The University strengthens its European profile and positions itself as a key actor in shaping the continent’s scientific future

Since joining Aurora in 2019, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) has progressively increased its presence in European research projects. A notable example is the Aurora Research and Innovation project, in which URV plays an active role, contributing to connected and shared research aimed at addressing global challenges through knowledge generated within a network.

This commitment strengthens URV’s European profile and positions it as a key actor in shaping the continent’s scientific future. Concrete actions include the Call for Incentive Research and Education Collaboration 2026 – Aurora universities and the twelve different projects funded in the 2024 and 2025 calls. This initiative funds exploratory projects and thematic schools, mobility opportunities for predoctoral researchers, and teaching and scientific cooperation initiatives among Aurora partners.

Eduard Mir, a predoctoral researcher affiliated with the Mathematical Linguistics Research Group, describes his three-month stay at the University of Naples Federico II: “I went there with a computing team to help me with the quantitative part of my thesis, and I have noticed a significant qualitative leap in my research. It also helped me connect with colleagues from other Aurora universities working on related topics, and we have started collaborating with each other.”

Doctoral networks and social transfer

Another example of European collaboration is the SEIZMIC doctoral network, funded by the MSCA Doctoral Network programme and coordinated by Copenhagen Business School. This project, which emerged from contacts established within Aurora, brings together European universities and institutions to place social entrepreneurship at the centre of research and doctoral training.

URV’s participation contributes to training doctoral candidates in initiatives related to social entrepreneurship and the development of spin-off projects that connect academic knowledge with business practice, with the aim of generating a tangible impact on society.

Within the framework of SEIZMIC, professors Xiaoni Li and Xavier Càmara, from the Business Management Department, organise the BIP Financial Planning for Social Entrepreneurs, a week-long training programme at URV for doctoral candidates from the network. The activity combines academic training with immersion in the local entrepreneurship ecosystem, highlighting the connection between business and territory.

Resources and opportunities for the research community

Aurora offers the university community a comprehensive ecosystem to support research: an interactive resource map, open science repositories included in OpenAIRE , the SDG Research Dashboard to measure impact on the Sustainable Development Goals, and training programmes in digital and methodological skills such as Python, R, and Open Science.

At the same time, the alliance promotes a cross-cutting strategy in open science that goes beyond technical infrastructures. Courses, workshops and talks are organised to facilitate the practical implementation of principles such as open access, responsible data management, research reproducibility, and citizen participation in research. This approach aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals and with European priorities in international cooperation and partnerships between regions.

In addition, Aurora contributes to the European debate on new models for research assessment, promoted by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA), which advocates for more inclusive and qualitative criteria. The aim is to move beyond exclusive reliance on bibliometric indicators and to give greater recognition to societal impact, interdisciplinarity, and open contributions to knowledge.

As Urbano Lorenzo, Vice-Rector for Scientific Policy and Interdisciplinary Projects, highlights, membership in Aurora is a strategic lever for implementing the Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation 2024–27 (PERI): “Within Aurora we strengthen our focus on interdisciplinarity, as it facilitates the creation of transnational teams. At the same time, it expands opportunities to attract talent and secure competitive European funding. Active participation in networks and joint projects increases our international visibility and consolidates URV as a relevant actor in the European research area.”