Summary:
- European researchers across all disciplines working in the UK had the opportunity to present their ongoing research.
- 40 abstracts were received with topics spanning from international relations to food safety and green energy, among others.
- CONNECTS-UK is the first pan-European project in the UK aimed at fostering scientific collaborations between the EU and the UK, led by the community of European researchers working in the UK.
- CONNECTS-UK focuses on growing the network of EU researchers in the UK, undertaking research, providing science policy advice, and communicating science to younger audiences.
Today, the EU co-funded project CONNECTS-UK celebrated its first event since the project launch at Coventry University. This event gathered more than 100 researchers and served to give visibility, among specialists and a broad audience, to the research carried out by European researchers in the UK and to enhance the relationships between EU diasporas in the UK.
Aleksandra Krzywanska, representative of the Polonium Foundation, one of the members of the CONNECTS-UK project, highlighted the success of the initiative that, in less than 3 weeks, received 40 presentation proposals. The ten selected talks covered relevant and pressing issues, like climate change, food safety, autoimmune diseases, and artificial intelligence, among others. The list of selected talks and speakers can be checked here. The attendees selected the presentation “Investigation of natural preservatives for bakery products” delivered by Ana Rita Sousa (University of University of Reading) as the best presentation of the event.
In the opening session Professor Richard Dashwood, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research at Coventry University declared “Coventry University was honoured to host the European Researchers in the UK event, at the request of the Polonium Foundation, representing CONNECTS-UK’s mission to enhance EU- UK scientific cooperation and researcher mobility. Such initiatives are vital for fostering collaborations and addressing societal challenges, helping to achieve real-world impact. We thank the organisers for providing a valuable platform for our researchers and postgraduate students to showcase their work and network “.
In her presentation, Anna Fumarola, Project Manager of CONNECTS-UK, shared the objectives and activities of the project. “I encourage you to count on our support to set up new societies of European researchers in the UK. The right moment is now, with the United Kingdom successfully re-rejoining Horizon Europe, to show the collective power of united researchers”, she added. She announced that the Association of Slovens Educated Abroad has recently joined CONNECTS-UK. She also conveyed the message of the Delegation of the European Union in the United Kingdom, that is willing to assist students and universities in the establishing European Affairs Societies within UK universities. The 21 societies already in place are gathered in the European Affairs Societies Network.
The next event of CONNECTS-UK will take place in September, in Edinburgh, and will focus on back-sliding democracy with renowned speakers from the United Kingdom and other European countries. Further details will be announced soon on the CONNECTS-UK website and its social media.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Anna Fumarola – Project Manager CONNECTS-UK – [email protected]
About CONNECTS-UK:
CONNECTS-UK stands for ‘Connecting European Communities Through Science in the UK’ and is a pioneering pan-EU project co-funded by the European Union that aims to advance scientific collaborations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) in the post-Brexit context. The initiative brings together scientific diasporas from Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, and the non-profit organisation Native Scientists to foster cross-border research, promote knowledge exchange, and drive innovation. CONNECTS-UK serves as a catalyst for groundbreaking scientific collaborations and partnerships in diverse fields of study. The EU funding of around half a million euros not only reflects its commitment to advancing scientific progress but also underscores the importance of maintaining robust research ties between the EU and the UK despite the challenges posed by Brexit.
By creating a robust framework for cross-border collaboration, CONNECTS-UK will enable scientists, researchers, and innovators to overcome the barriers created by Brexit and tap into the vast wealth of expertise and resources available in both the EU and the UK to jointly tackle pressing global challenges.
CONNECTS-UK is a partnership, open to new collaborators, between
- Association of Italian Scientists in the UK (AISUK)
- Dutch Academic Network in the UK (DANinUK)
- Finnish Science Society in the UK
- French Education and Research Network UK (FERN-UK)
- Native Scientists
- Polonium Foundation
- Portuguese Association of Researchers and Students in the UK (PARSUK)
- Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK (SRUK/CERU)
