The Thuringia Office invites regions working on water issues to get to know the Thuringian regional Water Innovation Cluster (ThWIC). On 6 February, the cluster representatives will present their activities and are keen to get in touch with interested regions and stakeholders to network and discuss collaboration opportunities on a European level.

Please RSVP to annelie.zapfe@tsk.thueringen.de by 2 February.

About ThWIC

The Thuringian Water Innovation Cluster aims to become an interdisciplinary center of national and international significance in the coming years, generating new solutions for sustainable water management and contributing to the integration of water issues in society. Collaborating with our partners, we aim to provide impetus from Thuringia to address global water challenges and leverage the advantages of Thuringian businesses to rapidly apply cutting-edge research to societal needs.

Exploring new approaches to secure water supply

The advancement of modern civilizations is accompanied by the development of new chemicals, such as those used in industry, pharmaceuticals, or industrial agriculture. These chemicals, as new classes of pollutants, can find their way into water, and their removal is challenging due to their often very low concentrations. ThWIC is establishing new methods for detecting and removing anthropogenic pollutant classes, driving the digitisation of water management through innovative high-throughput analytics and water data management.

Establishment of an integrated water assessment

Despite its existential importance, water is often not adequately valued in many contexts. This is largely due to the lack of a comprehensive assessment system that combines parameters such as usage, pollution, consumption, purification, distribution, or subjective perception of water into a manageable framework. ThWIC is laying the foundation for such an integrated water assessment by systematically linking sociological and data science research with natural scientific water research and developing qualitatively novel assessment methods for water.

Impact on the economy and society

Insights from cutting-edge water research are often only available to businesses and society with access barriers. ThWIC aims to contribute to breaking down these barriers as a publicly visible institution, making water problems more socially visible, and assisting companies in leveraging economic opportunities in the water sector. Through educational and participatory offerings, we aim to increase public water literacy and promote effective competence building in the region in the long term.

Strong partners from the region

As a robust innovation network, ThWIC brings together stakeholders from the Jena/Saaletal region, Thuringia, and neighboring states. We emphasise close collaboration between science, business, public administration, and civil society. ThWIC stands for the integration of cutting-edge research with entrepreneurial spirit and social responsibility.

Based in Birmingham, UK, Aston University will establish the Aston Institute for Membrane Excellence (AIME) to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for interdisciplinary, translational membrane research. The investment will be realised thanks to a £10m grant from Research England. 

This institute, which will be led by Professor Roslyn Bill from the Aston Membrane Proteins and Lipids (AMPL) and co-lead by Professor Paul Topham from Aston Polymer Research Group (APRG), will be able to develop biomimetic polymer membranes. Membranes play a crucial role across diverse sectors. The top ten best-selling human medicines all target proteins within biological membranes, and synthetic polymer membranes contribute significantly to the water purification industry.

AIME will be initially integrated by eight researchers from AMPS and APRG. The institute plans to hire three further academics, six tenure-track research fellows, three postdoctoral research assistants, six PhD students, a research technician and a business development manager.

Interdisciplinary approach

AIME believes that unlocking the complete potential of membranes requires a holistic approach involving expertise in biology, physics, and chemistry to comprehensively explore membrane dynamics. The upcoming AIME team will focus on creating bioinspired polymer structures with highly selective polymer structures for use in water purification and waste remediation. Additionally, the team will develop nanoparticles loaded with therapeutic molecules for tackling a variety of disorders, including chronic wounds and neurological injuries. Furthermore, the team will examine the purification of individual membrane proteins using polymers, allowing the analysis of these proteins as potential drug targets.

Aston University would welcome collaboration with other universities/institutes with similar research interests. To reach out, please contact Anett Ruszanov at anett.ruszanov@birmingham.gov.uk.

This is the third and final NetZeroCities call for cities to join the two-year Pilot Cities Programme, designed to help cities accelerate towards their 2030 climate-neutrality goals. The call is open only to Mission Cities who are not yet part of the Pilot Cities Programme.

Selected cities will explore and test pathways relevant to their key emission domains and generate learnings that can inform decarbonisation activities in other cities across Europe. The third cohort of Pilot Cities is expected to start activities in September 2024. Prospective applicants can read about some of the transformational activities of current Pilot Cities here.

For this cohort, between €18 million and €26 million will be distributed across selected cities in grants ranging between €0.5 million and €1.5 million.

The deadline for applications is 18 March 2024, and a decision will be announced on 20 May 2024.

Find more information on the call on the NetZeroCities website and the EU Funding portal.

The NATI00NS, a Soil Mission Project, is hosting the event: Smart Specialisation meets EU Soil Mission, which will take place online on 24 January 2024 at 10:00 CET. It will feature a Europe-wide discussion about the relationship, at a regional level, between the Smart Specialisation Research and Innovation Strategies (RIS3) and the Soil Mission (SM), creating a debate that, for sure, will enrich both working areas.

The following challenges will be tackled: 

• identify examples of connections that already exist/are foreseen/intuited between RIS3 and the SM objectives; 

• discover the possibilities for the implementation of the strategies to solve soil troubles;

• policy good practices to guide the processes of orienting RIS3 towards the mission and vice versa.

The event will feature discussions with the European Commision - DG Agriculture & Rural Development, S3 Community of Practice, Expert from the Utrecht University and Agro, Forestry and Post-Industrial regions Good Practices.

More Information about the event and Registration can be found here.

ERRIN and the TRAMI project, dedicated to the implementation of the five EU Missions, are organising a Mutual Learning Event (MLE) aiming to explore synergies between European Partnerships and EU Missions. The event will take place on Wednesday 7 February from 9:00 to 12:00 (CET) at the NCBR Brussels Office, Rue Belliard 40, Brussels.

While these two initiatives of the Horizon Europe programme have unique characteristics, aligning them strategically can lead to transformative outcomes for our economy and society. A well-coordinated approach between European Partnerships and EU Missions will help to tackle some of Europe's most pressing challenges while contributing to the achievement of the Missions' objectives.

The event will focus on synergies from a practical perspective by engaging experts directly involved in the implementations of EU Missions and European Partnerships. It will also contribute to the creation of the upcoming FP10 by providing reflections on what is working well, but also key challenges and potential areas for improvement.

The collaborative exchange during the event presents a unique opportunity for ERRIN members to engage in a practical and shared learning experience.

To participate in this event, please register by sending an email to karolina.dutkiewicz-garcia@ncbr.gov.pl by Friday 26 January.

ERRIN has established a close collaboration with the TRAMI project, which aims to enhance the cooperation and coordination between EU, national, regional and local actions in support of the implementation of EU Missions. By co-organising two Mutual Learning Events on the role of the regional policy and the triple helix collaboration, ERRIN and TRAMI provided a platform for sharing best practices and fostering collaboration among industry, academia, public sector to drive innovation for the EU Missions.

The EU Missions are one of the priority topics of ERRIN. You can read more about the work conducted on this dedicated webpage. 

The Blue Economy WG is organising a meeting on the potential future KIC on Water, Marine and Maritime Sectors and Ecosystems, taking place on 5 February between 14:00 and 15:30 CET.

In this WG meeting, you will learn more about the governance and activities of a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), through the example of the EIT Climate KIC. This introduction will be followed by presentations of initial ideas on the scope and focus of a future KIC on ocean and waters. 

The meeting will take place at the ERRIN Office (Rue du Luxembourg 3) for Brussels-based members, but online participation will be possible for regional stakeholders. 

You can find the agenda attached on the right and the presentations from the event below.

The Culture and Creativity Cluster is organising its meeting to kick off the year on 1 February 2024, from 16:00 to 17:30 (with networking drinks afterward) at the ERRIN premises. The Cultural Heritage & Tourism WG, Design & Creativity WG and NEB Task Force are joining forces to present the annual plans for 2024 and put emphasis on long-term cluster collaboration.

This will be also a great chance to discuss common interests, current opportunities and to flag calls for collaboration. We invite members of each WG and TF to prepare short pitches about current project opportunities or ideas for activities. 

After the meeting, we will host networking drinks to get to know each other better as a cluster and exchange informally.

To attend this meeting, please sign up via the registration form.

A renowned European research institute CEITEC Masaryk University located in Brno, Czech Republic, provides top equipment and optimal conditions for basic and applied research. The institute is now welcoming new students for its PhD School in the fields of:

• 🔬Life Sciences
• 🔬Molecular Medicine

🗓️ Applications accepted until February 19, 2024

🗓️ Online Information Session: January 30, 2024: register HERE

🎓 Ideal candidates:

• University students from faculties of science, medicine and pharmaceutical faculties
• Those interested in working in core facilities equipped with cutting-edge technologies
• Science lovers enjoying an international working environment and well-balanced life in a vivid city in the very heart of Europe

Contact:

Feel free to reach out to the PhD School coordinators: phd@ceitec.muni.cz, www.ceitec.eu

PS: Brno is just a perfect place recently (2023) voted 4th Best Student City in The Campus Advisor rankings! 😍

A consortium is searching for two partners to join for the HORIZON-CL4- 2024-RESILIENCE-01-04: Technologies for processing and refining of critical raw materials (IA) call.

The projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
-Increase recovery rates of valuable raw materials, particularly critical raw materials from low grade or complex ores and/or from extractive waste;
-Significantly increase economic performance in terms of higher material-, water-, energy- and cost-efficiency and flexibility in minerals processing and metallurgical processes;
-Significantly improve the health, safety and environmental performance of the operations throughout the whole life cycle which is considered, including a reduction in waste, wastewater and emissions generation and a better recovery of resources from generated waste;
-Improve responsible supply of raw materials to Europe in line with the EU principles for sustainable raw materials, which are a non-regulatory set of principles based on the EU acquis. They set out requirements for sustainable raw materials and extraction and processing in Europe in terms of social, environmental and economic performance. Actions are expected to contribute to the implementation the EU action plan on Critical Raw Materials.

In the context of a project for the above-mentioned topic, a consortium proposes the development of new technologies based on better separation for refinement and extraction of metal silica and is looking for 2 additional partners:

- companies that manufacture chemicals for mineral separation systems employing froth flotation

- companies/RTOs/universities to carry out the LCA of the whole project

For more information, reach out to Karim Hassan (khassan@catalonia.com) and Iago Garcia (iago.garcia@gencat.cat)