The UNITA Alliance is pleased to announce the results of the Advanced Grants for Research call, dedicated to the thematic hubs of Cultural Heritage, Green Energy, Circular Economy and Environment, Digital Transition, Global Health and Inclusive Societies.
This call aim to strengthen collaboration between UNITA partners and consolidate the cooperation initiated within the Starting Grant projects. The objective is to support scientific partnerships of common interest with a structuring effect, i.e., directing or encouraging the development of larger-scale projects, with the aim of further developing and structuring cooperation, including exploring opportunities to apply for competitive international calls.
Following a highly competitive selection process, a number of promising projects have been awarded funding across the 6 thematic areas of the UNITA alliance. All proposals were evaluated by expert committees, and the results have been communicated to the applicants. 27 projects were selected from among the 51 submitted projects, which stemmed from one or more previously funded Starting Grants.
Cultural Heritage
4 projects were selected:
- WATER SLOpES: WATER Heritage, a paradigm for Sustainability: a cLOse link between humans, Environment and climate in mountainous areaS
- HerOn+ REACT: Reactive AI-Enhanced Digital Cultural Heritage Twins for Preventive Conservation, FAIR Traceability and Citizen Science
- ReWonders: From wonder to wonder: Re-engineering CON.NE.C.T W.O.N.D.E.R.S
- CONNECT AG: Rethinking Rural Heritage: UNITA Collaborative Network for Researching Cultural Events and Traditions
Green Energy
7 projects were selected:
- UNITANE-ADV: Advanced Materials and Catalytic Pathways for Solar Methane Production
- BestHySys: Research on hybrid photovoltaic systems in mountain areas
- RURALIGHT: RURal Applications of transparent and Low-lIght enerGy Harvesting Technologies
- HyTherm: Advanced Thermal Integration of Fuel Cells and Metal Hydride Storage for Efficient Green Hydrogen Utilization
- RENEUMONT: Renewable Energies in European Mountains
- DIMA: Decarbonizing the metal industry in mountainous areas
- DREAM: Data-Driven analysis and prediction of energy performance for mixed-use buildings in mountain areas: A multidisciplinary sobriety approach.
Circular Economy and Environment
4 projects were selected:
- AQUASAFE: Advanced water management strategies for targeted reuse cases
- INHIP450: Bridging Green Chemistry and Environmental Exposure: Novel Inhibitors of Insect Cytochrome P450 for Sustainable Pest Management
- CIRC-FOODJUST: Circular Food Ecosystems for Food Justice and Global-Local Governance
- REGAIN: REvalorization of aGro-industrial waste for AgrIculture and aNimal nutrition
Digital Transition
2 projects were selected:
- BE-SAFE-Next: BicyclE SAFEty powered by AI and NEXT-gen Communication Toward Cognitive Cities
- HASCI: Social Cognition in Human-AI interaction: Investigating interactional patterns in a multidisciplinary perspective
Global Health
5 projects were selected:
- IMPACT-OH: Advancing an Interdisciplinary One Health Network to Tackle Microplastic Exposure and Health Impacts in Mountain Ecosystems.
- UNITA-AP 2.0: Unfolding Non-Invasive Treatment Advances Against Pain 2.0 – Building a European Translational Consortium
- NeuroUnita: NeuroUnita – the interdisciplinary Neuroscience Campus of the Unita alliance
- EMPOWER: Empowering Entrepreneurs from the Inside Out
- MOVE-4Health: 24h-Movement Behaviours and health of European youngsters and students: evaluating and promoting sustainable lifestyles
Inclusive societies
5 projects were selected:
- DESERT-UNITA-AG: Citizen Co-design of Eight Prototypes for Food and Exercise Service Deserts in European Rural and Mountainous Areas
- SESF: Strengthening the European social fabric: a multi-disciplinary and intersectional approach to social inclusion of silenced groups
- AA@25+: Active Ageing at 25+: Advancing Policies, Inclusion, and Resilience in Multicultural Societies
- COMCRIS: Commoning in Crisis: Collective Voice and the Reimagining of Rural Resilience
- SCOPE: Structurally Constrained Consent: Sexual Autonomy, Power Asymmetry and Legal-Institutional Responses in Europe
The selected projects reflect the Alliance’s strong commitment to scientific excellence and its strategic vision in addressing global challenges through transdisciplinary cooperation.
UNITA extends the congratulations to all applicants and look forward to following the development and impact of the selected initiatives in the coming months.
