Save the date: Alliance4Life_Bridge kick-off meeting will take place in March 2024
Registration is closed.
We're thrilled to invite you to the kick-off meeting of the Alliance4Life BRIDGE project – a collaborative initiative dedicated to advancing research and innovation in Central and Eastern Europe.
In the landscape of European research and innovation (R&I), a persistent gap divides Western and Eastern Europe, hindering global competitiveness. Despite substantial investments from European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) and dedicated Horizon 2020 'Widening' schemes, the R&I performance of EU-13 countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) lags behind their western counterparts. This discrepancy arises from under-developed R&I ecosystems, brain drain, fragmented collaboration, and limited integration into international networks.
Recognizing these challenges, the Alliance4Life emerged in 2017 as a strategic alliance of ten progressive life science institutions from nine CEE countries. Thanks to H2020 funding Alliance4Life fostered knowledge exchange, shared best practices, and laid foundation for a cultural transformation rewarding scientific excellence in Central and Eastern Europe.
Building on this success, the A4L_ACTIONS project expanded this vision to include Romania and Bulgaria in 2021. During the next four years all eleven Widening countries in CEE worked together to narrow the innovation gap. This unique alliance collaborates with Western European networks, piloting strategic actions designed during the first project. Alliance4Life has become a role model, evolving as a catalyst for positive institutional changes in CEE universities and research institutes.
Now, we are proud to introduce A4L_BRIDGE project, aiming to enhance competitiveness and innovation potential. This project will implement institutional reforms to boost the translation of health research results into biomedical applications that would serve the society. Alliance4Life's success is built on unique ability to transform institutional cultures across research institutes in CEE countries through open communication, sharing progress and results, training, networking, and competence building.
Our vision is clear: Alliance4Life strives to be the role model for progressive research institutions in the CEE region, influencing R&I policy in the EU. Through strategic structural reforms, mutual learning, and improved participation in EU funding schemes, Alliance4Life empowers low-performing regions, bridging the innovation gap in Europe in the long term.
Join us on this transformative journey as we shape the future of research and innovation in Central and Eastern Europe!
Programme
Monday, 18 March 2024
09:00–10:00 Registration and Photo session
10:00–12:00 Plenary Session 1
12:00–13:00 Lunch
13:00–14:30 Board meeting
13:00–14:30 Excursion to the labs for FG Members
14:30–15:00 Coffee break
15:00–17:00 Focus Group Meetings
15:00–17:00 Excursion to the labs for Board Members 17:00–18:00 Welcome drink and Networking time with Core Facility heads 18:00–21:00 Dinner
Tuesday, 19 March 2024
09:00–10:00 Registration
10:00–12:00 Plenary Session 2
12:00–13:00 Takeaway lunch
Download the full programme HERE (PDF).
For more details or inquiries before the meeting, feel free to contact the project coordinator Ester Jarour or the project manager Ivana Sekaninova.
Thank you for your commitment to advancing scientific collaboration. We're looking forward to an engaging kick-off meeting!