The EU-funded EXPER project increased the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) and Azores University (UAC) through capacity-building activities and international cooperation. The project initiated collaborations with the leading universities of Rostock in Germany and Calabria in Italy, focusing on research fields relevant to the blue economy and circular economy. EXPER raised the excellence profile of ULPGC and UAC, increased their attractiveness to local and international talents, and designed and planned the institutional transformation of the universities. The project focused on knowledge transfer by organizing supporting activities and set the basis for a European University Alliance.
Objective
The EXPER project aimed at supporting the institutional transformation of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Azores University through capacity building activities and through international cooperation with the leading Universities of Rostock University (DE) and Calabria (IT). EXPER enhanced the scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the partnering universities with a focus on research fields addressing challenges and opportunities offered by the blue economy and circular economy.
The project specific objectives were:
- To raise the excellence profile of ULPGC and UAC and increase their attractiveness towards local and international talents.
- To design and plan the institutional transformation of the Widening universities.
- To organize supporting and capacity building activities to learn from leading organizations on how to increase research excellence and unlock the innovation potential of Widening Universities with a focus on knowledge transfer.
- To set the basis for a European University Alliance which realized an integrated cooperation between the research and innovation dimension with the education and training dimension.
EXPER deployed a community-based approach to outline a modernization strategy of the Widening Universities which involved representatives of the surrounding ecosystem. The EXPER strategy aimed at stepping up and stimulating scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the Widening universities and their role as drivers of economic and social transformation in their territories.
