Research Clusters

Keywords     

Afro-descendant Communities, Multilingualism, Arts, Narratives, Intercultural perspective, Transcultural approach, Transformative Citizenship

Main Research Objective   

The project aims to create an international and interdisciplinary network to study contemporary Afro-descendant communities, identity trajectories and the plurality of languages used to narrate them, with a critical positioning between Europe, the Americas and Africa. The research frame will follow the paradigm of mobility trajectories ‘demigrating’ identities linked to the geographical and social-cultural mobility of subjects and their aspirations.

Afro_Com will be focus on 3 main research trajectories and objectives:

Developing research about the identity trajectories of the contemporary Afro-descendant communities and the plurality of languages used to narrate them.

Expanding narration of trajectories and collective identity practices – the pedagogical, artistic-visual and musical dimension in contemporary multimodal narratives in non-European contexts; the autobiographical perspective, with a focus between plurilingual and pluricultural competence; the anti-racist, transcultural, and decolonial practices; the citizenship policies dimension, in its interaction with arts practices.

Developing a theoretical decolonial and interdisciplinary approach through: the dimensions of multiple identity production and the inclusive-participatory actions, combining the mobility paradigm with the intersectional lens of materialist feminism, feminist disability studies and the approach of digital and visual ethnography.

Main Research Outcome   

The project aims to carry out the research activities and to increase their visibility both at local and international level.

Co-designed activities will promote interdisciplinary dialogue, multilingualism and active participation. This will have an impact on the quality of innovative teaching and the involvement of wider audiences and stakeholders.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Rosita Deluigi, Professor, rosita.deluigi@unimc.it

Keywords     

Art, culture, city, edge territories, public space, heritage, multiculturalism

Main Research Objective   

The processes related to the “making” of urban territories are both historical and emerging in peripheral and transitional territories. They are empirically observable and offer a sustainable framework for cooperation among researchers, early-career scholars, and students from ERUA universities.

What role do art and the increasing cultural and artistic operations play? How urban places where multiculturality play a key role could enhance ways of making societies through art and culture? How can cultural projects led by local players and artists alike produce new ways of involving local residents? Are these processes just about changing the image of so-called “sensitive” areas, or can in-depth transformations lead to real democratic advances? To what extent can they bring about a new kind of urban society? And if so, how can we help inform this phenomenon?

Just few of the questions that at the heart think about the “making” of urban territories through art and culture in a time of deep social change, necessary ecological transitions and digital challenges. And even though the “making” of urban territories, a term used to conceptualize the city as a continuous, multi-actor process, and more specifically the one driven and experienced by art and culture, is an established phenomenon, its social, artistic, political and economic dimensions continue to provoke even more reflection and questioning than before. Particularly in edge cities, situated between two different realities: multicultural strength and social weakness, attractive territories but pressured by immigration, experimental urban laboratories and the heritage dimension.

The project aims to:

Empirically document the transformation of these territories, examining how art and culture unfold in spaces at the margins of urban centers.

Establish collaborative research practices that bridge disciplines, engaging both senior and early-career researchers in fieldwork and analysis.

Create sustainable and dynamic learning environments where students actively participate in empirical studies, contributing to the ongoing understanding and interpretation of urban development projects.

Develop long-term partnerships between universities and local stakeholders, including city planners, cultural organizations, artists, architects and community groups.

Ensure that the outcomes of these collaborations are disseminated through academic publications, public workshops and scientifical events, reinforcing the links between research and community engagement.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Dra. Eva María Llorca Afonso, Assistant Professor, eva.llorca@ulpgc.es

Keywords     

Creativvity, Artificial Intelligence, Creative Industries, Emplyment, Labour Market, Rights

Main Research Objective   

The Cluster aims to examine creativity and creative work within the creative industries from an interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary perspective, focusing on the disruption caused by the growing use of artificial intelligence in the sector. Specifically, we seek to explore the threats faced by creative workers, as employers increasingly use AI to replace, rather than enhance, human creativity, as well as genuine practices where the use of AI only improves the productivity of the professionals.

The research will be focused on three main research streams:

1. Elaborating interdisciplinary methods to evaluate the intrinsic value of creativity, advocating for its protection and irreplaceability as a core principle in future legislation.
2. Investigating the added value of AI for human creativity and validating it from marketing, management, and law perspectives to ensure the sustainability of the labor market for creative workers.
3. Exploring new perspectives on AI applications to promote technology integration and minimize resistance from society and creative workers.

By doing so, we address a fundamental democratic value – equal opportunity – and provide policymakers with the tools to limit the unchecked influence of large corporate content producers over employment and compensation policies.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person

Kristian Bankov, Professor at New Bulgarian University, kbankov@nbu.bg

Keywords     

Children at risk, Performing Arts in Higher Education, Fostering Arts Edges, Inclusive Arts societal engagement, Social Justice, Social perceptions, Academic political & social discourse, Freedom of Arts expression and sustainability, Interactive/arts based reflective methods of teaching and learning.

Main Research Objective   

The cluster will preliminarily consider available data on sustained disadvantage in preschool education and kindergarten training, analysing various contributing factors through the Arts by reviewing evidence from case studies and other research that explores the evolution of preschool educational systems. It will also examine the degree to which reforms could be feasible and the causes underlying them. Cluster researchers will concentrate on three principal questions: i) Correlations between toddlers and preschoolers’ disadvantaged socio-economic status and difficulties within schooling. How are the arts integrated with this? ii) The role of Arts Education in the welfare state. Elitism versus social cohesion? iii) Dynamics of transformation within preschool educational systems, based on Specific areas of cluster researchers’ competences which are: a) Inclusion/Exclusion Axis, b) The nature of preschool education, c) Teachers’ Education Axis.

Researchers will exchange their experience and knowledge about the national policies and good practices of (social) working in kindergartens with the vulnerable children with different challenges and with their families. Research data, methodologies and instruments of assessment will be shared too. The dissemination of the cluster pertains to the process of communicating research findings to academic stakeholders and broader audiences. The directed content analysis revealed themes or patterns pertaining to three distinct facets of information dissemination: Confirmation of Existing Knowledge, Generation of New Knowledge, and Dissemination of New Knowledge.

Main Research Outcome   

Examining the effects of gender, socio-economic status, and origins, with case studies of EU welfare systems, and the difficulties posed by poverty, inequality, and social justice.

Observational techniques employed in student practices at their various universities. Development of a continuous improvement framework.

Building a “Common Assessment Framework (C.A.F.)” to bring researchers, professionals and stakeholders together at an early stage to offer support to any children with additional needs.

Building an “Every Child Matters (E.C.M.) Programme” as a response to research reports and findings, for preschool education. Recommend methods for instructors to deliver the type and level of assistance that youngsters desire. We can contribute to the objective through.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Dr. Maria Argyriou,

Department of Pre-School Education & Educational Design School of Humanities, University of The Aegean, Demokratias Str.1, Building “7th March”, Rhodes 85 132, Room 17 (ground floor)

22410. (0030)22410.99152 / m. (0030) 6934.82.7002

Contact email: m.argyriou@aegean.gr

Keywords     

Migration, Borders, Vulnerability, Gender, Young people, Interdisciplinarit, Narrative.

Main Research Objective   

The overarching objective of our study will be to address the vulnerabilities at the borders of the EU from a thoroughly interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together researchers from all our borders and universities across various fields of inquiry that can complement and enrich one another. Legal, political, and social explanations are essential to understanding these vulnerabilities; however, this CLUSTER seeks, in an original and often underexplored manner, to integrate anthropological, psychological, educational sciences, arts, and cultural analyses—areas of strength in the universities of the ERUA Alliance.

We address the circumstances in which people on the move, and particularly people migrating from the Global South to countries of the Global North are rendered vulnerable through restrictive immigration and asylum policies, the militarization of borders and the “slow violence” of state abandonment. We will develop an analysis of the intersectional production of vulnerabilities at EU borders both physical and virtual. Examining the ways in which legislation and policy that prioritise security and control produce violence and insecurity for those crossing borders. How can we change policy to seek to balance legal and safe migration pathways, improve reception conditions, and fostering genuine cooperation among Member States recognises the right to free movement.

Main Research Outcome   

The expected outcomes are reflected in the creation of a solid and mature research group by the end of the CLUSTER’s lifespan and share working methods to highlight the vulnerabilities at the border, scientifically study their causes and ways to mitigate them, raise public awareness about the need to eradicate these situations, and provide civil society with strategies and tools to help prevent them.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Lucas Andrés Pérez Martín. Lecturer. Private International Law. University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. lucas.perez@ulpgc.es

Keywords

Climate change – climate/environmental migration – forced displacement – sustainable development – UN 2030 Agenda

Main Research Objective

The main objective of the cluster is to establish an interdisciplinary research group working on urgent, contemporary and interrelated issues related to climate change, environmental migration and sustainable development.

On the one hand, the aim of the cluster will be to understand how climate/environmental migration can be managed and regulated through a sustainable development approach, in full compatibility with the goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.

On the other hand, the cluster will examine whether and how an appropriate and coherent management of climate-induced migration can potentially contribute to a shift towards sustainability of society, leading to an improvement of the well-being of the community, through a rational use of resources and without exacerbating structural inequalities or unequal burdens on environmental resources.

It therefore seems necessary to study these issues from a complex perspective, involving and stimulating a dialogue between several scientific disciplines.

The aim of the cluster is to create a permanent network of researchers and to activate an instrument of scientific collaboration with the aim of collecting the knowledge and research results and making them available to students, doctoral students, researchers and, in general, to the entire scientific community of the various participating universities.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person

Scientific Coordinator: Andrea Caligiuri (University of Macerata), andrea.caligiuri@unimc.it

Principal Investigator: Elena Ardito (University of Macerata), e.ardito@unimc.it

Keywords

Post/Transhumanism;  Practical Philosophy;           Well-being; Artificial Intelligence (AI); Human Subjectivity; Ecological Crises; Video Games

Main Research Objective

Our research is situated within the dual framework of the interrelated fields of posthuman and transhuman studies, which involve different epistemological approaches (practice-based research, philosophy of technology, media studies, literature and sociology), and practical philosophy, which is the field where fundamental philosophical questions are worked out in real life. We will explore the challenges of the post-pandemic era by critically examining how digital technologies and AI are reshaping human subjectivity and redefining well-being in general. Both post/transhumanist studies and practical philosophy are concerned with how we can face the impasses and distortions associated with the end(s) of humanism, and how we can cope with and possibly go beyond the multiple crises of humanism, especially as today’s digital technologies of inscription and preservation have ushered in a radical reconfiguration of human relations to the world and to knowledge, outlining a probable mutation in our understanding of the human subject. On the other hand, well-being, from a highly materialistic conception linked to patterns of consumption that are becoming a humanist distortion, needs to be taken out of its humanist context and placed in a post-humanist framework.

The Research cluster aims at:

Skill Development for Early-Career Researchers – enhancing networking and research capabilities, supported by access to ERUA’s digital tools and non-academic networks like heritage institutions and NGOs.

Enhanced Multilateral Collaboration – fostering long-term cooperation within the ERUA framework while applying for external funding at both national and European levels. We will help candidates apply for an Access ERC Starting grant with the French ANR (or equivalent) and try to obtain a two-year postdoctoral contract leading to the submission of ERC starting grants by the most promising early career researchers involved in the program.

Mobility and Capacity Building – student and staff exchanges, with additional external funding for researchers, promoting international collaboration and training. We will try to build an MSCA doctoral network as well as a COST interdisciplinary research network involving researchers from other European and extra-European institutions.

Integration of Artistic Research: Artistic media and practices will be incorporated into research, highlighting material, spatial, and performative dimensions to expand knowledge production.

Sustainable Research Ecosystem: Cross-disciplinary and transmedial strategies will create a framework to address societal challenges, blending artistic and scientific methodologies under a post-/transhumanist critique. We will expand the Beyond Humanism network to the Alliance.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Arnaud Regnauld, full professor, aregnauld@univ-paris8.fr

Keywords

Sustainable development goals; equality and inclusion; socio-environmental and restorative justice; human right to cultural heritage; digital humanities; ecologies of practice

Main Research Objective

The research cluster will open avenues for academic exchange and new opportunities for collaboration on the role and use of heritage in multicultural societies and environmental transitions, as a tool of resilience to mitigate the effects of social trauma, migration and climate change, and as a vehicle for restorative justice, equality and sustainable futures for peoples, communities and territories.

The challenge is to identify theoretical and methodological approaches that enable the generation of new, self-reflexive and policy-oriented knowledge, to unpack definitions of what heritage is and when it happens, and to assess how cultural pathways, participatory governance and digital media could stimulate the emergence of alternative and dissonant heritage communities.

By integrating critical heritage studies, legal philosophy, best practices in community management and sustainable business models, the cluster aims to enhance internal and external collaboration with research partners and to increase the attractiveness of ERUA for students and early career researchers, as well as its impact on the wider scientific community and the general public.

The Cluster also aims to:

Lay the groundwork for a joint degree in Critical Heritage Studies.

Build and share knowledge on interdisciplinary methodologies and comparative perspectives on community-based archaeological heritage practices and the global/local governance of environmental transition.

Improve training opportunities for postgraduate students and early career researchers.

Foster collaborative actions between cluster participants.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person

Dr Francesco Orlandi, Research Fellow, francesco.orlandi@unimc.it

Keywords

Researcher Mobility, Verifiable Credentials, Transparency, Trust, Inclusion, Security, Interoperability

Main Research Objective   

The research cluster seeks to advance researcher mobility and transparency within the ERUA Research Cluster Initiative, aligned with the principles of the Human Resources Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R). The focus is on exploring how digital technologies, particularly verifiable credentials, can revolutionize the way researchers’ qualifications and career progressions are recognized across institutions. This interdisciplinary initiative brings together expertise from fields such as human resource management, information technology, identity management, data security, inclusion and gender equality, as well as education and research policy.

The primary objective is to develop an architectural framework for a system that issues verifiable digital credentials, representing researchers’ career stages (R1 to R4) as outlined in their contractual agreements with universities. The project aims to address key research questions while leveraging emerging technologies to align with the HRS4R goals, ultimately striving to build a more transparent, inclusive, and equitable research environment.

The proposed framework is designed to empower researchers by enabling the maintenance of a digital portfolio. By enhancing transparency and facilitating recognition of these credentials, the framework aims to support professional development and career progression.

Furthermore, it will promote researcher mobility and collaboration, ensuring fair recognition of experience and qualifications across institutions, while streamlining recruitment processes.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person

Dr. Κaterina Ksystra, Researcher, katerinaksystra@aegean.gr

Keywords     

Air, resilience, quality of life, epidemic modelling, environmental awareness, ecocriticism, environmental injustice

Main Research Objective   

The ERUAIR cluster seeks to explore, within and through the various disciplines, a deeper understanding and interpretation of the relationship between living beings – primarily humans – and the element of air. Underlying this investigation is the desire to fully offer a definition of quality of life for citizens that gives air the centrality it deserves and can thus participate in redefining European and international environmental policies in a scientific and comprehensive manner.

The research carried out so far in the environmental context has neither given the necessary space to the topic nor offered a multifocal investigation. Therefore, the main objective of our interdisciplinary project is to establish air as a key factor in the definition of quality of life, considering pivotal aspects such as resilience, gender innovation, environmental injustice, and ecocriticism. Thanks to an interdisciplinary and intercultural perspective that ranges from epidemic modelling to aesthetic artefacts, from Europe to China, we will engage in fostering and enhancing a new global environmental awareness focused on air.

The Research Cluster will enhance its cooperation with research infrastructures/institutes with which we already have strong relationships (such as Global resilience institute (Boston); European Academy of Management (EURAM); Kobe Institute for Atmospheric Studies; For the Nature Coalition (Bulgaria); Air for Health Association; Laboratory of Practices of Sustainable Development (New Bulgarian University); PLACE FOR FUTURE Transdisciplinary International Education Network of Sustainable Development and Civic Participation; Greek Environmental Science; Hellenic Association for Information and Communication Technologies in Agriculture, Food & Environment (HAICTA); Greek Ecological Science).

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Scientific coordinator: Selusi Ambrogio, University of Macerata, selusi.ambrogio@unimc.it

Keywords     

Inclusion and gender equality – gendered innovations – intersectional analysis – AI – technology – leadership and entrepreneurship

Main Research Objective   

The main aim of the research cluster on gendered innovations is to discuss, analyse and highlight the significance of gender as an analytical and methodological tool in order to discuss and understand discrimination and power relations, to educate on a more non discriminatory and equal basis, to view science and technology from a different perspective.

The objectives of the research cluster include but are not limited the following:

1. 1. bring together academia, communities and social actors
   2. present and discuss experiences and perspectives on gendered innovation initiatives and practices
   3. provide with new opportunities
   4. improve skills connected with innovation.

Main Research Outcome   

The main research outcomes include but are not limited the following:

• Training activities: the production of online modules. For example, a training module on Gender and AI would introduce participants to gender inequalities in AI technology that generate discrimination in all realms of economic, political and social life, torpedoing thus social cohesion.
• Organizing a joint academic workshop
• Preparation of a common research proposal on gendered innovation that could be submitted for European funding

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Venetia Kantsa, Professor in Social Anthropology, Department of Social Anthopology and History, University of the Aegean – vkantsa@aegean.gr

Keywords     

Birth rate, equality, family roles, parental identity, reproduction, stress

Main Research Objective   

This research cluster explores the evolving roles of mothers and fathers in the European Union, focusing on the equality and inequality of parental responsibilities. Specifically, it will investigate the disparities in the time and emotional burden between parents, their social and psychological effects, and the influence on family planning decisions, particularly emphasizing the low fertility rates in EU countries.

We will investigate how the unequal distribution of parental responsibilities between mothers and fathers affects parents’ mental health, career progression, and social well-being. We also review the effectiveness of current family policies in the EU, such as parental leave and childcare support, in promoting gender equality (Rodríguez, 2018).

We will explore how modern fatherhood expectations influence men’s psychological health and family dynamics in developed countries and assess the impact of paternal engagement in caregiving on societal perceptions of masculinity and the tensions it creates (Taniguchi et al., 2015).

We will examine how equality or inequality in parental duties impacts decisions about having additional children (e.g., second or third child), considering the declining fertility rates across the EU (Puur et al., 2008).

The declining birth rates in many EU countries are not solely due to a reduction in people having children but because families choose to have fewer children than in previous generations (Casse et al., 2018). This research cluster will provide policy recommendations to address this trend, helping countries promote gender equality in parenting roles and, in turn, potentially influence procreation decisions.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Dr. Konrad Piotrowski, Assoc. Professor, SWPS University,

e-mail: konrad.piotrowski@swps.edu.pl

Keywords     

Historical Legacies; Collective Memory; National Identity; Reconciliation; European Identity

Main Research Objective   

The research cluster aims to explore how the legacies of various historical powers and occupations – whether political, cultural, or economic – have influenced historical narratives, collective memory, and national identities across Europe. The research examines how institutionalized memories, which can be contested or manipulated, impact reconciliation processes and the development of authentic commemoration practices. By investigating these dynamics across both Western and Eastern European contexts, this project assesses the interplay between law, memory, and reconciliation, contributing to contemporary debates on European identity, ethical memory practices, and the role of historical monuments and places.

This research is valuable because it addresses how contested historical narratives and public memory shape national identities and societal cohesion, ultimately contributing to the broader challenge of reconciliation and fostering a more inclusive understanding of history in Europe. Furthermore, it emphasizes the significance of the past in informing the future of democracy in Europe, highlighting the need for democratic practices rooted in a comprehensive understanding of historical contexts.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person         .

Dr. Dovilė Sagatienė, Assoc. Prof., Mykolas Romeris University, dovile.sagatiene@mruni.eu

Dr. Filip Cyuńczyk, Assoc. Prof., SWPS University, fcyunczyk@swps.edu.pl

Keywords     

Creative Activity & imagination, local practices, social sustainability, ethnographic methods, feminist science, STS, Arts

Main Research Objective   

The Research Cluster aims to:

Install/open in the scientific community the development of approaches grounded in Feminist Science and Technology Studies (STS), sensory studies, the historical and cultural vision of creativity that connects humans to their living environments.

Identify artists who explore their material and immaterial territory, who develop a vision of art that helps to make society, who talk about migration, exiles, common goods, heritage, cultural and economic dimensions (management of environmental resources, development of ancestral knowledge and know-how), and who involve inhabitant in their approaches, using photography, theatre, dance.

Share empirical studies involving artists at work, artists who account for the difficulties of integration and exile, the problems posed by migration, who explore the territorial dimensions of the commons or who are engaged with problems of the climate crises, or health.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Dr. Françoise Decortis, Professor, University Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis, francoise.decortis@univ-paris8.fr

Dr. Katia Dupret, Associate Professor, Roskilde University, katia@ruc.dk

Keywords     

Digital Transition; Digital Inclusion; Vital Societal Functions; Societal Resilience; Digital Technologies, Digital Law; Complex social Problems.

Main Research Objective   

The main objective of the cluster is the interdisciplinary exploration and explanation of the complex dynamics determining inclusion and exclusion of individuals and groups in increasingly digitalized societies, to support the development of alternatives roadmaps towards a digital transition that is not only inclusive, but also safe, sustainable, and democratic.

We aim to:

Increase the awareness of the various social challenges emerging from digital exclusion of individuals and groups in present and future societies undergoing a digital transition.

Identify and explain of less understood, yet critical issues in in digital inclusion, such as for example the emerging case of willful exclusion.

Derive interdisciplinary principles and frameworks to aid the development of robust knowledge-based policies and practices at national and European level.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Dr Sergio Jofre,  Human-Environment-Technology (HET) Systems Centre, Mykolas Romeris University (MRU), Vilnius Lithuania.

Email: s.jofre@mruni.eu

Keywords     

Migration, refugees, irregular migrants, inclusion, human rights,

Main Research Objective   

The cluster aims at the critical analysis of the ways in which the mixed migration flows are welcomed and integrated into European society, while building a holistic and innovative approach that could positively contribute to the shaping of a more welcoming and sustainable society. Analyses will cover local, national and European policies and practices on access to territory, policies for inclusion. The aim is to work with local communities and the host society on existing attitudes and to overcome securitarian narratives as well as misinformation about migration crises.

Thus, the specific key objectives of the project are:

А multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis of the existing policies and practices at local, national and EU level in the field of migration and asylum

A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis of the intersectional barriers faced by migrants and refugees on their path to inclusion in local communities and societies in the EU

A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis of public attitudes towards migrants/refugees in Europe with a focus on xenophobic narratives and symbolic universes of rejection

A multilevel and multidisciplinary analysis of migrant workers in terms of their contribution to the home and host societies.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Associate Professor, Evelina Staykova, New Bulgarian University, staikova@gmail.com

Keywords     

Language, language policies, intercultural communication, technologies, social integration

Main Research Objective   

The cluster’s main aim is to advance research on multilingual language policies and multicultural cohesion, addressing challenges of the data-driven era and enhancing societal progress through effective intercultural communication in transdisciplinary professional contexts, such as educational settings and other socially relevant fields.

The Main Objectives are:

1. Technology and Data Management: Enable technology and data in social systems to enhance organizational efficiency and foster societal development.
2. Language Policies: Evaluate language policies and practices in education and administration across ERUA universities to promote linguistically inclusive intercultural communication and digital support in educational settings.
3. Language for Academic Purposes (LAP) and Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) Teaching: Investigate how AI and other digital tools impact the teaching and learning of LAP and LSP, focusing on new learner needs, and enhancing domain-specific knowledge, transferable soft skills, and digital competencies for diverse intercultural and multilingual professional contexts.
4. Multilingual Terminology: Conduct data-driven research on multilingual terminology in transdisciplinary fields to support the understanding of specialized knowledge-building mechanisms and their linguistic representation across languages, ensuring consistent intercultural communication in professional environments.
5. Intercultural Digital Communication: Promote research on intercultural digital communication in transdisciplinary professional environments to enhance collaboration, mutual understanding, digital innovation and respect for cultural diversity.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Prof. Dr. Giedre Valunaite Oleskeviciene, gvalunaite@mruni.eu

Prof. Dr. Sigita Rackeviciene, sigita.rackeviciene@mruni.eu

Keywords                  

International human rights adjudication; Deliberative constitutionalism

Main Research Objective               

The scope of the Research Cluster is to contribute to the understanding of the relationship between civil society and judicial review in deliberative constitutional systems/between civil society and international courts dealing with the safeguard of fundamental rights.

On the one hand, the Research Cluster seeks to find and analyze in empirical terms the degree of representativeness and reflectiveness of constitutional courts. On the other hand, the research intends to develop a comprehensive theoretical and practical perspective on how to design, implement, and assess more inclusive participatory processes for national and international human rights adjudication for minorities and marginalized groups.

From a practical point of view, the Research Cluster seeks to provide tangible institutional alternatives designed to address systemic exclusion and inequalities within the deliberation process. The overarching aim is, indeed, to develop concrete and feasible institutional proposals that take into account the protection of fundamental rights, along with the need of unrepresented groups for

The ultimate aim of the Research Cluster is to influence current national and international standards of civic engagement in constitutional and international human rights adjudication. The present research is expected to re-frame public perception on the Rule of Law and human rights values, with particular attention to minorities, vulnerabilities, equality and intersectionality.

Two years from now, the Research Cluster, through the development of the present research proposal, is expected to create a solid network of researchers and partners able to work on European projects in order to enhance the visibility of the research.

It is also possible to imagine that Research Cluster will acquire a legal entity, through the establishment of a Committee, Observatory or Association with the aim to spread the core European values. And this commitment would be further consolidated if the Research Cluster could find forms of collaboration with the ERUA Advocacy Group, in which some of the members of the Cluster already participate.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person                    

Dr. Benedetta Barbisan, Associate Professor, benedetta.barbisan@unimc.it

Keywords     

Inclusive Design, Interaction Design, Transmedia Design

Main Research Objective   

The aim of the cluster is to provide notions, tools and strategies to design and experience inclusive arts by facilitating the access of artists to new technologies, and by investigating the experience of artistic works in public spaces, via the following research areas:

IMAGINE XARTS

The first topic focuses on practice based research methodology to investigate virtual production pipelines on Extended Arts using transmedia design frameworks. IMAGINE stands for Interactive Media,  Animation, Games, Interactive Networked Environments, the main new media platforms that are accessible by Digital Art practitioners.

ARCHIVE FOR THE FUTURE

The second topic records Extended Arts practices by allowing world-class artists to collaborate with university laboratories to realize their artistic project. Both artistic productions and the making of the artworks will be archived in a Digital Archive for the Future.

INCLUSIVE PUBLIC ART

The third topic of the cluster is interested in the accessibility of Extended Arts in public spaces. Research partners will be involved in the support of Artists in Residence, producing inclusive artworks. After implementation of the selected artworks, new research will focus on the reception of the artworks by the public.

The cluster is envisioned as the prefiguration of a European Doctoral School, organizing co-tutelle doctoral research, common research projects, intensive seminars and symposia, publishing research outcomes, and exhibiting practice based research.

It also aimes to deliver an online reference hub, specially designed as mentioned above; a number of publications that will appear in scientific journals and books and to develop a network of collaborations, which will develop new research programs and digital artistic projects.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person        

Dr. Panagiotis Kyriakoulakos, Assistant Professor in Computer Animation, University of the Aegean, pank@aegean.gr

Dr. Modestos Stavrakis, Assistant Professor in Interaction Design, University of the Aegean, modestos@aegean.gr

Keywords     

Transformative social innovation, entrepreneurship, environmental transition, sustainable development, transformative change

Main Research Objective

The main aim of our Research Cluster is to engage all team members in interdisciplinary research, with focus on social innovation and entrepreneurship, combined with environmental issues. We aim at creating frameworks for social innovations and models of collaborations for environmental change, with its impact on legislation, public policies, society, economic change – within sustainable development on the regional and international level, to ensure synergy effects of our collaborations. We are also open to invite more universities to this cluster, and include other fields of science (natural sciences, STEM).

We are going to explore the challenge of environmental transition in various dimensions:

• Intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration according to Quintuple Innovation Helix including University, NGOs, Business, Public Administration and Natural Environment
• Transformative behaviours related to environment and biodiversity protection – Social entrepreneurship, start-ups, technology and grassroots innovations aimed at protecting natural environment
• University and student’s engagement in transformative processes
• Psychological perceptions and emotional reaction to climate change.

We will be exploring, how to implement our research into activities (of students, scholars, etc) – by creating models, frameworks for all stakeholders that will be testing the results of our research topics, in order to achieve social change in practice.

For more specifics on the cluster objectives, activities, and for the list of participating scientists and partners please click here.

Contact Person

Agnieszka Młodzińska-Granek, PhD, amlodzinska-granek@swps.edu.pl