On April 26-27, 2023 the Medical University of Lodz hosted a project meeting held within the international Alliance4Life_ACTIONS project (https://alliance4life.ceitec.cz/). The representatives of 12 partner institutions arrived in Lodz: the consortia from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The event was also participated by the representatives of local and national authorities, Lodz universities and research institutes. The on-line streaming was provided for all those who were interested in the event but could not attend it live.

The project meeting was opened by Prof. Lucyna Woźniak, MUL Vice Rector for Research Strategy and International Relations, and Jiří Nantl M.Sc., Chairman of Alliance4Life, director of CEITEC.

In his speech, Jiří Nantl underlined the unique nature of Alliance4Life consortium, which places emphasis both on institutional and scientific collaboration. The project focuses on multi-area integration, therefore, apart from strategic documents, analyses and recommendations, the joint efforts also result in cooperation and scientific projects.

In that respect, we are unique and recognisable in Europe and our voice is being heard more and more clearly in Brussels, which will certainly be reflected in the adaptation of mechanisms aimed at expanding participation in European programs, added Jiří Nantl.

The second part of the event – trigger event, was devoted to research projects evaluation and management with regard to scientific excellence as well as the benefits of partnership in international networks and consortia. The list of speakers included: Dr. Henriette Van Ejil (European Commission, DG Research and Innovation), Prof. Lucyna Woźniak (Medical University of Lodz), Dr. Marcin Kraska (Łukasiewicz Research Network) oraz Joanna Broy (EIT Health Innostars).

In her presentation on the Medical University of Lodz Prof. Lucyna Woźniak  concentrated on the area of research in the university development programme. She discussed the benefits and the projects implemented thanks to our partnership in international networks and consortia, with a considerable emphasis on  EIT Health and EIP on AHA.

Dr. Van Ejil attracted attention the active role that Alliance4Life has been playing in strategy plans designing for R&I for the period of 2025-2027. She also invited the attendees to Open Day meeting i.e. Horizon Europe Info Day on the issues from Cluster 1 “Health” work programme of 2024, which is being held on June 1, 2023.

Dr. Marcin Kraska, the representative of Łukasiewicz Research Network, one of the largest European research networks (7,000 employees, 22 research institutes in 12 cities in Poland) described the concept origins of this initiative. He also shared his experience in research network management and good practices developed so far.

Our experience has taught us that the key to success lies in the identification of leaders and leading research teams, carefully thought-over strategy and well-constructed funding scheme. The combination of all these factors makes the given country research institutes capable of making improvements to their effectiveness and competing internationally, said Dr Kraska.

Joanna Broy, Ecosystem Lead, EIT Health Innostars, gave a speech on the instruments supporting the development of innovative ecosystem in the area of health and discussed the possibilities of collaboration within EIT Health network.

The second day of the project meeting was intended exclusively for the consortium members. Discussions made during the board and focus groups meetings were later reported in the sum-up session. To round off the meeting, Zlatuše Novotná (CEITEC MU), the project coordinator, thanked all the attendees and highlighted the efforts the consortium had made so far to deploy the projects assumptions.

Our project is about to enter its final stage, a great deal has been done but there is still plenty to be done particularly to popularise and promote the project outcomes. I count on further engagement of all the partners in the construction of the culture of quality and excellence both scientifically and institutionally, Zlatuše Novotná addressed the listeners.   

The Alliance for Life Sciences: From Strategies to Actions in Central and Eastern Europe (A4L_ACTIONS) (GA: 964997) project has received the funds of nearly  2 million within the framework programme Horizon 2020 (https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/964997/pl). This is a continuation of a successful project Alliance4Life, a bottom-up initiative of twelve leading life science institutions from eleven EU-13 countries that aims at closing the divide in European health research and innovation.

The challenge the consortium posed itself now involves the enhancement of organisational culture and strategic management, and thus raise the innovation level at the institutions conducting health research. It is also meant to inspire reforms in research policy in Central and Eastern Europe.

 

You can watch the footage of the project opening session here: