the different Unite! partners would be a major asset to be able to develop interdisciplinary courses, and find the
best experts to design, for example, applications of Data Analysis, Artificial Intelligence or Cybersecurity in fields such as health, agriculture, finance, architecture, manufacturing, energy or transports.

Our goal is to design and deliver the following programmes (possibly Joint Programmes among partners):
- Conversion programmes for students graduated from a bachelor&#39;s programme from non-ICT fields to acquire the required digital skills for either:
1. Become users of advanced digital technologies, which are crucial to enable the digitalisation of traditional industries. They will combine sectoral knowldege with digital skills, enabling the use of digital solutions for specific
business cases.
2. Continue their studies specialising in fields such as AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data analysis, IoT, microelectronics, etc  in order to be able to develop and deploy the future key digital technologies.
- Self-standing modules (online, hybrid or in-person) which can be followed by:
1. External students, in which case the certification would be by means of a microcredential
2. Students from bachelors and masters of Unite! Universities. The scope would be to offer transversal courses to include advanced digital competences within the curricula of all our existing programmes. We should be very
ambitious in this particular point, aiming to reach a large percentage of our current students.

We need to define the consortium and contact persons as soon as possible, in order to start working right after Christmas.

I'm willing to prepare a Horizon Europe proposal in the field of Space. The first approach for a consortium is thought as a mix of Universities and SME developing new space propulsion technologies. I'm currently supervising two PhD students from two Spanish SME in that specific field, and I would like very much to get in contact with other UNITE! partners with similar interests in order to first prepare a Seed Fund proposal willing to engage the consortium for a deeper Horizon Europe approach.

The aim of the collaboration is to achieve critical mass for testing under abusive conditions for electric batteries. The test bench at the Energy Center in Turin can be used to study the thermal and trace compound release of batteries, e.g. lithium-ion batteries. Thermal release can be triggered by thermal, electrical and mechanical abuse.

In recent years, attention has shifted towards Zn-based biodegradable materials due to
promising biodegradability and adaptability to tissue regeneration. However, the mechanical
properties of Zn cannot meet the benchmark values for biodegradable implants. The most
targeted applications for biodegradable metals can be summarized in two categories:
cardiovascular stenting and bone fixation devices. Development of new Zn bioalloys with
enhanced mechanical properties for both stent and scaffold applications, while simultaneously
preserving a suitable degradation rate and biocompatibility, is the main target of this project.
For the stent application, proper thermomechanical processing is necessary to be compromised.
For bone fixation targets, the idea is to fabricate a porous structure through additive
manufacturing with sufficient mechanical properties.

Using the solar disc concentrator, the aim is to develop and experimentally test the behaviour of innovative materials for the system's receiver. The tests will be carried out at the Energy Centre and you can collaborate on the construction and feasibility study of the solar receiver focusing on materials and thermo-physical properties. Trials with metal alloys and ceramic materials have been conducted in the past. The main problems concerned the ability to withstand high temperatures and strong thermal gradients.

This project aims to revolutionize the packaging industry by integrating Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to create a sustainable, circular economy model. By embedding RFID tags into packaging, each product will have a digital passport, enabling real-time tracking of its lifecycle from production through to recycling. This approach not only enhances supply chain transparency and efficiency but also promotes environmental sustainability by facilitating the reuse and recycling of packaging materials. The project will explore the technological, economic, and environmental implications of this innovative approach, aiming to reduce waste and encourage responsible consumption patterns. Through the development of a digital platform for tracking and analysis, stakeholders across the supply chain can access critical data to make informed decisions, driving the shift towards a more sustainable and circular packaging economy.

As a research group of the UPC, the Acoustical and Mechanical Engineering Laboratory (LEAM-UPC) is looking for partners to collaborate in training projects or specific collaborations at PhD or postdoctoral levels. Our general research topic is acoustics and vibration with focus on the railway sector and smart cities. We also work on fundamental research on computational elastodynamics and acoustics and seismic/acoustic metamaterials. Our aim is to collaborate with other partners in the context of particular bilateral projects (joint PhDs, postdoctoral training, etc...) or to participate in bigger consortium (Doctoral Networks, for example).

A particular call in which we are interested to apply on these days is the EU-Rail exploratory call on training: HORIZON-ER-JU-2023-EXPLR-05: EXTENDING THE RAIL NETWORK OF PHDS. (Deadline: 07/02/2024)

In case of interest, you may contact Robert Arcos for further discussion: robert.arcos@upc.edu

A professor at the Department of Urban Planning is looking for interest among your faculties on the topic of depopulation and rural development of our territories, seeking a rebalance between large cities and medium-sized cities concerning rural settlements, to face the problem of depopulation and its population ageing, seeking its economic dynamization and looking for strategies to improve the quality of life of its residents and looking for a territorial rebalance.