Author: Andre Barbosa

Between the 20^th  and 22^nd of July, the Second General Assembly of the EU-LAC RESINFRA project was held in Montevideo, Uruguay. This meeting was an important milestone for the project, as it allowed to discuss the objectives for the coming months, specifically the publication of the Sustainability Plan for bi-regional collaboration EU – LAC in the field of Research Infrastructures, and the role that EU-LAC RESINFRA will have at the “International Conference on Research Infrastructures” – ICRI, between the 19^th and 21^st of October in Brno, Czech Republic.

The first day of the meeting took place in the facilities of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay, LATU, where Alberto Majó (Ministry of Education and Culture of Uruguay, MEC), Markus Handke (Delegation of the European Union in Uruguay), Claudia Romano (Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation, AUCI) and Inmaculada Figueroa (EU-LAC RESINFRA Project Coordinator, Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain) welcomed the participants and opened the meeting. During the opening remarks, the intervention of Markus Handke was of special importance as he stressed the importance of the work of EU-LAC RESINFRA for the development of joint research infrastructures between the European Union and Latin America, mentioning that this type of interregional project helps to define common interests in many other areas while allowing to face global challenges in areas such as Human Rights, Science and Climate Change.

On the other hand, Inmaculada Figueroa expressed during her speech the importance of the different research infrastructures at global level, which have been fundamental in responding to the important challenge that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has represented for humanity. It has been an example on how developing these infrastructures in a context of intra-regional cooperation is key in problematic times.

The first day continued with the presentation of the results and work developed under work packages in these 30 months of the project, highlighting the intense work of the four pilots that make up EU-LAC RESINFRA. Claudia Alen, representative of Instruct-ERIC, showed the success obtained in the staff exchanges supported by EU-LAC RESINFRA, specifically the exchange experienced by Alejandro Buschiazzo, who develops his research in the laboratory of molecular and structural microbiology at the Pasteur Institute in Montevideo and is currently on exchange in the laboratories of Instruct-ERIC in Madrid.

In addition to meetings, during the first day, there was also a visit to LATU’s facilities and laboratories, where information about its history and the development of the laboratory was shared.

The second workday took place in the Uruguayan Presidency building. Starting proceedings, Mariano Berro, Executive Director of the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation, gave a welcome speech, followed by the presentations of some of EU-LAC RESINFRA’s external partners. Leonel Malacrida from the Pasteur Institute of Montevideo made the first presentation, followed by Luis Souza from E-RIHS and then concluding with Tania Altamirano from RedCLARA – Latin American Cooperation of Advanced Networks. Afterwards, the second day focused on defining the strategy in the context of the sustainability plan and the projection of EU-LAC RESINFRA into the future, promoting permanent interregional cooperation with a view towards scientific development and high-level infrastructures within the framework of common objectives and values.

In order to outline this proposal in a context of co-creation, the activity was carried out by dividing the team into four subgroups: Political Dialogue, Funding, Visibility and Practical Experiences. Within each discussion, different proposals emerged, among which the Political Dialogue subgroup highlighted the idea of generating a project that transcends the objectives of governments, thus reaching a state level that allows to have a fund beyond short-term policies, but that aim at being permanent. On financing, it was mentioned, among other things, the openness to receive support from both public and private entities, therefore widening the spectrum beyond government funding.

On the topics of visibility and practical experiences, common points emerged, such as the need to expand channels of communication and organisation of events that are developed in Latin America in order to enhance the role of this region at the level of the research infrastructures. The third and last day in Montevideo was different because the focus was on visiting research infrastructures in Uruguay, taking the consortium to both the Polo Tecnológico del Pando and the Pasteur Institute in Montevideo. The day began with a welcoming committee by Fernando Amestoy (Director of the Technology Park), Laura Vera (Projects and Business Manager) and John Saegaert (General Manager) who, after presenting the work carried out and the structure of the Pando Technology Park, accompanied the group on a visit to the facilities. This park is an academic unit of the Faculty of Chemistry dedicated to research, development and innovation (R&D&I) in Chemistry, Biotechnology, Materials Science and Environment.

The second part of the day continued with a visit to the Pasteur Institute of Montevideo where Carlos Batthyany (Executive Director), Daniela Hirschfeld (Head of Communication) and José Badano (Academic Director) welcomed the group and presented part of the history of the institute and the work carried out by the institution. This was followed by a tour of the laboratories and facilities. One of the highlights of the visit was to see the facilities, who are experts in the analysis of SARS-CoV-2, and to learn about the leading role it played during the pandemic, both in the detection of active cases and in the joint work with local authorities to manage the epidemiological situation.

The final conclusions and acknowledgments were given by Inmaculada Figueroa, Carlos Batthyany, Claudia Romano (Manager of the Uruguayan Agency for International Cooperation) and Alberto Majó (Advisor to the Ministry of Education and Culture of Uruguay (MEC)). Inmaculada Figueroa firstly showed results and projections and then thanked all parties. She also acknowledged what still lies ahead for EU-LAC RESINFRA, recognising the importance of Research Infrastructures and the values implicit in multi-regional cooperation, which are fundamental to face the future challenges at a global level but especially for Europe and Latin America.

Entre los días 20 y 22 de Julio, ha sido llevado a cabo, en la ciudad de Montevideo Uruguay, la segunda Asamblea General del proyecto EU-LAC RESINFRA. Esta reunión ha supuesto un importante hito para el proyecto, ya que ha permitido  plantear  los objetivos para los próximos meses, específicamente la publicación del Plan de Sostenibilidad de colaboración birregional EU – LAC en el ámbito de las Infraestructuras de Investigación,  y el rol que tendrá EU-LAC RESINFRA como evento satélite en la “International Conference on Research Infrastructures” ICRI, entre los días 19 y 21 de Octubre en Brno, República Checa. El primer día de la reunión tuvo lugar en las instalaciones del Laboratorio Tecnológico de Uruguay, LATU, dando la bienvenida y apertura al encuentro, Alberto Majó (Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Uruguay, MEC), Markus Handke (Delegación de la Unión Europea en Uruguay), Claudia Romano (Agencia Uruguaya para la Cooperación Internacional, AUCI) e Inmaculada Figueroa (Coordinadora proyecto EU-LAC RESINFRA, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, España). Entre las palabras de inicio, los miembros del proyecto han resaltado lo mencionado por Markus Handke, quien recalcó la importancia del trabajo de EU-LAC RESINFRA para el desarrollo de infraestructuras de investigación conjuntas entre la Unión Europea y Latinoamérica, mencionando que, este tipo de proyecto interregional ayuda a definir intereses comunes en muchas otras áreas, permitiendo afrontar retos globales en materias como Derechos Humanos, Ciencia y Cambio Climático.

Por otra parte, Inmaculada Figueroa, en sus palabras expresó la importancia de  las diversas infraestructuras de investigación a nivel global, las cuales han sido fundamentales a la hora de dar  respuesta al importante reto que ha representado para la humanidad la pandemia por SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, siendo un ejemplo para continuar desarrollando dichas infraestructuras, en un contexto de cooperación intrarregional, siendo clave para dar soporte a estas instancias.

El primer día de trabajo continúo con la presentación de los resultados y labores desarrolladas por los diferentes Paquetes de trabajo en estos 30 meses de proyecto, resaltando entre todos lo expuesto, la intensa labor de los cuatro pilotos que componen EU-LAC RESINFRA. Así,  Claudia  Alen, representante de Instruct-ERIC, mostro el éxito obtenido en los staff Exchange apoyados desde EU-LAC RESINFRA, específicamente el intercambio vivido por Alejandro Buschiazzo, quien desarrolla su investigación en el laboratorio de microbiología molecular y estructural en el Instituto Pasteur en Montevideo; y actualmente se encuentra de intercambio en los laboratorios de Instruct-ERIC en Madrid.

Sumado a la jornada de reuniones, aquel primer día, el consorcio realizó una visita a las instalaciones y laboratorios de LATU, conociendo su historia y el desarrollo que ha tenido el laboratorio, sumado a la expansión en las diversas áreas de investigación presentes en sus instalaciones.

La segunda Jornada, se llevo a cabo en el edificio de la Presidencia de Uruguay. Para introducir la jornada, Mariano Berro, Director Ejecutivo de la Agencia Uruguaya de cooperacion Internacional, dio la bienvenida, para posteriormente dar paso a las presentaciones de algunos socios externos a EU-LAC RESINFRA. Comenzando con Leonel Malacrida del Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo, seguido por Luis Souza de E-RIHS, para concluir con la exposicion de Tania Altamirano desde RedCLARA-Cooperacion Latinoamericana de Redes Avanzadas.Posteriormente, la segunda jornada se enfoco en definir la estrategia en el contexto del plan de sostenibilidad y la proyeccion de EU-LAC RESINFRA hacia el  futuro, fomentando permanente la cooperacion interregional con miras del deasarrollo cientifico y de infrasrtructuras de alto nivel, en el marco de objetivos y valores comunes.

Para esbozar dicha propuesta, en un contexto de co-creación, la actividad se realizó dividiendo al equipo en cuatro subgrupos: Dialogo Político, Financiamiento, Visibilidad y Experiencias prácticas. Dentro de cada discusión surgieron diferentes propuestas, de las cuales destacaron, desde el subgrupo de Dialogo Político, la idea de apuntar a generar un proyecto que traspase los objetivos de gobiernos, llegando a un plano estatal, el cual permita tener un fondo más allá de políticas a corto plazo, apuntando a la permanencia. Sobre Financiamiento, se mencionó entre otras cosas la apertura a recibir apoyo desde entidades tanto públicas como privadas, abriendo el espectro más allá del financiamiento gubernamental.

Sobre los tópicos de visibilidad y experiencias prácticas, surgieron puntos comunes, tales como la preposición de ampliar canales de comunicación y organización de eventos que sean desarrollados en América Latina, para potenciar el rol de esta región a nivel de infraestructuras de investigación. La tercera y  último jornada en Montevideo, fue diferente a las dos previas, esto, debido a que el foco fue  visitar infraestructuras de investigación presentes en Uruguay, llevando al consorcio tanto al Polo Tecnológico del Pando, como al Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo. La agenda de aquella Jornada comenzó con la bienvenida por parte de Fernando Amestoy (Director del Polo Tecnológico), Laura Vera (Gerente de Proyectos y Negocios) y John Saegaert (Gerente General), quienes después de presentar el trabajo realizado y la estructura del polo tecnológico de Pando, acompañaron al grupo en una visita a las  instalaciones. Este parque es una unidad Académica de la Facultad de Química dedicada a la investigación, desarrollo e innovación (I+D+i) en Química, Biotecnología, Ciencias de los Materiales y Medio Ambiente.

La segunda parte de la jornada continuó con la visita al Instituto Pasteur de Montevideo  donde Carlos Batthyany (Director Ejecutivo), Daniela Hirschfeld (Responsable de Comunicación) y José Badano (Director Académico), dieron la bienvenida y presentaron para el grupo parte de la historia del instituto y el trabajo que se desarrolla por parte de la institución. Para dar paso a una visita de los laboratorios e instalaciones. Uno de los momentos más relevantes de la visita fue conocer las instalaciones especializadas en análisis del SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), y conocer el protagonismo que tuvo durante la pandemia tanto en la detección de casos activos, como en el trabajo conjunto con las autoridades locales, para el manejo de la situación epidemiológica.

Las conclusiones finales y los agradecimientos estuvieron a cargo de Inmaculada Figueroa, Carlos Batthyany, Claudia Romano (Gerente de la Agencia Uruguaya de Cooperación Internacional) y Alberto Majó (Asesor del Ministerio de Educación y Cultura de Uruguay (MEC)) quienes dieron un cierre al evento; en primer lugar, mostrando las conclusiones y proyecciones, en palabras de la coordinadora de proyecto, Inmaculada Figueroa, quien dio además entrego los agradecimiento y motivación respecto al tiempo que aún le queda por delante a EU-LAC RESINFRA, reconociendo la importancia de las Infraestructuras de Investigación y los valores implícitos en la cooperación multiregional;  Fundamental para afrontar los desafíos futuros a nivel mundial, pero especialmente para Europa y América Latina.

The 9^th meeting on EU-CELAC Working Group on Research Infrastructures (WG RI) took place online on 28 April 2022. The meeting was co-chaired by Martin Penny, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission, and Fernando Amestoy, Director of the Institute Polo Tecnológico de Pando, Uruguay. A total of 28 delegates and participants from LAC and the EU attended the meeting.

The meeting focused on the upcoming RI-related events (ICRI 2022, Horizon Europe call, EU-LAC 4th Joint Call) and a debate on the possible areas that the Working Group should focus on in the following years. The WG meeting also welcomed CERN as an observer.

The commission’s presentation expressed interest in continuing work on the next ‘service facility’ supporting the WG, which should boost the organization’s capacity enough to cover the next four years of operations. Public procurement is currently ongoing, and more news and updates should be available in the following months. This 9th meeting is a springboard towards the additional incoming support by the future service facility, opening the discussion on future priorities to get the general feeling within the WG and their views and preferences.

While on stage for the future of Horizon Europe on Research Infrastructures, Patricia Postigo McLaughlin and Jimena Arango Montanez, shared with the audience the upcoming call on research infrastructures, targeting the LAC region. The call concept is still being developed, with support planned for the development from the outcomes of the EU-LAC ResInfra project. The call is meant to parallel the future service facility’s work, complementing policy activities with project-type actions. The main topics are energy, health, biodiversity, climate change, and food security.

The EU-RESINFRA project represented by Inmaculada Figueroa Rojas and Claudia Romano informed the delegates about the 4th EU-LAC Joint Call on STI, which contains several topics on research infrastructures. The call was published by the EU-LAC Interest Group and is closely linked to both the EU-LAC ResInfra project and the WG activity. As part of this link with the EU-LAC ResInfra project, a series of seminars on RI cooperation will be held from June to September 2022, as well as a workshop on HPC for international collaboration between Europe and Latin America.

Finally, the last discussion centered in the following new, priority thematic-areas that WG aims to explore such as energy, biodiversity, circular economy, open science and open data, sustainability, knowledge valorization, organizational modes, among others, as well as a closer alignment with the ICRI topics.

ENRICH in LAC SLH Twinning Programme will start soon!

From April 6 to April 8, participants will learn from experts of internationalization and benefit from a free online matchmaking session between Europe and Latin America.

Registrations are now open through the WorldLabs platform, clicking on FREE Register.

AGENDA:

Day 1. April 6th – Kick-Off (Open for All)

Filipe Cassapo, president of ENRICH in LAC will address some important issues:

• Challenges in public-driven policies for international partnerships
• Reasons to partner with Europe (With Dr. Carlos Eduardo de Andrade Lima da Rocha, Coordinatior at Fiocruz International Cooperation Agreement with University of Aveiro)
• Demystifying the bureaucracy for international partnerships (With Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação- SPI)
• Funding mechanisms for partnering abroad (With Raquel Almeida, trainer for Horizon Europe)

Katrin Singer, representing Fraunhofer, institution ahead of the coordination of ENRICH in LAC will address:

• The opportunities attached to the internationalization
• How ENRICH in LAC can help your institution and how to become a member
• Successful cases under our orientation.

Day 2. April 7th – Matchmaking (Open for All)

• Presentation of the participants
• Breakout rooms: participants will be able to discuss with others in specific rooms divided by interest.
• EXCLUSIVE FOR MEMBERS: ENRICH in LAC members will receive a tailored suggestion of institutions according to their activity, strategy and goals

Day3. April 8th – Consulting Services (Members Exclusive)

During the last day of the event, members will have a tailored experience. Interested parties will have time to discuss with experts and create a made-to-measure action plan, with the next steps to make their partnering successful and in full contact with their matches.

The EU-LAC Interest Group towards the Common Research Area launches a new Joint Call to enhance the bi-regional cooperation in Science, Technology, and Innovation. The call did open last Monday, 24 January 2021, and will close the Thursday, 28 April 2022.

The call to find initiatives that contemplate sustainable and multilateral research cooperation between researchers from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean countries. Multiregional consortia are called to submit the proposals to six topics of Global Challenges, Health, Biodiversity, and Energy. The call topics have been defined in collaboration with the EU-funded projects EU-LAC ResInfra, EULAC PerMed, and SINCERE.. 

The Proposals must be submitted online following the Guide for Applicants. The application consists of two parts, the Project Description Template form and the online submission form accessible at https://ptoutline.eu/app/eu-lac-2022. 

The projects will be funded for up to 36 months. For more information, please follow the link: https://www.eucelac-platform.eu/joint-call/4th-eu-lac-joint-call-sti-2022. 

The 3rd workshop is on how the RI communities and researchers can use and benefit from EOSC, getting added value. Besides the general benefits of EOSC towards open science and “FAIRification” of data and services, it is considered that the daily use of EOSC Exchange and concrete tools by the RI users for intra and interdisciplinary research will also greatly benefit EOSC, in becoming useful and effective, contributing towards its sustainability.

Some points that will be highlighted during this workshop are:

• The connection of RIs to EOSC, both ESFRI and other world-class Ris
• The added value of EOSC for the RI communities and end users. I.e., what does EOSC bring to (users of) international RIs
• Bringing international RIs up to speed on Open Science and the FAIR policy agenda, including concrete paradigms from young researchers presenting their work on Open Science and FAIR data, with possible achievements, may have positive effects on high-level RI/lab managers.
• The co-creation between providers and users of the EOSC vision, in terms of service portfolio for the users

The agent of this event will to have seven sessions divided in two days every one which will have the presence of distinguished presenters. The title and the presenter of every instance are:

Day 1 – Tuesday, 25 January 2022

1. Scope, EOSC current state and the EOSC Association, Chair: Jana Kolar, ESFRI Chair
2. EOSC: Researcher Engagement and Adoption, Chair: Suzanne Dumouchel, French National Centre for Scientific
3. The EOSC added value for the thematic communities – How can RI end users benefit from EOSC – Chair: Sara Garavelli, CSC-IT Center for Science & EOSC-A Director
4. Feedback panel for users (Sessions 2-3): EOSC Added value for end users – Views on how the RI community can benefit from EOSC: EOSC developers, policy makers and funders face the users, Chair: Kostas Glinos, DG RTD, European Commission

Day 2 – Wednesday, 26 January 2022

1. How generic and thematic EOSC services can add value to the RI community, Chair: Per Oster, CSC IT Center for Science 
2. Feedback panel for providers (session 5): EOSC added value for thematic providers – Cross-fertilization between thematic and generic providers, Chair: Ignacio Blanquer, Polytechnic University of Valencia & EOSC – A director
3.  Summary and conclusions: Report from Sessions and further feedback from audience –Summary and conclusions

For more details about the agenda follow the link: https://www.esfri.eu/esfri-events/3rd-esfri-ris-eosc-workshop?qt-event=1#qt-event

This event will be entirely online, and to participate, please subscribe at the link here: https://www.esfri.eu/esfri-events/3rd-esfri-ris-eosc-workshop?qt-event=2#qt-event

The 2ª International Call from Instruct-ERIC has been awarded, providing access for researchers in institutions that hold a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Instruct to access European facilities to help advance their ongoing research. 

Instruct’s work within the EU-LAC ResInfra project in collaboration with iNEXT-Discovery has organized eight visits from Latin American institutions to Instruct European facilities.  

• Lucia Chemes – University of San Marti
• Bernabé Battista – Instituto de Biologia Molecular y Celular de Rosario 
• Jimena Rinaldi – Fundacion Instituto Leloir 
• Felipe Otsuka – University Sao Paulo 
• Richard Garratt – University Sao Paulo 
• Mariana Piuri – University Buenos Aires 
• Daiana Andrea Capdevila – Fundacion Instituto Leloir 
• Horacio Heras – National University of La Plata 

The 2nd International Call further emphasizes how the partnership between Instruct-ERIC and EU-LAC ResInfra provides benefits for researchers in both Latin America and Europe. These visits add to the EU-LAC ResInfra mobility program in structural biology already started with the three staff exchanges awarded last year, which are now underway. 

The visits will take place throughout 2022. As a result, all users will receive the necessary training and expertise in using the equipment while also sharing their own experience with the host institution.

European Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) is a vital pillar of the European Research Area (ERA) as it is a strategic instrument to develop the scientific integration of Europe and to strengthen its international outreach. On December 07th, ESFRI presented the roadmap 2021 Update on Large Scale Research Infrastructures in an online event. This Roadmap identifies the European investment priorities and provides the directions for their further development, and looks into the future challenges of the Research Infrastructure policy. Furthermore, this document identifies the main features of the RIs landscape in Europe to implement an integrated and interconnected Research infrastructure eco-system as an important element of the ERA Policy Agenda. This document can be consulted here.

The coordinator of EU – LAC ResInfra, Inmaculada Figueroa, moderated the panel on “Research infrastructure is a driver in the International cooperation”. Inmaculada remarked on the importance of this topic, which is an essential tool to face the current challenges such as climate change, large-scale natural events, and the last pandemic experienced recently.

This panel counted on the participation of three experts in different areas related to research infrastructures and international cooperation. The first speaker was Philip Diamond, SKAO Observatory Director. He started presenting the SKAO project, a global network which supports the construction of high-level radio astronomical observatories. Nicolas Dromel from MESFRI, talked about research infrastructures, raised the global challenge associated with the complexity these have. Werner Kutch, General Director of ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System), presented this project and how it is in charge of in-situ greenhouse gas and carbon cycle measurements.

The conclusions from the panel remarked the vital importance of international support for the generation of research infrastructures where ESFRI has been able to set an agenda. Furthermore, it was stressed the relevance of ESFRI Roadmap 2021 as a demonstration of the high merit of and potential for European collaboration in developing visions and sustainable perspectives for an interoperable Research Infrastructure ecosystem as a key asset of Europe.

In other sessions topics such as RIs in the ERA Policy Agenda were discussed and New ESFRI projects were presented.

The event recording can be accessed here:  https://www.youtube.com/c/ESFRI-EU