RUN European University’s Research and Innovation-Focused Project Successfully Concludes – Including a Practice-Based PhD Programme
RUN-EU is strengthening cooperation with businesses in many areas. For example, in the recently concluded RUN-EU PLUS project, a roadmap for developing professional practice-based doctoral programmes was produced in collaboration with industry. Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) was specifically responsible for developing the Research Career Development Evaluation system.
During the three-year RUN-EU PLUS project, RUN-EU partners created a Research and Innovation (R&I) Agenda and Collaborative Action Plan to guide the research conducted within RUN-EU and to strengthen cooperation between RUN-EU institutions, society, and businesses. At the same time, a roadmap was defined for developing Co-collaborative Professional Practice-based Master’s and PhD programmes in collaboration with industry. To support the roadmap, accredited professional development programs for work-based supervisors, advisors, and mentors were designed in collaboration with regional stakeholders.
RUN European University (RUN-EU) institutions all operate outside of capital cities across Europe. Regional development in collaboration with industry is a key factor in RUN-EU.
Towards a Professional Practice-Based Doctoral Programme
Through RUN European University, a HAMK student, for example, can pursue a doctoral degree. In practice, this means that the doctoral candidate has supervisors from at least two RUN-EU institutions and additionally a mentor from industry partners. Research conducted at HAMK must link to HAMK’s research areas and expertise must also be found in the partner institution awarding the degree. Information about RUN-EU’s researchers, infrastructures, and research themes can be found on the RUN-EU Cloud of Knowledge Portal, which was also developed in the recently concluded project.
“The work we have done is not just about achieving the goals set in the project application, but it has practical significance for our staff and networks. Collaboration has been particularly successful in external project funding application processes, where we need to know partners´ expertise well, and sometimes need to bring in partners at very short notice. When trust is already in place, processes are agile and fast,” says Hanna Lindroos, HAMK’s RDI-designer involved in the project.
Collaboration has been particularly successful in external project funding application processes.
The project also created a framework for developing the RUN-EU Research Career Development Evaluation system. Seminars, workshops, and various study opportunities, in turn, offered diverse opportunities for networking and learning. Additionally, challenge-based interdisciplinary knowledge-creation ecosystems were built where students, researchers, and the public and private sectors jointly tackle real-life challenges emerging from industry.
The RUN-EU PLUS – Professional Research Programmes for Business and Society project is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 programme. In addition to HAMK, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences from the Netherlands, Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest from Ireland, University of Györ Széchenyi István from Hungary, Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences from Austria, and Polytechnic of Cávado and Ave and Polytechnic of Leiria from Portugal were involved in its implementation.
RUN European University
We are part of RUN European University, which brings together eight European higher education institutions from seven countries committed to a common vision.
