The EUSDR has been established as a mechanism for the better coordination of activities in the Danube Region. It aims at a more effective spending of existing resources but in principle, no extra funds have been made available. In this sense, the work of Priority Area 7 – Knowledge Society has to be understood as a contribution towards these targets which depends on national/ regional and EU framework conditions in the education, research, development and innovation areas.
Research & Innovation targeted support for research infrastructure will stimulate excellence and deepen networking between knowledge providers, companies and policy-makers. The region must use national and regional funds better and benefit fully from the European Research Area. Existing bilateral agreements should lead to multilateral coordination. Developing regions downstream can benefit from the leading – indeed world-class – innovative regions upstream.
Despite having interesting innovative ideas, individuals and organizations in Danube Region lack specific skills and knowledge necessary for the management of the EU research and innovation projects. Therefore, good ideas remain in the shadow and insufficient number of projects from this region gets financing.
Considering the above, we present you EXCELLENCE-IN-ReSTI, a project financed by the #DanubeTrasnationalProgramme. This project aims at developing an e-learning training programme dedicated to young professionals and graduates interested in gaining education in the field of managing research, social and technological innovation projects. The programme is supposed to motivate and foster applications for EU-funded projects in the Danube Region.
The most important activity of EXCELLENCE-IN-ReSTI is an innovative online training programme (ReSTI.academy) based on Five Learning Modules devoted to spreading excellence in ReSTI management, leadership and administration. The methodology is based on the innovative Five-Door Approach. ReSTI.academy became interesting for a great number of young professionals and many institutions expressed their interest in applying the programme, which already proved its efficiency. A one-year pilot blended learning programme started in October 2018, and students and trainers have been working together on testing and improving the five-module curriculum on Excellence in Research, Social and Technological Innovation Project Management (Excellence-in-ReSTI).
Another important activity is the elaboration of the Strategy and Roadmap document which provides a summary of current challenges to the management of science, technology and innovation projects in the Danube macro-region. The document reflects the opinion of and targets the broadest segment of relevant stakeholder groups, i.e. regional and national policy-makers, or policy influencers dealing with research and innovation. The result among the users was a positive feedback and great satisfaction.
An Info-desk was also created. This is an online platform where experts from EU funding institutions and the field of EU project management and practitioners provide deep knowledge on all topics related to EU funding. Your questions may be sent to experts by accessing https://resti.academy/infodesk.
EXCELLENCE-IN-ReSTI helps many young people to reach financial means for their ideas and make their dreams come true!
Photo: EXCELLENCE-IN-ReSTI project
