Projects
SITES implements integrated communication actions that consolidate other project actions using participative tools and dialogue to bridge the gaps and create relationships between science, society, and policy.
SPECTRA
The SPECTRA project aims to enhance the research and innovation (R&I) capabilities of AUTH in Greece, focusing on Water Quality and Food Safety, Quality & Traceability (WQ&FSAT) to address climate change-related challenges. By combining research, training, and collaboration, SPECTRA will boost scientific excellence, facilitate knowledge transfer, and improve networking both locally and internationally within the European Research Area (ERA). The project seeks to strengthen AUTH’s scientific standing, support the development of skilled researchers, and promote industry-academia partnerships. Expected outcomes include enhanced water quality and food safety, increased consumer confidence in Greek food products, support for monitoring and decision-making, and economic benefits for regional businesses through innovation, new product development, and job creation.
SITES Role
SITES plays a pivotal role in SPECTRA, bringing private-sector expertise in innovation consultancy, eco-innovation strategies, and sustainable development trends. Their contributions include high-level strategic market research, monitoring and evaluation, and strategic planning, ensuring that project outcomes are economically viable and widely applicable. Leading the economic component (WP6), SITES focuses on communicating and exploiting outputs from case studies, managing outreach, and promoting responsible research and innovation (RRI), open science practices, and gender inclusivity. This multifaceted role supports the effective dissemination, commercialization, and long-term impact of SPECTRA’s research innovations.
ENPOWER
Energy poverty affects over 41 million EU citizens, a critical societal challenge recognized by the European Commission. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, about 70 % of households suffer. Addressing this issue requires multifaceted solutions, spanning health, economics, and the environment. In this context, the EU-funded ENPOWER project will catalyse transformative change in Bosnia and Herzegovina, focusing on energy poverty, sustainable buildings, and smart energy. ENPOWER fosters interdisciplinary collaboration with EU partners to innovate solutions. Through initiatives like the Building Advisory System Living Lab, ENPOWER seeks to elevate research excellence and foster inclusive, co-creative approaches with businesses and policymakers. Together, they aim to pave the way for a more energy-secure future.
Objective
ENPOWER will lead the transformative change in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) to strengthen the scientific reputation, attractiveness and networking channels of the University of Banja Luka (UNIBL) through supporting its innovation and research excellence in energy poverty and justice energy, sustainable buildings, energy efficiency, smart energy, human capital development, and application of innovative approaches, co-creative solution finding with business and policy makers, as well as in involvement of different ecosystems of innovation through the newly formed Building Advisory System Living Lab (BAS-Lab), which will be developed through cooperation with distinguished EU partners with established scientific excellence.
FARMWISE
The FARMWISE project is set to transform the EU agricultural sector by empowering farmers and decision-makers with a cutting-edge decision support system that integrates precision agriculture, Artificial Intelligence, and Remote Sensing. FARMWISE offers fresh insights into water quality, quantity, soil health, and nutrient management. Its advanced framework facilitates knowledge sharing among scientists, farmers, and policymakers in a collaborative environment by embracing Systems Thinking. The initiative consolidates existing collaborations and fosters new, long-term partnerships between European organisations, such as Water4All and Water Europe.
The project aims to develop enhanced AI-based tools for more effective European water policy and decision-making, grounded in research-based technologies to address pressing issues of water pollution and climate change. To achieve this, the consortium brings together the foremost European experts in water, agriculture, climate, and AI research to ensure the sustainability of water resources, the natural environment, and efficient agriculture in the highly diverse European landscape, considering both present and future climate change.
FARMWISE actively assesses, monitors, and implements gender and diversity balance within the consortium throughout its planned activities.
SITES Roles in FARMWISE
As the leader of WP6, SITES will lead the efforts in overseeing the Communication, Dissemination & Exploitation aspects of the project. This encompasses activities such as structuring the CDP, Corporate Identity, Networking, and Exploitation assessment. Furthermore, SITES will actively contribute to developing an impact strategy aimed at influencing target policies, ensuring a lasting effect on the FARMWISE outputs. In addition to this, SITES will also make significant contributions to T1.1 (Mapping), T1.3 (Scenarios development), and T1.5 (Capacity Development).
Start Date : 01/01/2024
project Duration : 36 Months
Kick -off Meeting : January 10-11th 2024 ( lund , Sweden )
Funding : FARMWISE has received funding from The European Union Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement (GA No: 1011135533)
FARMISE On Social Media :
Project News :
- project kick-off meeting
C-TOUR
The European Commission, thorough Erasmus + KA220 VET has granted the
C-TOUR project to the consortium led by (CFL soderhamn-sweden). The project focuses on the development and test of a new VET pedagogy in order to equip targeted VET learners (including the active and/or future workforce and aspiring entrepreneurs in small tourism) with future-oriented skills crucial for circular-economy thinking and support them to become actors of change towards circular, green transitions in the small tourism sector. It will showcase real-world small circular tourism practices, and use them as highly inspirational and motivational VET training tools to offer easy understanding on circularity in small tourism. In addition, it will develop a VET Curriculum along with high-quality multimedia tools covering competence areas of circular tourism.
The objective of the project is to contribute to seeking to pioneer an innovative approach to Vocational Education and Training (VET). Through the development of VET Curriculum and Explainer Videos, C-TOUR aims to design, craft, and validate an entry-level VET Curriculum that places a strong emphasis on cultivating circular tourism skills. Furthermore, we wil produce a series of enlightening and motivational explainer videos. In the other hand, through the creation of Inspirational C-TOUR Digital Stories, the aim is to craft motivational digital narratives under the banner of C-TOUR, which will spotlight instances of small circular tourism practices, effectively advocating and exemplifying the concept of circularity in the domain of small-scale tourism.
The C-Tour has a duration of 30 months starting 01/12/2022 and ending by 31/05/2025. Additionally, the project is implemented by seven European Partners (Sweden, Ireland, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Greece and Romania).
The C-Tour has a budget which amounts to €250.000 that the European union finances with a 100% rate through the Erasmus + KA220 VET programme.
SITES ROLE IN C-TOUR
SITES offers its proficiency in sustainable innovation, encompassing strategic innovation guidance tailored for small enterprises, adept project management capabilities, and a wealth of experience in navigating EU programs. Our role extends to orchestrating meticulous quality assurance across the project, spearheading comprehensive internal evaluations that encompass processes, outcomes, and impacts at every project stage.
In addition to our overarching internal evaluation leadership, SITES assumes responsibility for driving the project’s quality assurance endeavors. This encompasses meticulous planning and meticulous execution of quality assurance protocols across multiple dimensions, including process efficiency, tangible results, and far-reaching impacts.
To more information about C-TOUR Click link below
VALZEO
In EU, an average of 3.1 million tons of paddy rice is produced (ca. 450.000 ha). Around 80% of the EU rice production takes place in Italy and Spain, with a further 12% in Greece and Portugal. Globally, 750 million tons of rice husk (RH) are yearly produced, and it is estimated a continuous increase of 1.1% each year. Each ton of rice can produce 20% of RH, that must be eliminated since it accumulates in the environment due to its low degradability. RH generates 18-20% of RHA through a combustion process. The inadequate deposition of RHA pollutes the environment and deteriorates the respiratory system of humans and animals. During RH incineration, the burnt ash can spread into a large area facilitated by
air, causing environmental pollution. According to these figures, large volumes of RHAs with low density are becoming a major challenge to the surroundings of dumping environment and dump fill areas.
VALZEO intends to employ RHAs as raw supplies to produce composite materials based on hierarchical zeolites modified by metal oxide nanoparticles (MON) and metal-organic framework (MOF) materials with a double purpose, the removal of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, dyes and microorganisms in water, and the catalytic production of biodiesel.
To address such challenge, VALZEO will promote the exchange of researchers from participating institutions to enhance the exchange of knowledge, best practices, know-how, innovative ideas, experience, cooperation, and culture of work.
VALZEO will foster, improve and develop permanent international and inter-sector collaboration between academic research centers, and private sector, enhancing the exchange of knowledge, best practices, know-how, innovations, experience, mutual cooperation and culture of work at different regions and countries (ES, IT, IRL and CU) through a series of scheduled secondments.
Role of SITES : Lead Dissemination, communication, and networking
Project News:
e^4
e^4 — tools in higher Education for an Embodied & creative Energy Education
Programme and Call for Proposals
ERASMUS PLUS – Call 2021 Round 1 KA2
KA220-HED – Cooperation partnerships in higher education
Open project
Brief description
Given the urgency of environmental and technological change in the face of challenges such as climate change, the main need recorded is raising awareness of possible solutions and necessary measures, also given the challenge of educating the coming generation in these matters.
We feel the urgent need for both supporting and reforming teacher education (for teachers of primary school and lower secondary or middle school levels) at academic institutions in matters concerning energy (energy solutions, energy and the environment, energy and society).
On this scenario, we intend to create:
- Innovative materials for teacher education in the field of energy technology.
- A network of academic institutions and external stakeholders dealing practically with matters concerning energy.
- A dedicated web platform were both learning materials for university courses and material, knowledge, and opportunities provided by the network are available.
Objectives
- Develop and/or enrich higher education curricula (in teacher education for primary and lower secondary school levels), following a didactic approach based on “tools of imagination” like storytelling, gamification, embodied simulation, digital simulation, and play to facilitate science communication;
- train academics charged with teacher education in innovative pedagogies and approaches to teaching science courses (including the use of appropriate aids and materials);
- promote learning and teaching partnerships between universities and the private energy sector;
- upskill future science teachers with new approaches to teaching to encourage girls for scientific carriers and fight against gender stereotypes in scientific and engineering careers;
- support the strengthening of science skills of EU citizens and professionals to make conscious choices and use creativity and a critical mindset to contribute to lower CO2 emissions towards EU 2050 targets.
Main Activities
- Creating guidelines for a Network of academic and private/public partnerships.
- “Imaginative course” Curriculum for teaching through imaginative tools.
- Interactive web platform supporting the Curriculum and the Network.
Results
- Increased competences and skills of partners’ staff.
- Increased competences in teachers of primary and secondary schools: 20 teachers (5 for each of the 4 countries involved) will participate in a transnational training session to get acquainted with the offline workshop activities proposed.
- 30 prospective teachers in each country will join local testing and implement full testing of the blended course (web and software-based activities plus workshop activities). We expect 75% to 85% of participating teachers to be women. Thanks to local testing the project will reach about 1000 students in the 4 countries.
- 300 participants will be interviewed as part of project assessment.
We expect the project to produce a change in teaching approaches at all levels:
- At university level, improving academics’ science teaching approaches, also blending online and in presence courses, improving the efficacy of their courses both at university and jointly with the private and public energy sector.
- At school level, helping student teachers and in-service teachers to be more motivated for and engaged in new imaginative teaching methods, will lead to innovation in school curricula. Teachers will be able to adapt their teaching approaches to the new generation’s learning capacities and skills needs through the application of creativity fostered by imaginative tools.
Lead partner
LIBERA UNIVERSITA’ DI BOLZANO (Italy)
Partners
– InEuropa Srl – Italy
– Uniwersytet Mikolaja Kopernika W Toruniu – Poland
– Esciencia Eventos Cientificos Sl Aragón Zaragoza – Spain
– Universitat de Valencia – Spain
– Sustainable Innovation Technology Services Ltd Mid-West Castletroy – Ireland
– Università degli Studi Di Modena e Reggio Emilia – Italy
– Dublin City University – Ireland
Duration
The project will last 36 months (28 February 2022 – 27 February 2025)
Website
https://energy4teachers.eu/
Budget
The project received a grant of € 395 506,00
Flyer_e4_stakeholder engagement Flyer_e4
Project NEWS:
WATERLINE Project
WATERLINE aims to create a European Digital Water Higher Education Institution (HEI)Alliance, based on the quadruple helix model of innovation, leading to the development of the Alliance’s research, educational and entrepreneurship capacities. This shall leverage the individual, institutional and regional resources required for a transformative structural and sustainable learning and innovation environment.
To achieve this, WATERLINE has five specific objectives:
(1)support consolidation of the Alliance by co-creating a common governance framework, and a Research & Innovation (R&I) capacity building plan;
(2) co-create a portfolio of water components for Master level and transform emulative laboratories in partner Widening HEIs into assisted and virtual reality. These structural changes will lead to transformed and more competitive R&I HEIs;
(3) strengthen WATERLINE researchers’ R&I capacity excellence by implementing activities, such as summer schools to enhance education and R&I skills, and proposal writing workshop;
(4) build a European network of academics/researchers who, together with quadruple helix actors, will allow knowledge flow in water domains and extended reality technologies. This allows greater involvement of regional actors in the R&I process and enhances one of the major societal challenges: water-related education. Moreover, it will strengthen academic and business links through academia-to-business meetings and a hackathon to mainstream entrepreneurship mindsets. WATERLINE will, finally,
(5) sustain the alliance by,
(i) establishing ambassador networks,
(ii) identifying the R&I funding landscape, thus increasing participation in HE and the mobilisation of resources in the watersphere, and
(iii) creating synergies with EU initiatives, institutions, other projects and networks.
SITES’ role in WATERLINE
WATERLINE is Horizon Europe project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe HORIZON-WIDERA-2021-ACCESS-05 under grant agreement No 101071306 for 36 months.
Starting Date: 01/10/22
End Date: 30/09/25
Budget: 1.75 Meuro
project News
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SITES Contributes to Waves of Change 2023 for a Water-Wise World
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Research Project Proposal Training by Leonardo Piccinetti at Waterline Seminar
- Successful WATERLINE Innovation Summer School Empowers European Water Sector
- Announcing the September 2023 Edition of ‘Waterline’ Newsletter and SITE’s Remarkable Contribution
Smart4ENV
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
Project NEWS:
- SITES Celebrating with the attractive SMART 4 ENV First Newsletter Launched
- SITES in Collaborative Mission to Save the Mediterranean Against Climate Change. 🌊💪
- SMART4ENV FIRST SUMMER SCHOOL FOR RESEARCHERS, MS AND PHD STUDENTS
- STAKEHOLDERS ‘INNOVATION WEEK – Smart4env
- SMART4ENV MOBILITY IN ITALY HAS STARTED SUCCESSFULLY
- SITES: Celebrating SMART4ENV Innovation Week
ECOSYS+
The ‘Egypt Innovation Ecosystem Accelerator through Agile, Smart and Integrated innovation resource portal’ (ECOSYS+) project is a 30-month EuropeAid initiative to create an Innovation Resource Portal: an access portal and innovative solutions linkage platform to support Innovation, Knowledge and Technology, Diffusion, Transfer, Acquisition and Networking, and to connect innovation providers with procurers.
Project news:
MC2
The overall objective of the MC2 project (Magnifying Competitiveness and Competences of Green-Tech Businesses in Egypt) is to empower a sustainable and circular economy in Egypt and accelerate a transition to UN2030 ‘SDG’, boosting the adoption of green technology-based solutions and the development of eco-innovative enterprises.
MC2 (Magnifying Competitiveness and Competences of Green-Tech Businesses in Egypt) is funded under EuropeAid – Lot 3: Improving Private Sector Competitiveness through Green Initiatives in Energy and Resource Utilization.
Project news:
- SITES Kicks off at MC2 for Green-Tech Businesses in Egypt
- Sustainable Business and Circular Economy project
- SITES organized MC2 Study Tour in UK professionally
- SITES Empowering Sustainable and Circular Economy in Egypt
- MC2 Project’s 4th Newsletter Celebration
- MC2 Third Newsletter
- MC2 Sconed Newsletter
- MC2 first Newsletter
ZERO_ WASTE
The ZERO_WASTE emerged from a need to promote the social inclusion of rural areas in the field of education with content related to reducing food waste, enhance the professional development of teachers by creating educational tools with scientific content and to build a collaborative network of local, regional, national and European stakeholders committed to food waste reduction.
The ZERO_WASTE project is funded by the European Commission in the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme, KA2 – Strategic Partnership in the field of Adult Education and is coordinated by Esciencia Eventos Cientificos in Spain.
Project news:
Projects
Communication, dissemination and stakeholder engagement activities are developed as fundamental elements in the process of understanding, knowledge sharing and innovation creation, constructing multi-level dialogues between stakeholder groups to support the policy process through the integration of scientific evidence and social processes.
Within EU-Funded Projects, SITES has developed the following activities linked to communication, dissemination and exploitation:
- Networking and stakeholder dialogue and engagement;
- Organisation of conferences and exhibitions, knowledge exchange, information services, and social learning
- Communication and dissemination strategies, tools, platforms and activities: planning, management, and implementation; web development (design, implementation and content management); audiovisual production; design and production of dissemination materials
- Media relations, information campaigns; community building (social media platforms - integrating ICT and smart technology tools with analytical insights)
- Societal involvement: methodologies for addressing impact of projects on citizens and civil society, implementing social innovation practices through participatory processes
- Making project information and results available to society, the media, policymakers, and economic actors.