Its aim is to strengthen academic and scientific cooperation within the alliance and to promote activities among teaching and research staff and students from different institutions and countries

The Aurora alliance has launched the third edition of the Call for Incentive Research & Education Collaboration 2026, an initiative that supports collaborative projects among universities within the network and, as a new feature, includes projects that combine research and education.

The aim of this call is to strengthen academic and scientific cooperation within the alliance and to promote activities that connect teaching staff, researchers and students from different European institutions. In this third edition, the budget has been increased to €240,000 to support joint initiatives with long-term impact.

The 2024 and 2025 editions of this call raised significant interest within the URV community, with a total of twelve funded projects led by or involving the university.

The deadline to submit applications for this third call is 17 April 2026.

Projects integrating research and education

One of the highlights of this call is the possibility of submitting mixed projects that combine research components with educational activities. These initiatives can serve as a basis for developing new international learning opportunities, such as blended intensive programmes (BIP), micro-credentials, or future joint programmes among Aurora universities.

In addition to mixed projects, the call continues to support other forms of academic collaboration that contribute to building research communities within the alliance and addressing societal challenges from different disciplines.

The call includes three main key actions:

• Exploratory projects in collaborative research and education. This action supports projects that contribute to advancing knowledge and addressing societal challenges. They may focus solely on building a research community or combine research and education components.
• Thematic schools and intensive research seminars. This action supports intensive training activities for master’s students and early-stage researchers.
• Grants for research or training stays for early-stage researchers. This action supports short-term mobility (up to three months) for doctoral researchers undertaking a stay in a laboratory or research unit at a university that is a member of Aurora 2030.

Proposals must involve at least three Aurora member universities and may address any discipline, although alignment with the alliance’s priority thematic areas—such as sustainability, health, digital society or social innovation—will be highly valued.

Cross-disciplinary and transnational collaboration

This initiative is part of Aurora’s strategy to strengthen the integration of research, education and innovation within the European Higher Education Area. In the case of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), it aligns with actions that promote cross-disciplinary research and innovation, as well as the internationalisation of the curriculum and teaching. These objectives are reflected respectively in the Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation (PERI), the Strategic Plan for Internationalisation (PEI) and the Strategic Plan for Teaching (PLED). These strategic lines reinforce URV’s commitment to becoming an increasingly international, collaborative and globally engaged university, connected to major global challenges.