Scientific innovation at the University of Porto paves the way for the Universities of the Future

The EUGLOHRIA - Research and Innovation Action project, which was recently approved by the European Commission, will invest 2 million euros in strengthening cooperation between the five universities that are part of the "alliance", namely the University of Porto (Portugal), the University of Paris Saclay (France), LMU Munich (Germany), Lund University (Sweden) and Szeged University (Hungary), within the framework of the European University Alliance for Global Health (EUGLOH) initiative.

The main objective of this European project, which resulted from a "SwafS - Science with and for Society" program, under the H2020 program, is the promotion of innovation and research among the five partner institutions that are part of EUGLOH, with regard to access to scientific infrastructure and its structures and practices to bring civil society and companies closer.

"It is hoped that this collaboration may result in a process of institutional transformation with a view to strengthening relations between universities in the network, bringing the EUGLOH network closer to society, strengthening the institutions' relations with the EUGLOH network ecosystem and the creation of conditions for the design of new joint R&D projects, taking advantage of the exceptional resources mobilized by EUGLOH in the area of ​​global health", clarifies Joana Resende, Pro-Rector of U.Porto with the areas of Planning, Entrepreneurship, and Transfer of Knowledge, to the UP news portal.

According to Joana Resende, the approval of EUGLOHRIA is also "another important step in the realization of the model of" European universities of the future, which the European Commission intends to create, with a view to investing in the education of European citizens for the future and the growing approximation and opening up European universities".

At first, the European University Alliance for Global Health will focus on promoting the mobility of students, teachers, and researchers between the different universities involved, and in a second phase, it will be time to work on the creation of joint teaching programs, sharing resources, tools, and infrastructures between the five universities, which together host more than 200 thousand students.