Enhancing Staff Research and Innovation Capacity in Professional Higher Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Enhancing Staff Research and Innovation Capacity in Professional Higher Education

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Research and innovation; Cooperation between educational institutions and business; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Institutions of professional higher education (PHE) play more and more an important role in enhancing European competitiveness and innovation capacity, especially on the regional level where PHE institutions act as connectors and crucial links between the regional SMEs, regional organisations and the society. In addition to this role of PHE, the applied research activities play an important role in developing students’ skills including their innovative thinking and enterpreneurship and contribute thus to further economic growth and jobs within the regions.

Despite the wide benefits of PHE institutions activities within society and their region and the fact that in many regions they act as the connecting link between the regional actors (authorities, employers, organisations), their full potential is still to to be revealed. The wide range of activities falling within applied research, innovation and regional engagement and their relatively small scale make it relatively difficult to address them as a whole when it comes to support, assessment and recognition. Due to its practice-oriented approach and specific characters, the applied RDI and regional activities do not fit the same metric as the reaearch and activities done at the more traditional universities.

Therefore there is a need to support further development and enhancement of the PHE institutions staff capacity to engage into applied research activities, link these to teaching and develop relevant ways for engagement of students in these activities.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen the profile of applied RDI in PHE in Europe – both within the institutions, as well as towards the regions they operate within.

Specifically, the project intends to
– gain an insight into the scope and nature of applied RDI activities within PHE institutions in Europe
– clearly distinguish the different competences required of applied researchers
– assist researchers in RDI to enhance their capacities (also on involving students into applied RDI activities and cooperating with small businesses)
– provide a clear future vision for applied RDI in Europe, together with a strategy on how to achieve it.

From the research perspective, the project will produce an overview or RDI activities
From a practice perspective, it will design a competence framework for researchers.
The teaching component of the project will design a modular online course on applied research skills.
The policy component of the project will concisely explain the distinct profile of RDI research, and use scenario-building methodologies to forecast possible futures for the areas, so as to make recommendations as how to strengthen the profile mof RDI within PHE institutions, through funding, training and regulations.

The impact of RECAPHE will be most felt at local and regional levels via enhanced capacity of staff of concrete PHE institutions within the project or benefiting from the project outputs. EURASHE participation will give to the project European dimension (also through EURASHE RDI Work Group).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 366525 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIWERSYTET JAGIELLONSKI & Country: PL

Project Partners

• VILNIAUS KOLEGIJA
• ASSOCIATION EUROPEENNE D’INSTITUTIONS DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT SUPERIEUR
• INSTITUTO POLITECNICO DE SETUBAL
• KNOWLEDGE INNOVATION CENTRE (MALTA) LTD
• INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY SLIGO – ITS
• Eurokreator T&C sp. z o.o.
• Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg Stuttgart