ENHANCING THE SCIENTIFIC CAPACITY OF TUBITAK MRC IN THE FIELD OF SMART ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES
The SMAR4ENV project which will be stimulating scientific excellence in key applications of Smart Environmental Solutions for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change of Turkish economy is underway.
Led by the TUBITAK MRC and with a budget of 1,5 M €, it will contribute to improve R&I capacities to strengthen, scientific reputation, attractiveness and networking channels while stimulating scientific excellence in key applications of Smart Environmental Solutions for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change of Turkish economy.
Gebze Kocaeli – Turkiye – An international consortium of 6 partners from 6 countries, led by the Tubitak MRC, has joined forces to address, during next 36 months, the challenges of increasing scientific and technical capacity, support TUBITAK MRC’s institutional networking and international reputation, while developing a knowledge transference framework to increase the knowledge of national stakeholders on available Smart Environmental Solutions, promoting their use, enabling application of innovative approaches and solutions, sharing knowledge and best practices
SMART4ENV intends to address climate change by using Smart Environmental Solutions to strengthen institutional structures to understand and address the protection of environmental resources quality and quantity, development of monitoring and evaluation tools and establishment of databases. Besides, SMART4ENV will allow to conduct research, assessment, and dissemination of impacts of climate change on environmental resources, innovative alternative Smart Environmental Solutions that increase adaptation capacity to climate change and integrating the results into environmental resource planning studies. Insofar, SMART4ENV will promote efficient environmental resources management to update processes in agriculture, reducing water losses, developing irrigation and water management systems specific to local conditions, and ensuring use of new Smart Environmental Solutions for irrigation and water management.
Such aims will be addressed through a three pillars structure, to assess current capacities and capabilities, plan sustainability actions to improve viable institutional networking and collaboration and a continuous outreach and stakeholder-oriented events following the implementation of project communication and dissemination strategy. The methodology to be applied throughout SMART4ENV is evidence based and builds on a comprehensive set of implementation activities by specific case studies. These case studies consider digital environmental management, online and smart tools for monitoring and management, visualization techniques, sensors, and IT solutions for environmental resources management, reduced carbon emission, issuing early warnings to the population and improving existing prediction models, monitoring practices and long-term environmental stewardship.
As a result of project developments and outcomes, different types of impacts are expected, including an enlarged community of competitive prestigious researchers, stronger and better-connected to a core of international and relevant R&I system, supported by skilled R&I managers with their international networks. Such critical mass of regional stakeholders will be clustered around TUBITAK MRC to establish strategic alliances and collaborative activities do address Green Deal challenges, while improving environmental quality, public health, improved customer experience and communication. Besides, SMART4ENV will be on a position to contribute for a better mitigation and adaptation to climate change because of new Smart Environmental Solutions for intelligent, connected, and responsive environmental services and a more sustainable use of water and resilient treatment systems with stable effluents quality.
The knowledge generated by SMART4ENV is expected to increase the pace of technology transition (of services, products, etc.) to commercialization and support a significant impact on the regional economy within the next decade, thanks to the expected development of an innovative Smart Environmental Solutions industry and the profitability of regional companies through new product development, process improvements, innovation support, and the increase of labour market participation, thanks to job creation and new opportunities.
ABOUT THE CONSORTIUM
The SMART4ENV project includes a partnership of 6 institutions from 6 countries: TUBITAK Marmara Research Center Environment and Cleaner Production Institute (Turkey), Università Politecnica delle Marche (Italy), Fundación Universitaria Balmes (Spain), Sustainable Innovation Technology Services (Ireland), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (Norway).
With reference GA. 101079251, the SMART4ENV project is funded by the EU under the Horizon Europe Programme, with a total budget of ¤€1,499,418.00
The SITES’s role
As a Work Package leader for Dissemination Communication and Networking and contributing to the WP2 Definition of the multidisciplinary research programme, summer schools and MOOCs, WP5 for Sustainability strategy and clustering plan
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