Una Resin: Building a research and innovation eco-system

Focused on research and innovation

The 3-year project, Una Resin, is lead by the University of Edinburgh and designed to advance collaboration in research and innovation. Under the European Commission’s programme Horizon 2020, Una Resin has been allocated €2 million funding to develop new strategies, integrations and transformations in research and innovation within the Una Europa alliance and beyond. The project will be officially launching in spring of 2021, instigating and growing pilot projects to build a common eco-system of research and innovation.

The project mutually enhances Una Europa’s ‘European Universities’ pilot project, 1Europe, which is similarly taking steps to build an eco-system by testing Joint Innovative formats for education and mobility.

Dr Aine Ryan, Research Funding Manager (EU & International) at the Edinburgh Research Office said: "I am personally very excited about this opportunity to work together with all of our Una Europa partners on this project. In Edinburgh Research Office we work alongside researchers to grow ideas into fundable proposals, and with research leaders to develop research strategies. We are enablers and connectors. This ethos is embodied within the Una.Resin project team. The project team is a diverse group of both academics and professional services experts, from each of the eight Una Europa partners, each bringing valuable expertise and insights... and the creativity and commitment of everyone was exceptional...I am really looking forward to building on the strong working relationships developed then, to deliver a truly transformative project. Our vision is to create a single R&I ecosystem for all Una Europa universities, where researchers and staff can easily collaborate across borders and between universities. We want collaboration with Una Europa partners to be as easy and barrier free as collaborating with colleagues within one university."

Building an eco-system

To take the first steps in this eco-system the work of Una Resin will focus on key objectives, with clusters of expertise to support them. They aim for a more systematic approach to enabling collaboration and to prepare for the next wave of global challenges.

• To pool our collective research strengths, infrastructure and resources by developing shared strategies, priorities and agendas, to scale our interdisciplinary excellence and tackle society’s biggest challenges together, creating a world resilient to local and global crises;
• To develop a vision of a value-driven common research culture, that prioritises excellence, well-being, integration and diversity, to ensure our staff and students achieve their full potential;
• To develop frameworks that involve citizens and non-academic actors across all regions of our eco-system, in all stages of the research and innovation lifecycle, to truly embrace the concept of Open Research;
• To work towards our objectives in collaboration with other European University Alliances, sharing experiences and learning from each other, to drive the transformation of the European R&I system together.

Edinburgh’s leading role

The funding bid was led by the University of Edinburgh. Edinburgh Research Office and the Vice Principal International were key in establishing the project, which will provide the whole alliance, including Edinburgh, more opportunities for collaboration and more routes to learn and apply best practices to international collaborations.

The goal of Una.Resin is to a create a seamless research and innovation infrastructure across the eight partner universities. This involves learning from and sharing best practices and removing barriers to collaboration across disciplines, with each other, in our local communities and with industry and other partners. Collectively we can deliver research that can challenge intellectual frontiers, shape disciplines and have an impact in our communities, cities and across the continent.

Professor James Smith

Reinforcing the Una Europa manifesto

The project is a crucial new strand in Una Europa’s ambition to create a truly European inter-university environment for collaboration in education, research and innovation. The alliance already has the advantage of having brought together the strongest research-intensive universities of the eight represented countries. Joining forces and committing to a collective mission sets the project up in a strong position to make an impact in European R&I development on a scale and quality that wouldn’t be possible individually.

Una Europa’s five thematic focus areas are also central to Una Resin’s ambition and ideals. Building on Una Europa’s themes, the eight partner universities will map existing strategies, assets and initiatives to develop and test joint pilots in the three primary transformation modules as catalysts to accelerate collaboration.

Visit the Una Europa website to learn more about the Alliance and read their manifesto.

About Una Europa

University of Edinburgh staff can join the Una Europa Edinburgh SharePoint

Visit the Una Europa SharePoint