Friday 24 September marked the 2021 edition of European Researchers’ Night (ERN), the Europe-wide event which takes place every year on the last Friday of September. The aim of the initiative is to bring research and researchers closer to the public, displaying the diversity of science and its impact on citizens' daily lives. The LifeWatch ERIC Common Facility in Spain celebrated the occasion by taking part in ERN Seville (Spain), setting up its own designated area in the Plaza de San Francisco. Here it presented the SUMHAL Project (Sustainability for Mediterranean Hotspots in Andalusia integrating LifeWatch ERIC), which is supported...

The LifeWatch ERIC 2020 Activities Report, reflecting on LifeWatch ERIC's operations and accomplishments over the year of reference, has been published. The document, which can be viewed and downloaded below, contextualises LifeWatch ERIC’s position in the European and global landscape of Research Infrastructures and is an invaluable reference on the organisation's vision, staff, projects, financial performance and governance. Furthermore, it explores how the infrastructure adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic, going into detail on the progress the ERIC made in the face of unusual circumstances. In the foreword, Gert Verreet, Chair of the LifeWatch ERIC General Assembly for...

The ENVRI Community International School 2021 “Services for FAIRness”, organised by LifeWatch ERIC and ENVRI Community, was held online from 27 September – 8 October. Centred on the FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability), the School covered the design, development and publishing of FAIR webservices: the full programme can be found here. The initiative attracted 19 participants from all around the world, predominantly academics, policymakers and ICT experts, with 13 nations represented –from Italy, to Senegal, to Sweden– making it a truly international School, with a near 50:50 gender balance. As well as the participants, the team of trainers...

From 21 – 24 October, the Italian city of Gallipoli will host the XXX° Rassegna del mare (30th Festival of the Sea), organised by MareAmico, with the patronage of the Italian National Research Council and the contribution of several LifeWatch ERIC experts, scientists and representatives. This edition, which will be held in-person in compliance with anti-Covid regulations, will be based on the topic “Recognition and protection of the sea and marine resource management”. With a range of activities taking place, the goal of the event is to raise awareness among institutions (the EU, competent ministries, the Puglia Region and local...

On 1 October 2021, LifeWatch ERIC had the privilege of convening a session of the 76th UN General Assembly Science Summit*, dedicated to SDG 14, Life below Water, and SDG 15, Life on Land. LifeWatch ERIC CEO, Christos Arvanitidis, and CTO, Juan Miguel González-Aranda, convened the event, which featured experts from all over the world, speaking in keynotes and sessions. An interdisciplinary and cross-domain approach is crucial to achieve the SDGs by 2030, and this was reflected in the choice of speakers: policymakers, researchers, doctors and social scientists, whose range of perspectives and expertise was well-received by the audience. After the introduction, the...

At the turn of last month, several LifeWatch ERIC members made their way to Málaga for two important events at the Trade Fairs & Congress Centre of Málaga (FYCMA): the Greencities Forum and the Smart Agrifood Summit. Greencities Forum The twelfth edition of the Greencities Forum took place from 29 – 30 September and attracted more than 2,600 visitors: professionals, institutions and public administrations with a focus on sustainability and smart city planning. The organisations represented at the event brought together a comprehensive proposal of solutions, services and tools aimed at improving the habitability of urban environments, to make them more sustainable, innovative...

There's been a lot going on at LifeWatch Belgium recently, so please flick through some of our favourite news stories from the LifeWatch Belgium website, where you can find the full versions of these featured articles. Source images: CATREIN, PBARN & Alvesgaspar.   PhD research reveals wild boar behaviour Jolien Wevers successfully defended her PhD research on wild boar and roe deer ecology in a human-dominated landscape at Hasselt University Jolien used the LifeWatch camera trap infrastructure (CATREIN) to investigate how wild boar and roe deer cope with human disturbance in a strongly urbanised environment at different temporal and geographical scales, and at different levels...

In December 2019, the "Development of research infrastructure for the international competitiveness of the Slovenian RRI space – RI-SI-LifeWatch" project was granted by the Slovenian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and the European Regional Development Fund. The aim of the project was for the LifeWatch Slovenia consortium to build a network for monitoring and collecting biodiversity and environmental data obtained and processed through the acquisition of high-performance research equipment.  With the help of the new research equipment from the RI-SI-LifeWatch project, the Slovenian consortium is now collecting a large amount of research data in digital form, which will be included in the...

In a recently started Horizon 2020-funded project, 15 European institutions, from 10 countries, representing both the continent's and global key players in biodiversity research and natural history, deploy and improve their own and partnering infrastructures to bridge gaps between each other's biodiversity data types and classes. LifeWatch ERIC is one of these institutions. By linking their technologies, these project partners are set to provide flawless access to data across all stages of the research cycle. Three years in, BiCIKL (abbreviation for Biodiversity Community Integrated Knowledge Library) will have created the first-of-its-kind Biodiversity Knowledge Hub, where a researcher will be able to retrieve a full set of linked and open...

Click here to watch a short explanatory video on IKRI. The UNGA76 Science Summit is in full swing, and LifeWatch ERIC has already played an active part in several sessions, looking forward to the LifeWatch ERIC-convened session on SDGs 14 and 15 on 1 October 2021. On 23 September, LifeWatch ERIC CTO, Dr Juan Miguel González-Aranda, alongside Prof Vladislav Popov and Ms Karina Angelieva from LifeWatch Bulgaria, took part in an important session on the launch of the Indigenous Knowledge Research Infrastructure (IKRI), which approximately 140 people attended. The UNFSS (UN Food Systems Summit) recommended five ongoing Action Areas where the UN will place a particular focus and take...

LifeWatch ERIC to convene a session on SDGs 14 & 15 at the UNGA76 Science Summit  LifeWatch ERIC is pleased to announce that it will convene a session of the 76th UN General Assembly Science Summit, dedicated to SDG 14, Life below Water, and SDG 15, Life on Land. The session will take place online on 01 October 2021, from 13:00 – 19:15 CEST, and will feature experts from all over the world. LifeWatch ERIC CEO, Christos Arvanitidis, and CTO, Juan Miguel González-Aranda, will convene the event. Coordinated and moderated by ISC, the UNGA76 Science Summit has been underway since Tuesday 14 September and features circa 500 speakers in over 80 sessions, several of which LifeWatch...

In July 2021, LifeWatch ERIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) in support of the co-development of marine biodiversity observation systems. The parties have signed this MOU in recognition of the need for globally coordinated, standardised and sustained ocean and biodiversity observing systems and collaborative information management systems based on standards and FAIR practices. This is also a first joint effort to contribute to the UN Decade of Ocean Science. The MBON is a "coalition of the willing", a community of practice which facilitates networking amongst the marine biodiversity community to improve standards and best practices...

LifeWatch ERIC is delighted to announce that the 1 January 2022 will signal the expansion of the LifeWatch ERIC community, with the establishment of LifeWatch Bulgaria. On 8 July 2021, the General Assembly unanimously approved the application of Bulgaria to become the eighth full member of LifeWatch ERIC. LifeWatch Bulgaria has already planned several forms of in-kind contribution to the LifeWatch Infrastructure, such as carrying out complex studies into the plant health of cultivated species in the context of sustainable agroecosystems. Such research will be carried out through its nominated partner organisation PlantHealth, the Centre for Diagnostics and Technologies in Plant Health....

LifeWatch ERIC is hiring a Scientific Community Networking Officer!  Details: JOB TITLE: Scientific Community Networking Officer. PURPOSE: Responsible for the LifeWatch ERIC Scientific Community of Practice organisation, operation and its engagement in using the LifeWatch ERIC research facilities. LOCATION: LifeWatch ERIC Service Centre premises in Lecce (Italy). POSITION: Full-time, max 12 months (with the possibility of developing into a stable position). DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: 10 September 2021. The full vacancy is available here. Click here to apply.

LifeWatch ERIC is pleased to announce its collaboration in the RItrainPlus Horizon2020 project as both a beneficiary and an associated partner.* This project has the potential to bring a great deal of added value to LifeWatch ERIC because of the unique context in which it operates, at the nexus of international scientific and political realities. But what is RItrainPlus? RItrainPlus is a project designed to aid Research Infrastructures (RIs) and advanced scientific facilities, ensuring they have the management skills to deal with all aspects of their operation (governance, management, organisational, financial, etc.). The RItrainPlus project will transform the skills-base to...