How to effectively use best practices in obtaining scientific projects from ERC and other European funds - this and other issues concerning the implementation of university research strategies were discussed during a working meeting between the rectors of Ca' Foscari University in Venice and the University of Gdańsk.
The meeting was held under the auspices of the international coalition CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment), within which the UG is implementing a project entitled ‘Reform of Researchers’ Assessment in the University of Gdańsk' (more about the coalition here). Ca' Foscari University, despite the fact that its size and infrastructural resources are similar to those of our university, is one of the European leaders in obtaining prestigious ERC (European Research Council) and other Horizon Europe grants. Moreover, the Italian university has specialised in obtaining funding for the humanities and social sciences thanks to the targeted procedures implemented to support specific researchers and to attract scholars and research consortia from abroad.
‘We were very interested to learn about the mechanisms for supporting researchers based on the university's proprietary solutions. All the more so as it is not particularly different from us in terms of its resources or method of organisation, and yet it wins tens of millions of euros in research funding every year. The concept of bringing together scholars from different faculties around priority research areas, the involvement of specialised administrative staff for very specific activities and analytical work, and targeted support for the most promising projects are just some of the components of the programme. These were very inspiring and extremely creative discussions,' concludes the Rector of the University of Gdańsk, prof. Piotr Stepnowski.
‘Meeting representatives of almost all levels of administration supporting research at our host university was a unique opportunity to understand the internal processes in place here, including scientific evaluation and support for researchers ‘ careers,’ adds dr Katarzyna Świerk, who heads the project from the UG side. The discussions also raised the possibility of scientific cooperation, the need to share experiences in academic evaluation and to look for other evaluation indicators that preserve the specificity of research in different scientific disciplines.
On the part of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the meeting was attended by the university authorities headed by the Rector, prof. Tiziana Lippiello, and the Vice-Rectors: prof. Antonio Marcomini and prof. Maria Calvo. Also in attendance were the Plenipotentiaries: for Research Quality Assessment - prof. Agostino Cortesi, for EUTOPIA European University Coordination - prof. Roland Hinterholzl, for Digital Innovation and Research Coherence - prof. Marco Nobile, for Priority Scientific Areas - prof. Michela Signoretto, and the Head of the Science Office Dario Pellizzoni.
The meeting was also an opportunity to discuss opportunities for research collaboration between the alliances of European Universities, SEA-EU involving UG and EUTOPIA involving Ca' Foscari University. The project will hold further bilateral working meetings in selected European universities, and the best practices and conclusions collected will be part of the final report, which will serve as a set of recommendations for academic assessment processes.
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CoARA - Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment - is an international coalition of more than 700 research organisations, funding agencies and assessment bodies from around the world committed to reforming research assessment methods and processes, researchers and research institutions. The University of Gdańsk joined the CoARA coalition in 2023, as the first classical university in Poland. In June 2024, the CoARA Action Plan was adopted - a plan for 2024 - 2028 aimed at improving the research and academic staff evaluation system.
