The UNITA Alliance has created three "R&I Hubs" in 2021 in the three priority research themes: cultural heritage, circular economy and renewable energy. Each of these fields answers a particular challenge that Europe is currently facing (rise of nationalistic ideologies, global warming, waste recycling, etc.).
Thanks to these hubs, the Alliance wishes to encourage the emergence of new research collaborations between researchers. Especially through the creation of a mapping of research projects, the organization of summer schools and regular research seminars, or, the creation of new courses formats dedicated to research awareness (microcredits).
This initiative is also in line with the objective of raising awareness of these societal challenges in order to contribute to the development of its territories (rural and mountainous),
Thus, these hubs allow a close collaboration between researchers, students, public and private actors of all member universities. They are led for one year by a pair of directors and a deputy director.
Did you know?
The "Cultural Heritage" cluster must be directed by a two-person team composed of staff from UPPA and UNITO (Turin, Italy), the "Circular Economy" cluster must be directed by UVT (Timisoara, Romania) and UNIZAR (Zaragoza, Spain) while the "Renewable Energies" cluster must be directed by USMB (Chambéry, France) and UBI (Beira, Portugal)
The executive committees are nominated by the Governance Board for a period of one year. It is in this context that in February 2023, the members of the hubs' management changed. Their roles are fundamental, and this renewal will allow continuing the important work already done and inspire a new dynamic.
Indeed, the hub director is at the heart of the research activities. He/she is responsible for leading his/her team and ensuring that deadlines and the content of deliverables are met. He/she also ensures the link between the research activities produced in the field of his/her hub and the coordination committee of WP4 (work package of the UNITA project dedicated to research and innovation activities in the alliance).
Here is the new composition of the UNITA hubs:
- Cultural Heritage:
- Director: Prof. G. Alonge (UNITO, Turin, Italy)
- Deputy Director: Prof. L. Roussillon-Constanty (UPPA, France)
- Circular economy:
- Director: Prof. G. Mircea (UVT, Timisoara, Romania)
- Deputy Director: Prof. J.M. Fraile (UPPA, France)
- Renewable energies:
- Director: Prof. B. Stutz
- Deputy Director : Prof. A. Cardoso