The ULPGC has raised nearly half a million euros by obtaining the EXPER project (EXcellent Peripheries for a strong European Reseach area), which aims to improve and enhance the research and innovation capabilities of the universities participating in the project, as well as to strengthen their role as a driver of economic and social transformation of their territories. This management has been carried out by the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transfer, together with the European Projects Office of the ULPGC, under the direction of Dr. Marisol Izquierdo, Vice-Rector of this area. The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria will coordinate this project, funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.
EXPER will be based on the principles of open research and innovation, promoting throughout the project the participation of companies, policy makers, civil society organisations and citizens in general in the design of the research and innovation policies of the institution. To achieve this goal, EXPER includes among its partners a set of key actors within the Gran Canarian ecosystem of research, innovation and knowledge transfer, such as the Society for Economic Promotion of Gran Canaria (SPEGC), the Canarian Association of Startups, Technology-Based Companies and Angel Investors (EMERGE), the company Consulta Europa, specialised in research, education and innovation projects, and the Technological Institute of the Canary Islands (ITC). The University of the Azores, the University of Calabria and the University of Rostock are also partners in the project.
The EXPER project, whose principal investigators will be Dr. Juan Alberto Corbera, Director of Research Human Resources of the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transfer, and Dr. Aridane González, Director of Research and Technological Development of the Vice-Rectorate for Research and Transfer, will revolve around three main pillars:
- Excellent and responsible research, encompassing the pooling of research capabilities and resources through collaborative environments, including the creation of networks to solicit and develop new multidisciplinary research projects.
- Enhancing research careers as a mechanism to avoid brain drain, including the promotion of gender equality and diversity.
- Cooperation with the key agents of the research and innovation ecosystem around the universities involved, including the reinforcement of their research results transfer offices and the creation of university spinoffs.
Likewise, in a transversal way to these axes, the EXPER project also considers as one of its main objectives the preparation of a joint strategy for the establishment of a European University Alliance involving the universities participating in this project.
