Empowering human resources in research and innovation (R&I) through advanced training, strengthening mobility between academic and non-academic sectors, and developing policies that foster more attractive, interoperable, and sustainable careers are the primary objectives of the new European project entitled LETSGROW, led by the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Funded by ERA TALENTS under the European HORIZON WIDERA 2024 call, this initiative brings together 11 partners from seven European countries, including seven academic institutions from the Transform4Europe university alliance and four non-academic entities, comprising a company, an industrial park, a technological centre, and LIPOR.
Strategic Pillars
Over the course of four years, LETSGROW aims to promote career paths that transcend sectoral and geographical boundaries by implementing structured mobility mechanisms between academic and non-academic sectors. The project seeks to prepare R&I professionals with the necessary skills to address major global challenges in the agri-food sector—such as food security, climate change, and sustainability—by combining excellence in research, practical experience, and applied innovation.
LETSGROW stems from the need to make R&I careers more interoperable, enabling them to cross sectoral and geographical boundaries and promoting the recognition of researchers’ careers and trajectories across various sectors, thereby contributing to the development of concrete solutions to real-world problems. To this end, the project focuses on three strategic pillars:
- Excellence in training – with 37 activities covering topics such as R&I management, entrepreneurship, open science, and emerging technologies;
- Structured mobility – through the implementation of Personal Career Development Plans, including research and institutional capacity-building mobilities, supported by mentoring systems and reintegration plans;
- Career policy and ecosystem development – involving ecosystem needs mapping, the creation of a Community of Practice, co-creation workshops, and the drafting of a policy brief with recommendations to promote more attractive and sustainable R&I careers.
LIPOR’s Participation
LIPOR’s participation in the project aims to:
- Promote knowledge transfer between LIPOR and European academic institutions through mobility initiatives and participation in training activities.
- Build the capacity of 8 talents in the areas of research and development and innovation management.
- Test sustainable solutions with practical applicability in LIPOR’s services and operations through 7 mobility exchanges from academic institutions to LIPOR.
Consortium
The project consortium includes Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Portugal), LIPOR (Portugal), Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski” (Bulgaria), Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), UAB Nando (Lithuania), University of Silesia in Katowice (Poland), University of Primorska (Slovenia), Saarland University (Germany), University of Alicante (Spain), the National Technology Centre for Canning (Spain), and the University of Alicante Science Park (Spain).
Coordinate by Universidade Católica Portuguesa consolidates its role as a European leader in the training of researchers and science managers, positioning itself as a bridge between academic knowledge and practical application. The coordination of LETSGROW reflects the University’s scientific, organisational, and strategic capacity to lead multidisciplinary and intersectoral consortia within the European Research Area.
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