After the success of the COST Action ’BESTPRAC’ and ongoing Erasmus+ project foRMAtion, HETFA took the lead of the initiative of supporting and strengthening the network of Researchers Managers and Administrators (RMAs). Funded by the International Visegrad Fund, the partnership led by HETFA will now focus on the V4 (Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary) and Western Balkan countries (including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia) to improve their successful participation in the EU funded programmes research and innovation programmes, i.e. Horizon Europe (HE).
The project seeks to decrease the excellence and networking gap within the region by improving the skills of RMAs and researchers and by reinforcing the network of RMAs at regional level. The first aim will be fulfilled by a series of webinars offered by partners and invited experts, while the second will be realized based on a new platform, providing networking functions and learning materials for interested staff members working on the interface of science. The main topics covered will include discussing legal and financial issues connected to HE projects, science communication, intellectual property protection and management – and many more. With a view to support safe and smart knowledge exchange in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the project outputs will be available online, free of charge.
The project will kick off in November 2020 and be concluded in an international conference in Bratislava in early 2022, where institution leaders of HEIs and RPOs, as well as policy-makers will be invited to raise awareness of the importance of the RMA profession, the provision of training and networking opportunities – which can be regarded as a key to boost the economies and competitiveness of V4 and Wester Balkan countries.
The partnership consists of:
- HETFA Research Institute (Hungary) – as coordinator
- Centre for Knowledge and Technology Transfer, Charles University (Czechia)
- Silesian University of Technology (Poland)
- Slovak University of Technology (Slovakia)
- Center for the Promotion of Science (Serbia)
- University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- INTER-EDU – Association for Internationalization of Education and Science (North Macedonia)
Check out the website of the project for more information and follow our LinkedIn and Twitter account for updates!
The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad+ Grants from International Visegrad Fund.
