REE-CIRCLE project will result in establishing a joint master degree programme, which prepares professionals in sustainable use of natural resources, resource and energy efficiency and circularity, who can easily integrate into the new European and global green labor market and make a positive contribution for preserving natural capital, transitioning to a low-carbon economy and protecting people from environment-related pressures. Research-based education, modern courses, close linkage with industry and dissemination of best practices will contribute to environmentally sustainable socio-economic development and long-term benefits for all stakeholders.

The BIHSENA project is designed to respond to a profound lack of education opportunities in the interdisciplinary area of health, innovations and society in the two countries of Russia and Ukraine, and to bridge a gap between (bio)medical and social scientists, academics and practitioners in these two countries as well as between local and international communities. The need for such education and interdisciplinary/cross-sectorial engagements is urgent against the background of healthcare systems transformation and attempts to find innovative solutions for persisting health problems in the Eastern European neighbouring areas this project focuses on.Consortium members will develop relevant curricula:-Master specialization in ‘Innovations for Health’ and a preparatory course ‘Social studies of innovation’ in Russia -Post-graduate programme for medical professionals ‘Healthcare governance’, course ‘Introduction to health systems’ and course ‘Interdisciplinary epidemiology’ in Ukraine-Open online courses jointly developed and run by consortium members ‘Bridging medical and societal perspectives’ and ‘Health governance: cases from post-communist countries'During the work on the curriculum development, teaching staff from Ukrainian and Russian universities will receive training in student-centred education, use of ICT and English language; recent insights into complexities of health, innovations and society will be shared and discussed. As a result, education opportunities will be created, adequately preparing professionals to work for citizens' health under conditions of rapid technological change and increasing need for interdisciplinarity and internationalisation.The project team will also organize open events on the topics in health, medicine and society. These events will bring together scholars and practitioners of various disciplines and fields and will contribute to establishing a cross-sectorial dialogue.

SHAPEDEM-EU sets out to rethink, reshape, and review the EU’s democracy support policies in its Eastern & Southern Neighbourhoods. Amidst the increasing contestation of the EU and the weakening impact of its policies in the Neighbourhoods, SHAPEDEM-EU applies an entirely novel approach to democracy support. The approach conceives of democracy support as a social practice requiring the collective democratic learning of all stakeholders involved. The consortium will pilot test a Democracy Learning Loop to create new channels and tools for interaction between the EU and its neighbours and transfer these findings into policy recommendations for an improved EU policy toolkit. SHAPEDEM-EU represents a multi-national and multifaceted research consortium of academic, think tank, and civil society institutions based in the EU and the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhoods. The consortium will apply mixed-methods to collect, assess, and generate policies related to democracy support in the six case countries of Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia. We will investigate the role of EU member states, key EU institutions, third country actors, and international organisations. The project results will lead to improved EU practices in the region. In all project phases, the impact of gender equality & digital transformations in democracy support will be examined. The findings will be communicated and disseminated through SHAPEDEM-EU’s comprehensive Democracy Support Database and an online Digital Dashboard. Our results will contribute to the creation of sustainable tools for an EU policy toolkit that supports democracy in its Southern & Eastern Neighbourhoods, thus increasing the EU’s accountability, transparency, effectiveness, and trustworthiness and making neighbourhood countries more resilient, equitable, and responsive to local needs.

Global Health (GH) is a vital discipline, generating knowledge on current and emerging GH issues, promoting international collaborations, and setting a framework for understanding of how countries can collectively respond to GH challenges. However, due to a lack of internal resources and/or limited access to external funding, GH has not been established as a discipline within middle-income countries of Eastern Europe/Central Asia (EECA). This lack of GH capacity poses health risks to these countries’ populations and globally.The project’s over-arching aim is to enable 3 EECA coountries – Georgia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan – to build capacity and integrate GH into academic programmes. This will be achieved through development of technical knowledge in priority GH topics and GH-relevant research methods, capacity building of academic staff in pedagogical and methodological approaches to designing/delivering new curricula, jointly developing GH courses, and the forging/reinforcement of collaborations between HEIs and non-academic organisations in Partner and Programme countries. Curricula for 6 new GH thematic courses and 3 GH research methods courses will be produced in English, Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian and Kazakh. These courses will be integrated into Partner HEIs’ existing masters and PhDs and delivered to 25 – 165 students in year 1 of implementation. In addition, Partner HEIs will be supported to develop and deliver an intensive EECA Regional GH Academy course for staff and public health practitioners. A EECA Regional Alliance for GH will be established to serve as an inter-institutional and inter-sectoral mechanism for collaboration, knowledge exchange, training and research on priority GH issues. The project will develop a strong platform of GH knowledge and expertise in EECA and ensure mechanisms are in place for the discipline to grow. Staff and students will be equipped with knowledge and skills needed to meaningfully enhance international cooperation.

Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine has ended the post-Cold War European security order, creating new realities in countries neighbouring the EU and shattering illusions in several member states about the Kremlin’s true intentions in wider Europe. By granting candidate status to Ukraine and Moldova and a European perspective to Georgia, the EU has rejected a Russian sphere of influence and instead determined where its future borders should lie. But this decision has not yet led to policies tailored to effectively respond to a geopolitical context which also sees China and other state actors competing for influence. The Eastern Partnership still needs to be fitted with security and connectivity components. In the accession process, existing formats had already reached their limits with, inter alia, the obstructionism by certain member states that is linked to the divisive issue of EU internal reform. This has cost the EU a lot of credibility in the Western Balkans and will take years to resolve. REUNIR, a project with 12 partners from across Europe, examines how the EU can strengthen its foreign and security toolboxes to bolster the resilience and transformation of (potential) candidate countries in a new age of international relations. REUNIR’s foresight approach takes the fundamental uncertainty and openness of alternative futures seriously. Adding the effects of ‘protean power’ unleashed in unforeseen circumstances to a multi-disciplinary approach to the research of the EU’s ‘control power’ in relations with strategic rivals, REUNIR empirically assesses foreign threats to the military, socio-economic and democratic resilience of 9 neighbouring countries, determines capability shortfalls, maps local perceptions of the EU’s support and political perspectives inside the EU on neighbourhood relations. Outlining scenarios up to 2035, REUNIR offers evidence-based policy recommendations to mitigate malign foreign interference and strengthen the EU’s external action.