News

16 May 2024, Lisbon, Portugal. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and NOVA University of Lisbon, in collaboration with the Portuguese National Erasmus+ Agency, organised the UfM Higher Education Stakeholders’ Meeting, which took place on 16 May 2024 in Lisbon. The event was attended by approximately 40 participants, including university rectors and directors of regional higher education networks. The opening of the event featured remarks from Fernando Alexandre, Portuguese Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, João Sàágua, Rector of NOVA University, and Itaf Ben Abdallah, UfM Senior Advisor on Higher Education and Research. Additionally, there were online contributions from representatives… read more

16-18 April 2024, Brussels – The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the European Commission announced the launch of the Euro-Mediterranean Hub for Research and Innovation (R&I) during a series of R&I events held within the framework of UNIMED Week in Brussels. This groundbreaking initiative aims to serve as a pivotal platform for learning and collaboration, fostering Mediterranean cooperation while advancing the UfM Regional Policy Dialogue on R&I. The Hub will play a crucial role in facilitating the implementation of R&I roadmaps focusing on critical areas such as health, renewable energies, and climate change. The newly inaugurated portal, accessible at… read more

The Workshop on Green Skills in the Mediterranean, held in Zaragoza, Spain, addressed high unemployment rates and skills gaps in the region, emphasizing the role of education and research in fostering sustainable food systems and careers. It attracted participants from 15 Euro Mediterranean countries, representing academia, industry, policymakers, and civil society, highlighting the event’s multi-sectoral approach to sustainability and regional collaboration. The workshop aimed to inspire participants to integrate green skills into academic curricula and professional practices, focusing on technical green skills related to sustainable food systems. Through interactive sessions, participants developed strategies for incorporating green skills into their work…. read more

Naples, 15 November 2023. Innovation, employability, and the green transition are interrelated challenges that require cooperation across societal pillars, such as universities and research centers, industry and governments, as highlighted in the UfM Ministerial Declaration on Research and Innovation (2022). In order to explore policies and initiatives that contribute to this dialogue, a conference was organized by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), also as part of the activities part of the Mediterranean Day (28 November). The primary aim was to explore the requirements and possibilities for strengthening collaborative endeavors among Academia,… read more

3 October 2023, Barcelona – The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Science Diplomacy, co-organised by the Union for the Mediterranean in partnership with the European Commission, took place with the aim of highlighting state-of-art of science diplomacy in the Mediterranean, its obstacles and opportunities, and discussing future steps. More than 80 people from 22 countries attended, including scientists, diplomats, and research and innovation officials who had been welcomed the evening prior to Antoni Gaudí’s La Pedrera to learn about La Pedrera Foundation’s Science Academy. Participants exchanged ideas on highly relevant topics such as research infrastructures, mobility and training, and science advice for… read more

July 2023, Barcelona – Research and innovation are key for innovating the Mediterranean economies and for employing its students and researchers. Structured dialogue between academia, business sector and policymakers is a powerful way to connect this sector more closely with the regional sustainable economy agenda. While the region experiences high rates of graduate unemployment, 32% of enterprises in some Southern Mediterranean countries have identified labour skill levels as a major constraint to hiring. With the support of the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) has launched since 2020 a series of activities facilitating exchanges between the… read more

Through a partnership between the two institutions, students on the South Mediterranean have received high-level financial and political expertise on the Euro-Mediterranean policies and financial opportunities offered by the EIB. Barcelona, April 2023. Starting in November 2022 and until March 2023, the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Investment Bank have piloted trainings as proofs of concept with three initial Mediterranean Universities in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. The aim was to bring for the first time trainings tailored to the needs of the receiving Universities, on fields such as the EU financial architecture for development, the mandate of the UfM… read more

17 March 2023, Alicante. The UfM Higher Education Stakeholders’ Meeting aimed at discussing and exchanging on how to lay concrete foundations for regional close cooperation in the field of Higher Education. The meeting, organized by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and Casa Mediterráneo in Alicante was attended by over 70 people, including representatives of higher education institutions and networks, ministries in charge of higher education, and the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture of the European Commission. The event sought to gather feedback from key Euro-Mediterranean higher education stakeholders in view of preparing the first UfM Ministerial Conference… read more

A roundtable discussion on research and innovation and PRIMA projects was held in Egypt during an Italian-led mission on Agriculture, Agri-food and Food Security. The UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel highlighted the important contribution of PRIMA to the UfM framework, and the need to upscale research projects at Mediterranean level 13-15 March 2023, Cairo – Climate change, the war in Ukraine and its repercussions on food security, along with the need for economic growth and youth employment, all call for common actions between the North and the South of the Mediterranean for increasing resilience of agri-food value chains. Against these… read more

Building on the outcomes of the UfM Ministerial Conference on Research and Innovation held in June 2022, the UfM co-organised an event on the ‘International Cooperation in Research and Innovation (R&I) for Mediterranean resilience – Launch of Mediterranean Initiative: Horizon Europe WP 2023-2024’, together with the European Commission and the EU Delegation in Cairo. The Mediterranean Initiative included in the Horizon Europe Work Programme brings new significant opportunities for Mediterranean research stakeholders Cairo, 30-31 January 2023. For the first time ever, the Horizon Europe 2022-2023 programme is foreseeing a “Mediterranean Initiative”. This series of R&I calls, open to Mediterranean countries… read more