Research at Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) is increasingly dependent on external, project-based funding. However, researchers and science support staff often still need help to develop and write successfully funded EU proposals . In addition to scientific excellence and a strong project idea , other skills are required to be successful in the highly competitive field of EU research funding such as the ability to understand calls for proposals, to grasp the requirements of the funding body and to precisely define the objectives, results and impact of a project.
ENCARE aims to strengthen and expand the competences of researchers and science support staff at European UASs for the successful development, application and implementation of EU-funded projects. The project partners jointly want to develop and implement a cross-university capacity building programme for UAS staff in order to counter the external pressure to acquire third-party funding for research with skills development.
Results
- Development of the capacity building program ICER-Pro (Interdisciplinary & Collaborative Education and Research Program) for different learner profiles
- Development and provision of training materials for researchers and science support staff
- Execution of trainings – online and offline
Approach
In order to develop a training programme that is tailored to the needs of researchers and science support staff at UASs, ENCARE follows a two-step approach: As a first step, a needs analysis is carried out to understand where researchers and science support staff at UASs stand according to self-assessment regarding competence gaps and training needs with regard to EU applications. In parallel, available training material is being brought together. The ICER-Pro will be developed based on the results of needs analysis and current available training materials which will be complemented, up-dated and merged.
Impact
ENCARE will lead to increased capacity in grant writing at UASs in Europe. In particular, it increases researchers’ and lecturers’ capacities regarding development of successful RDI projects. These capacities will help to foster international collaboration and to increase the number of RDI projects at partner universities in the long term. As a result, research at universities of applied sciences is becoming more visible and the overall significance of research at this type of university is increasing.
Financing
The project is funded by the European Union and carried out in framework of the Erasmus+ Programme Key Action 2 Cooperation Partnerships
Project consortium
Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (Coordinator; Germany), Turku University of Applied Sciences (Finland), University of Applied Sciences Utrecht (The Netherlands), Universitat Politècnica de València (Spain), Politécnico do Porto (Portugal), University of the West of Scotland (United Kingdom)
Project website: https://carpenetwork.org/encare
