Constitution of the Action Line Research and Innovation (AL R&I) at the Arqus Annual Conference 2023 in Graz

Important milestone for the research and innovation dimension of the Arqus Alliance.

The Board of the Action Line Research & Innovation, made up mainly by Vice-Rectors in charge of research and innovation at Arqus universities or their deputies, came together at the Arqus Annual Conference 2023 in Graz for the formal constitution of the Action Line R&I.

With the creation of a specific Action Line for Research & Innovation as one of the three pillars of Arqus, the R&I dimension of the Alliance is entering a new phase of its evolution.

After starting out as one of the six initial action lines in Arqus I and then expanding with the addition of the H2020-funded Arqus R.I. project, it will now continue developing under the guidance of one of the three new Arqus Action Lines covering the universities’ missions (Education, Research & Innovation and Societal Engagement).

Action Line R&I will be in charge of WP07 of Arqus II (PhD Pursuit) and WPs 1, 2, 3 and 5 of Arqus R.I. The remaining WPs of Arqus R.I. (4 and 6) will belong to Action Line Societal Engagement, together with WP02 Living Lab and WP08 Linking Local Ecosystems.

In Arqus II, WP07 PhD Pursuit is taking over and developing much of the former AL6 activities of Arqus I (ESR mentoring, training for careers outside academia, mobilities for postdocs… ) while adding a new comprehensive offer for ESRs with the creation of an ESR Development Resource Centre and benefiting from the support of a PhD Advisory Board. The Network of Research Support Officers has become a Community of Practice in WP03 and the future update of the Cluster Map is included in the Joint Research Action Plan.

The Arqus R.I. project has initiated its final stage (running out in December 2023), and while focusing on finalising the remaining activities successfully, it is also working on the dissemination of results, with the aim of ensuring their exploitability. Project members are also actively anchoring the continuity of the project’s legacy in Arqus II work packages, e.g. with the creation of the Open Science Ambassador Network as a Community of Practice in WP03.

The continuity plan of Arqus R.I. includes, for instance, regular updates of the Joint Research Action Plan, the continuation of researcher networking activities to foster scientific collaboration (one of the key priorities of the AL R&I Board, a benchmarking exercise in research assessment reform, further use and development of training materials in OS, co-creation and knowledge transfer, and the development of a tracking and follow-up procedure of new research collaborations.

The application to the WIDERA Excellence Initiative in Horizon Europe, if approved, would contribute to develop especially the aspect of joint researcher support structures.

As mentioned above, some aspects of the Arqus R.I. project will be further developed in Action Line Societal Engagement (namely Re-thinking Transfer and Stakeholder Engagement), while others will be covered by horizontal Work Packages such as WP13 Arqus Talent & Innovation Fund (e.g. seed funding for research collaborations) or WP14 Strategic Development (e.g. designing a key process for the follow-up of new research collaborations).

Three horizontal initiatives have been set up to underpin the work of the R&I dimension in the future: the Task Force for mainstreaming of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; the Arqus Research and Innovation Days, as outreach to European policy-makers; and a specific newsletter called Arqus R&I Updates (to see first issue, to subscribe, click here).

All of the above will contribute to continue building the Arqus research community. The Annual Conference in Graz, with the first meeting among WPs belonging to each of the three Action Lines, and particularly AL Research & Innovation, has been an important milestone in this process.