Invitation for Research Managers and Administrators (RMAs) to apply for the Study Visit at University of Tampere

NCP_WIDERA.NET, the EU-funded project of the network of National Contact Points for Widening Participation and Strengthening of the European Research Area – WIDERA of Horizon Europe (Project no. 101055286), foresees three-day Study Visits to leading research-based organisations from Spain, Germany, Italy and Finland addressed to promising research managers and administrators* (RMAs) from Widening countries**.

The rationale of Study Visits

The main aim of Study Visits is to provide promising research managers and administrators (RMAs) from Widening countries the opportunity to access excellent practices and networks, by visiting leading research-based organisations with a view of taking valuable lessons learnt “home” to their host institutions for better supporting their communities.

Desired experience from RMAs: At least two years of experience. Applicants may have experience in research management, e.g. strategic research development, pre-award and/or post award services, innovation services, research infrastructure development

research policy advisers, research managers, financial support staff, data stewards, research infrastructure operators, knowledge transfer officers, business developers, knowledge brokers, and innovation managers, according to WIDERA WP 2022-2023, page 115.

Member states: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia

Associated countries to Horizon Europe: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo 2, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Morocco, Tunisia, Ukraine, Faroe Islands

Outermost regions of Portugal and Spain, and France.

Study visit to University of Tampere

NCP_WIDERRA.NET has the pleasure to invite RMAs to submit an application to the second Study Visit as follows:

Host organization: Tampere University | Research and Innovation Services

Location: Tampere, Finland

Date: 14-16 May 2024

Deadline for applications: 08 April 2024

Deadline for applications for Albania, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Malta, Romania, and Serbia:
15 April 2024 (extended!)

No of participants (RMAs): 25

Information about Tampere University

Tampere University (TAU) is Finland’s second-largest university. The multidisciplinary, foundation-based university conducts scientific research in technology, health and society organized in seven faculties. The university community has 21,000 students and over 4,000 staff members from more than 80 countries. Tampere University’s international Research Assessment Exercise TAU RAE 2022 was carried out as a peer review by three panels for technology, health, and society in order to update the research excellence strategy. The assessment highlighted the importance of internationalization in pursued for excellence. More than 2800 professionals including 300 full professors work at TAU in research and education. TAU has received numerous awards and distinctions such as the EDA Innovation prize.

TAU generates future expertise, sustainable solutions and economic growth through participation in research projects funded by the Research Council of Finland’s i.e. Centres of Excellence and Finnish Flagship Programmes. The topics our Centres of Excellence (CoEs) study range from body-on-chip research to game cultures.

Tampere University receives the largest amount of private businesses funding, among all universities in Finland. TAU together with stakeholders has established several public-private partnerships, e.g. SIX- Sustainable Industry X.

The university’s researcher community and support services have long experience with EU funding. In Finland, TAU has the third largest Horizon Europe project portfolio and ranks with more than 100 HE-projects among the Top-80 organisations in HE. TAU has an excellent track-record in project coordination and management. To this end, HE-projects coordinated by TAU are staffed with a professional HE-project manager located in a team of HE administrative project managers.

The University is member of CoARA and a frontrunner in Open Science. Tampere University Press is a Diamond Open Access publisher. TAU’s research results (annually more than 2500 publications in peer-review scientific periodicals) have significant scientific impact. The dedicated Data Managers at the University’s Research Data Services support researchers in applying the FAIR-principles in data management. Recently, TAU received three-year funding (2024-2026) for the planning and implementation of training professionalizing data stewards. The development of training responds to the growing need to ensure that those working in the field of data management have a strong theoretical foundation and practical skills. This promotes not only the career development of individual professionals, but also Finland’s position as a leading country in data management. The target group will include doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers as well as people who already work in different organisations in data management tasks under different titles. The project also aims to promote the inclusion of data management skills as part of doctoral degree programs.

Research infrastructure for data and computation intensive research has recently been expanded with the inauguration of LUMI, Europe’s most powerful supercomputer. At TAU researchers apply LUMI among other topics in training artificial intelligence for the diagnosis and classification of prostate cancer.

In 2021, the City of Tampere and TAU signed a strategic partnership agreement to provide a platform for new collaborative activities that are geared towards promoting the research-informed development of cities. The City and University jointly develop and demonstrate Human-centered artificial intelligence solutions in the building a smart city. To this end, city development includes planning for access to city’s infrastructure and integration of R&I activities right from the start, e.g. new urban mobility solutions.

Research and Innovation Services: The host of the Study Visit

At Tampere University the R&I dimension is led by the Vice-President for Research, the Deans and Vice-Deans for Research. The Research and Innovation Services combine essential services organized in five teams ranging from Research Development, Pre-award, Post-award, Innovation, and Partnerships. The unit has close to 60 staff members.

The Research and Innovation Services offer in-depth grant writing services since 2015 with currently 5 Grant Writers. The professional pre-award services are matched with post-award services employing 5 full-time administrative Project Managers in Horizon Europe projects coordinated by TAU. The excellence of the services have been acknowledged by the projects’ partners, the European Commission’s Project Officers and Auditors.

The Research Managers (pre and post-award) invest greatly into capacity building and best practice sharing at national and European level. The Research Managers at TAU have participated in important EU networks such as the BESTPRAC COST Action, namely the action dedicated for the networking of Research Managers. The senior specialist of the Research & Innovation Services, represents on behalf of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland in ERA Action 13 “Empowering Higher Education Institutions to Develop in line with the ERA and in Synergy with the European Education Areas” and is one of Finland’s Ambassadors in the RM Roadmap project.

The innovation services of the TAU support researchers in all aspects of knowledge and technology transfer. In order of rapid technology transfer the University broadly applies licensing while also generating research as well as student-driven start-ups.

Benefits for the applicants

Applicants from the participating Widening countries will have the opportunity to learn from experienced professionals and senior specialists. They will be exposed to research management at the institutional level, delve deeply into research management as a service, and explore the framework conditions necessary for cultivating an environment conducive to the success of researchers.

Eligibility and evaluation process

Country eligibility

Interested persons with affiliation to research-based organisations from the following Widening countries participating to this study visit, may apply.

  • Albania

  • Armenia

  • Bulgaria
  • Czechia
  • Estonia
  • Georgia
  • Greece
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
  • Malta
  • Moldova
  • North Macedonia
  • Romania
  • Slovakia
  • Spain (Canary Islands)

Participants of the Study Visits will be eligible for reimbursement based on actual costs exclusively by their country’s NCP organisation responsible for the WIDERA programme appearing in the list below (reimbursing organisation). The reimbursing organisation will also appear in the acceptance note that successful applicants will receive.

Eligible costs: Travel and accommodation
For more details contact the reimbursing organisation from your country.

Maximum reimbursable amount: 1.000 euros per applicant

Participants will be reimbursed after the completion of their trip and following submission of a report to their country’s reimbursing organisation.

A report template can be found here and at the bottom of this page.

Evaluation criteria

Interested applicant RMAs will need to fill out an application form requesting the following information:

Applications will be evaluated based on ensuring a proper mix of experienced and less experienced applicants. The list of participants will be underpinned by gender aspects to the extent possible.

Criteria for RMAs
⚫ Number and type of grants raised at the national/international level, if any
⚫ Brief description of indicative national/international project(s) you have participated in, if any
⚫ Indicative number of proposals submitted (if any)  in the recent years of your career, number of successful proposals  (if any)
⚫ Brief description of valorisation experience (collaboration with industry, patents, spin-offs, licensing), if any
⚫ Good command of English, at least of B2 level or equivalent
⚫ CV – EUROPASS
⚫ Endorsement letter from your institution

  1. Remote evaluation: The reimbursing partners from each eligible country participating to the 1st Study Visit will evaluate remotely their country’s incoming applications
  2. Consensus: The partners will discuss and reach out a consensus
  3. Consultation with host organisation
  4. Acceptance/rejection letters to participants

How to apply

Interested persons coming from the listed Widening countries may complete the application form available here and at the bottom of this page and send to the contact person(s) applicable to their country:

Organisation:
National Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation (NASRI)

Contact person:

Robert Dumi: robert.dumi@nasri.gov.al
Imirjon Peza: imirjon.peza@nasri.gov.al

Download call announcement for Albanian applicants (.PDF)

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
Scientific and Innovation Partnership Assistance Center (SIPAC)

Contact person:

Tigran Azurmanyan: tarznip@sci.am

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
Ministry of Education and Science

Contact person:

Zornitsa Georgieva: z_georgieva@mon.bg

Kalin Mutavchiev: k.mutavchiev@mon.bg

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
Technolgy Centre Praha (TC Praha)

Contact person:

Anna Voseckova: voseckova@tc.cz

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
Estonian Research Council

Contact persons:

Kristin Kraav: kristin.kraav@etag.ee

Siiri Kolka: siiri.kolka@etag.ee

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 1

Organisation:
Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia

Contact person:

Nino Rodonaia: nrodonaia@mes.gov.ge

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
PRAXI Network/FORTH
Call anouncement in Greek

Contact persons:

Vassiliki Kalodimou: vkalodimou@praxinetwork.gr
Maria Mikroni: mikroni@praxinetwork.gr

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2-3

Organisation:
Latvian Council of Science

Contact persons:

Darja Aksjonova: darja.aksjonova@lzp.gov.lv

Zane Zondaka: zane.zondaka@lzp.gov.lv

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
Lithuanian Research Council

Contact persons:

Aurelija Povilaikė: aurelija.povilaike@lmt.lt
Ieva Budrienė: ieva.budriene@lmt.lt

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
Malta Science Council of Technology (MCST)

Contact person:

Ian Gauci Borda: ian.a.gauci-borda@gov.mt

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:
National Agency for Research and Development

Contact person:

Viorica Boaghi: viorica.boaghi@ancd.gov.md

Igor Chiosa:  igorchiosa9@gmail.com

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:

Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology. Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (IZIIS)

Contact person:

Vlatko Sheshov: vlatko@pluto.iziis.ukim.edu.mk

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:

Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding – UEFISCDI

Contact person:

Daniela Dragomir: dana.dragomir@uefiscdi.ro

Andreea Popa: andreea.popa@uefiscdi.ro

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 2

Organisation:

Slovak Center of Scientific and Technical Information (CVTISR)

Contact person:

Renata Polaskova: renata.polaskova@cvtisr.sk

Kveta Papanova: kvetoslava.papanova@cvtisr.sk

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 1

Organisation:
Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)


Contact person:

Andres Blanco: andres.blanco@csic.es
Mar Mesas: mar.mesas@csic.es

Number of candidates eligible for funding: 1

If you need more information, please contact the above mentioned contact person(s).

Alternatively, you may contact the Task Leader of the study visits of the NCP_WIDERA.NET project:

Organisation: PRAXI Network/Foundation for Research & Technology – Hellas (Greece)

• Vassiliki Kalodimou: National Contact Point for WIDERA, e-mail: vkalodimou@praxinetwork.gr, widera@praxinetwork.gr

• Maria Mikroni: National Contact Point for WIDERA: e-mail: mikroni@praxinetwork.gr, widera@praxinetwork.gr

The partners of NCP_WIDERA.NET project are compliant with all legal procedures for the processing of personal data as defined by the Regulation EU/2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and the applicable national laws.

Please be advised that for the purposes of sound implementation of this Study Visit and based on findings from the previous activity, the selected applicants’ data on the application form as well as personal data, will need to be shared as follows:

1. With the Tampere University: Purpose: a) gain timely and due information on the applicants’ profiles and interest, to better adjust the agenda. Moreover, there will be a preparatory, virtual meeting between the selected applicants and the Host, b) personal data such as ID or passports maybe needed for granting access to the Host’s premises. In Study Visits, there is the habit of group photo and picture taking for social media use. Concerned participants have the right to object for themselves.

2. With the National Contact Points (NCPs), members of the NCP_WIDERA.Net project who will be escorting the group. NCPs joining along to help with the delivery of the study visit, will need access to the successful applicants’ telephone numbers for better coordination.

3. Among the successful applicants: Networking needs have been observed amongst the participants to Study Visits. Therefore, NCP_WIDERA.NET will actively promote networking of participants. Concerned participants have the right to object for themselves.

We would like to inform you that you have the right to access, correct, update or even delete your personal data in accordance with the EU Regulation and applicable national laws. We also inform you that you have the right to lodge a complaint with the national data protection authority of your reimbursing partner. You have the right to withdraw your participation in the survey and consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. You may contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the reimbursing organisation in your country.

Study visit application form (RMAs).docx

Participant report from study visit.docx