● Wednesday, March 6th at 23:00 (CET) is the deadline for registration for this
Accelerathon that promotes the development of sustainable ideas in urban
environments
● The aim is to accelerate ideas that propose solutions to electric vehicle
charging efficiency, land management, green hydrogen production and grey
water revalorization

The European RES4CITY project reminds that there are just three days left before the
closing of its RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON initiative, an accelerator of
ideas that will propose solutions to support sustainability and circularity in urban
environments. The Accelerathon is an initiative of the Finnova Foundation, a RESCITY
partner committed to innovation and entrepreneurship.

The Accelerathon is based on the Startup Europe methodology, which consists of an online
competition composed of different teams that will develop their ideas with mentors and
coaches. These ideas will be reviewed by an expert jury in the different areas of the
challenges, and the winner of the Accelerathon will have the opportunity to access funds
from various European programs to materialize their project.

The accelerator is based on 4 challenges to which participants must offer solutions that are
in line with the values of sustainability and circularity projected by RES4CITY. These
challenges have various fields of action, such as improving energy storage, land
management, green hydrogen production or gray water revalorization.

The first challenge - ''Optimizing electric vehicle charging efficiency through smart
energy solutions'' - seeks intelligent energy storage proposals to optimize energy flow,
ensuring efficient and cost-effective charging of electric vehicles, reducing grid stress during
peak demand and stabilizing the power grid and integration of existing infrastructure. In
addition, it will also consider ideas that integrate information and communication technology
to improve renewable energy efficiency, and those that propose solutions to establish a legal
framework that accelerates the adoption of more efficient energy mobility practices.

The second challenge - ''Achieving efficient land and soil management by changing
business operations in line with circular economy principles'' - solicits alternatives that
address efficient land and soil management by changing operations in line with circular
economy principles. In addition, it will also value those ideas that include the revaluation of
household organic waste to generate compost for the creation of vertical gardens.

The third challenge - ''Designing green hydrogen production projects'' - focuses on the
design of well thought-out green hydrogen production projects that adequately manage
impacts on water supply and land use.

The fourth challenge - ''Revaluation of greywater in the urban environment''. The citizen
challenge is to convert wastewater - rainwater, air-conditioning, shower, washing machine
and dishwasher water from domestic use to save water in drought by reusing it for toilets,
watering gardens and urban orchards, or street sweeping. The solutions will mitigate the
impact of climate change by saving drinking water and water purification processes.

RES4CITY STARTUP EUROPE ACCELERATHON in a nutshell

Those interested with innovative ideas related to the above-mentioned challenges can
register for the Accelerathon until Wednesday, March 6 at 23:00 (CET) .

Registration can be done through this link.

Once the registration period is closed, the Accelerathon groups will be created during the
month of March and the competition will take place between April and June. Participants will
have access to the RES4CITY community's network of contacts, and will develop these
ideas with the help of mentors specialized in the field to be addressed. In July, a semi-final
will be held to select the ideas that are being best developed and will also be disseminated
at the Greencities and S-Moving fair to be held on September 20 and 21 in Malaga
(FYCMA). The awards ceremony will take place between October 9 and 12, during the
European Week of Regions and Cities. The winner will receive a European Acceleration
Ticket, allowing them to access funds from various European programs to materialize their
project.

Posted by Maria Daniela Perez on February 12, 2024

The METIS consortium is very happy to see the launch of the European Chips Skills Academy website and social media platforms! As the successor to METIS, the ECS-Academy will continue the work of our members to create an alliance between educational systems and the microelectronics industry!

Many of our members will be a part of the new Academy, and collaborations such as these are crucial to ensuring Europe’s competitive edge. Learn more about this momentous initiative!

Visit their website https://chipsacademy.eu/
Connect with them on Instagram https://lnkd.in/eEhahKDe
Follow ECSA on X https://lnkd.in/eaXJximD
YouTube Content https://lnkd.in/eUdTgGFu

We celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th. Anca Dumitrescu, Chairwoman of WiTEC SWEDEN, says: "We aim to harness all talents to build a sustainable future. I chose the engineering profession to create opportunities for developing new technology and products to enhance societal functions."
On February 1st, WiTEC joined forces with 10 partners in the STEAMBrace project. Victoria Tötterström, Project Manager for STEAMBrace at WiTEC Sweden, says: "By empowering present and future generations, we pave the way for creating opportunities that bridge gaps using my favorite methods: curiosity and innovation. Together, we strive to build the future we all want to live in. STEAMbrace acts as a catalyst for my own imagination and hopefully many others, encouraging us to dream big and take action.”

At WiTEC SWEDEN, we serve as the link between the business sector, academia, and women active in technology-intensive fields. WiTEC SWEDEN inspires women to study and continue their development within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), and supports and highlights primarily female innovators and entrepreneurs.

UNESCO, which recently held the 9th assembly for women in science, shares the following: "Diversity in research expands the pool of talented researchers, bringing in fresh perspectives, talent, and creativity. February 11 is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities, and their participation should be strengthened."

With STEAMbrace, WiTEC invites interested stakeholders to collaborate and looks forward to engaging and learning from the target audience of girls aged 11-18.

Who should we reach out to/do you recommend join our forces?

On 9th of February, we kick off our new project STEAMBrace in Zaragoza. On site we have our chairwoman of the board Anca Dumitrescu. We welcome our new project leaders Diba Mokhtabad and Victoria Tötterström for the next three years.

STEAMbrace is European coordination network and activities to embrace a sustainable and inclusive STEAM educational system: the blend of artistic and creative approaches in STEM education, research and innovation.

Project contributions:

STEAMbrace aims to bridge the current gender gap in STEM fields with the creation of a coordination Alliance at European level and development of numerous networking and educational activities using creative thinking and an evidence-based approach. The project novel STEAM actions and solutions and scientific findings with an interdisciplinary, inter-regional and multi-actor consortium that will contribute to:

Monitor the level of STEAM education in Europe
Boost the networking and clustering among STEAM stakeholders
Develop cutting-edge StTEAM activities and trainings for both students and educators
Deliver best practices, policy recommendations for the sustainable reproducibility of the STEAM solutions.
Provide a common digital networking platform for students and stakeholders, to support EC ambitions.

COLLABORATORS
- Academia de Inventores
- Aiju Instituto Tecnológico de Producto Infantil y Ocio
- Asociația de Tineret pentru Prietenie și Educație
- C4G - Consulting and Training Network
- Contactica
- Edelvives
- Maristas Portugal - Colégio Marista de Carcavelos
- Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
- University of Zagreb / Sveučilište u Zagrebu faculty of Economics & Business
- WiTEC SWEDEN

Funded by the European Union Horizon Europe European Research Executive Agency (REA).

The Central Bohemia Mobility Programme for Excellence in Research, Innovation and Technology (MERIT), co-funded by the European Union, is launching its second call for applicant! 
  
MERIT is offering 15 postdoc fellowships in the fields of Biotechnology/Biomedicine, Laser technologies, Space technologies, Sustainable Energy/Materials, and Digitalisation/AI, and its related-disciplines. 
  
Successful applicants will be part of a one-of-a-kind program, offering the following benefits: 
an attractive salary and family friendly conditions
excellent training program in research and transferable skills
international and interdisciplinary research groups
intersectoral experiences in academic or non-academic, in the Czech Republic or abroad
numerous networking opportunities
Applications are open to candidates from all over the world who have not lived or worked in the Czech Republic for more than 12 months over the last 3 years (between April 2021 and April 2024). The deadline for applications is April 15, 2024. 

For further information on the participating research groups, evaluation and selection process, and detailed benefits, please visit our website https://meritcb.eu/ and register for our next two online events: 

Info-Session: March 12, 14:00 hrs CET 

How to write a competitive proposal: March 19, 14:00 hrs CET 

Check our video to know why should you apply! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96FY-bKmGF0&list=PLwgDTg2vDPYLew1uHPy6qyE46oBdZhSdW