EU-CONEXUS ambition
The European University for Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (EU‐CONEXUS) is a transnational European higher education and research alliance addressing global and local challenges by tackling coastal environmental, technical, economic and societal needs (SmUCS challenges). EU-CONEXUS is a fully-fledged university. It offers education, training, study programmes, performs research and links with socio-economic actors for supporting innovation. To find more information, please visit the EU-CONEXUS Website. The EU-CONEXUS community brings together researchers, teachers and students from the different partner institutions and aims to foster internal collaboration between them by offering Seed Funding.
Objectives of the seed funding
The overall objective of the Seed Funding is to enhance collaboration between EU-CONEXUS partners in education, research and innovation on SmUCS challenges.
Therefore research & academic teams from EU-CONEXUS partner universities can apply for funding through the Seed Funding in order to develop small-scale internal collaborative education, research and innovation projects starting from challenges in the field of Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SmUCS).
Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SmUCS) means for EU-CONEXUS to focus its education, research & innovation, and knowledge-sharing activities on defining, understanding and addressing societal challenges that are experienced by communities from urban and semi-urbanised coastal regions (rivers, seas and oceans).
Expected outcomes of the projects must be tangible: possibility to work together on a bigger project, joint research, joint presentation in a conference, preparation of a joint publication, joint study programme, etc.
For information: Seed Funding shall be distinguished from the Project Development Fund that aims at supporting applications to external funding (Horizon Europe or Erasmus + exclusively). Get to know more about it by clicking this link.
Join us for a special webinar on February 26th, 2024, at 1PM CET
We’ll be presenting insights into our Seed Funding program and sharing valuable feedback from the first call.
Eligibility criteria
Eligible beneficiaries are the nine EU-CONEXUS partner universities. Other organisations can participate but do not receive any funding.
A seed funding project proposal must be submitted.
The project proposal subject must address one or several challenges in the field of Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability (SmUCS).
At least 2 researchers or academics from 2 different EU-CONEXUS partner universities must be involved in the project (other organisations cannot be part of this core group).
Groups of researchers, academics, project holders who already received support from Seed Funding (first call) will not be eligible a second time, with the same partnership.
The same project idea won’t be financed through Seed Funding twice.
Duration of the Seed funding project: up to maximum 12 months.
Winning Projects
| Seed Funding Project Name | Application Project Description |
|---|---|
| Active Travel Collaboration for Sustainable Campuses (ACT4SusCamp). SETU, UTCB | Low levels of active travel (walking and cycling) to SETU and UTCB underscore the need for a shift from car-dependent commuting to more sustainable modes of transportation. This transition is vital for meeting climate action targets and promoting physical activity. Currently, the majority of students rely on private cars, posing environmental challenges. This project aims first to gather data on students’ travel patterns and barriers to walking and cycling to SETU, and then to facilitate engagement between students in the two universities, and between students and their local authority engineers/planners to discuss this and plan appropriate actions. This will allow the student voice to be heard regarding transport needs and barriers, give students and opportunity to interact with those form another EU-Conexus university, and provide a model for how consultation regarding active travel behaviour can be carried out in future. |
| Implementation of cold ironing in a competitive electricity market (EMiRON). FREDU, UTCB | The project aims to assess various scenarios for implementing cold ironing at the port of Limassol, focusing on an efficient electricity market model. Cyprus, with its abundant renewable energy potential, faces challenges in sustaining its isolated power system. The reliance on conventional generation for stability poses environmental concerns. Electrifying the port using renewable energy sources (RES) promises cleaner air and aligns with EU directives. The project aims to propose an electricity market model for cold ironing, considering Cyprus’ evolving energy market. Scenarios include contracts with suppliers, autonomous RES systems, or participation in the competitive electricity market. Key tasks include determining energy needs, assessing infrastructure, and engaging stakeholders for information exchange. |
| Developing a Liquids Analysis Technique by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for Applications of Environmental Monitoring & Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability. SETU, AUA, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) | In recent years, global environmental pollution has become a significantly more challenging, emphasising the critical need for efficient environmental monitoring. Regular assessment of heavy metal concentrations, including copper, zinc, iron, and manganese, is vital in aquaculture, particularly for polluted water sources. Continuous monitoring and prompt corrective actions are key to successful water quality management. Leveraging automated sensor systems and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) offers rapid, real-time detection of multiple elements, making it invaluable for environmental analysis. This project aims to enhance LIBS technology for water analysis, addressing environmental pollution concerns in Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability. |
| Coffee Grounds used for Land Treatment, Insulation, and Versatile Agricultural Enhancement (CULTIV8): UTCB, AUA, UROS | The CULTIV8 project represents an interdisciplinary approach, merging resource sustainability, waste reduction, and material recycling. It focuses on two core objectives: developing eco-friendly insulation from spent coffee grounds for buildings and reusing wastewater from grounds treatment as nutrient solution for plants. The study aims to establish protocols for washing grounds, identifying suitable crops, optimizing drying methods, and assessing insulation properties. By redefining construction practices and promoting resource conservation in a circular economy framework, CULTIV8 aims to make significant contribution in environmental preservation and agricultural advancement. |
Evaluation criteria
The proposal will be assessed with regards to 3 main criteria:
Scientific excellence:
Scientific / Academic excellence: Relevance of the project with regards to the societal challenge of Smart Urban Coastal Sustainability, Scientific contribution and innovation of the proposed project, Appropriateness, completeness and clarity of the methodology.
Impact:
Impact: Impact of proposed activities and results, in particular for EU-CONEXUS, Expected outcomes
Quality & efficiency of implementation:
Quality & efficiency of implementation: Work plan, Organisation, Budget coherence with regards to project ambition, Deliverables.
Proposals involving more, rather than less, EU-CONEXUS partner universities will be prioritised.
Funding criteria
- Eligible costs are: consumables, conference fees, publication fees, travels, etc. (personnel costs and equipment are not eligible). A detailed budget must be provided.
- The funding is maximum €4400 (VAT included) per project.
- Co-funding is allowed and encouraged whether it comes from the partners’ own funds or from public or private funds.
- The expenses related to each project are paid for directly out of the central EU-CONEXUS budget.
- There is funding available for approximately 15 small-scale projects in total distributed within the 3 calls (around 5 projects supported per call).
Maximum funding 4400€
Selection rules
A two-step-evaluation will take place:
In a first step the Project Development Support Office will assess the conformity of the application to this call and its technical eligibility.
In a second step, the applications will be evaluated by a rotating committee composed of 3 representatives from 3 partner universities (evaluators will be designated by the members of EU-CONEXUS Plus Work Package 10, in charge of setting up the Project Development Support Office). To ensure fairness, the aim is to strictly rotate so that each university is represented equally in each year in the evaluation committee. For this second call, the committee members will come from Catholic University of Valencia, Klaipeda University and Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest. In addition, the vice-chair of Research Council will participate in the evaluation.
A report will be requested at the end of each project.
The Project Development Support Office is in charge of managing the Seed Funding. For any question you can contact the team of project officers at the following address: projects@eu-conexus.eu.
The Project Development Support Office missions are to:
- Manage the Seed Funding & Project Development Fund,
- Provide support to projects’ holders for preparation and submission of projects in response to external calls for proposals (this includes: advice on relevant calls, advice on structuring projects, support for finding partners, administrative support, budget preparation, proof-reading, support for proposal submission…).
Application
The project leader has to send the completed application form (Annex 1) to the following
email address: projects@eu-conexus.eu
Deadline for applications is 30 April 2024 (one follow-up call will be launched in January 2025).
Webinars
*The Project Development Support Office is in charge of managing the Seed Funding. For any question you can contact the team of project officers at the following address: projects@eu-conexus.eu
