21-COP-0049 - STRATEGIC INTERUNIVERSITY COOPERATION TO IMPROVE RESEARCH ABILITIES FOR Ph.D. STUDENTS FOR HIGHER EDUCATIONAL QUALITY

About this project

<p>Currently, there is a gap between the available education for students at the doctoral level and the technologies used in research laboratories. This gap is leading to an underqualified workforce that is not competitive enough for the international research job market. The aim of this project is to strengthen the institutional cooperation between the two partner institutions by developing a novel educational module for Ph.D. students through innovative teaching methodologies. The target group for this project is represented by Ph.D. students from the two universities that will have the opportunity to attend the course on RNA epigenetics as part of their Doctoral Studies curriculum and early-career researchers that will participate in the workshops developed in the project.<br> The intellectual outputs of this project will include a book on RNA epigenetics and non-coding RNA and an educational module on RNA Epigenetics for Ph.D. students. Additional activities will include workshops on RNA Epigenetics and non-coding RNA that will be taught by the staff from the two partner institutions. Moreover, multiplier events during which the intellectual outputs will be presented will be organized during the implementation period.<br> The project envisages directly impacting the new generations of Ph.D. students from both universities and increasing their abilities in advanced genetics and genomics through access to the intellectual outputs developed in the project. The educational module will remain an integrated part of the School of Doctoral studies curriculum and will be available for interested Ph.D. students.<br> The educational module and intellectual outputs developed in the project will serve as a model for inter-institutional collaboration for closing the gap between research education and practice with the possibility of transferability and applicability to other institutions.</p>

Bilateral cooperation results

The consortium of the project is developed between two leading institutions in biomedical research - "I. Hatieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy and Oslo University Hospital - that, through this project, joined forces to develop an educational module for Ph.D. students from both universities that enhanced research abilities and attractiveness on the job market of the participants. Our two institutions have earlier collaborated to jointly apply for the EEA grants in 2019 and since then, we've been in regular contact. This project helped us strengthen our cooperation, actively work together and create synergies between our teams for the years to follow. In addition, both teams expanded their collaboration through networking events with other staff from the two institutions, therefor we expect to have more joint projects submitted in the future from the two institutions. Each institution was an essential player for the project’s success and had a major role throughout the implementation period. The collaboration between our institution is continuing even after the end of this project and we are currently developing joint-research projects on the field of brain tumors and RNA epigenetics in which PhDs and post-docs from both institutions are working. Additionally, at the Department of Molecular Medicine, the Norwegian partner and others have contributed to several seminal discoveries in the nascent field of RNA epigenetics, therefore we are planning to continue the collaborations in the field of young researchers training.

Project partners

• Oslo University Hospital Donor project partner· Norway