Month: October 2025

On October 2nd, 2025, the WIDERA Projects Accelerate Future HEI, aUPaEU and CATALISI participated in an Interreg Europe event, “Connecting regions, empowering universities through stronger R&I policies”,  co-organised by the Interreg Policy Learning Platform and the University Industry Innovation Network (UIIN).  

The event brought together policymakers, universities, research centres, and European stakeholders, offering a valuable opportunity to exchange views on strategies for strengthening regional research and innovation (R&I) policies, within Interreg and ERA WIDERA-funded projects.  These key actors in the research and innovation ecosystem were the focus of Maria Mecenero, Policy Officer, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), presentation.  

The session was especially significant as it united the three sister projects, Accelerate Future HEI, aUPaEU and CATALISI, who are creating synergies and highlighting shared approaches to drive institutional transformation across Europe. The central question guiding the workshop:   

How can Europe’s Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) become powerful engines of innovation and catalysts for societal change?  

Here are some key takeaways that can help us answer this.   

1. A Strong Policy Foundation
   Speakers from Interreg Europe and the European Commission (DG RTD) highlighted how HEIs are pivotal to achieving Europe’s innovation goals. They stressed the importance of interregional collaboration, knowledge sharing, and transformation agendas aligned with EU policy priorities.
2. Acceleration in Action
   The Accelerate Future HEI project demonstrates how targeted acceleration services can help universities strengthen their role within regional innovation ecosystems. By piloting practical models, HEIs can move from being knowledge providers to active innovation brokers.
3. Powering Collaboration Through Digital Services
   The aUPaEU project showcased how shared digital infrastructures, Agora platforms, boost collaboration, accelerate knowledge transfer, and make innovation processes more efficient and scalable.
4. Embedding Transformation for the Long Term
   Through CATALISI, HEIs are building internal capacity to integrate acceleration services strategically and sustainably, ensuring that transformation is a permanent institutional shift.
5. Interregional Synergies Matter
   Speakers emphasised the value of connecting initiatives across regions to scale up successful practices, avoid fragmentation, and create stronger innovation networks.

As John Edwards, Secretary General of EURASHE, put it during the plenary: “HEIs must be seen not only as knowledge hubs, but as active innovation actors in their communities.” 

This shared vision aligns the work of Accelerate Future HEI, aUPaEU, and CATALISI, demonstrating how collaboration, digital infrastructure, and institutional transformation can work hand in hand to strengthen Europe’s innovation landscape. 

The event sparked great interest from participants, opening new perspectives for networking and future collaborations. Thank you to Marc Pattinson, Interreg Europe and Rimante Rusaite, UIIN, for their excellent moderation and to everyone who joined and contributed to the discussion.  

For more information, presentations and the YouTube recording: https://www.interregeurope.eu/news-events/news/connecting-regions-empowering-universities-through-stronger-ri-policies-key-learnings   

VISION

The CATALISI framework offers a structured, adaptable and evidence-based approach that empowers Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to lead systemic change in Research & Innovation (R&I).

PURPOSE

Support universities in embedding transformation into their strategy, governance and operations through a structured process and targeted acceleration services. In particular, it helps to:

• Embed institutional transformation strategically.
• Align with European Research Area (ERA) and European Education Area (EEA).
• Promote participatory and evidence-based decision-making.
• Foster peer learning and collaboration across HEIs.

| Not a one-size-fits-all model, but a modular and flexible approach tailored to each institution.

Three sister projects, funded under the same EU funding program, HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ERA-01-51 – Acceleration Services in support of the institutional transformation of Higher Education Institutions have been working closely for over two years to amplify their impact in Higher Education across the European Union. The Collaboration Agreement, which was signed by the partnership in September 2025, gives formal recognition to these efforts. 

Importantly, the agreement covers two major areas: (1) joint efforts in dissemination activities and (2) providing policymakers with insights and recommendations about the European research landscape. This shared commitment in dissemination will ensure the amplification of the respective projects’ outcomes, beyond the individual project’s reach. A unified voice strengthens the evidence base, offering policymakers richer, more holistic insights into the European research and education landscape. At the same time, it will support the projects’ sustainability, by exploiting the synergies among the three parties on the acceleration services developed, and their inclusion in the Agora platforms created by the aUPaEU project.  

Shared events like the 2025 INORMS Congress, Interreg Europe workshop and CATALSISI Conference, which is taking place in Amsterdam on 11 November 2025, will generate more impact from the three projects.