Seed projects_2023

Below are the selected projects for the 2023

Cluster 1_MHUS_Mental Health of University Students: associated factors between countries

To have sustainable academic environments, it is necessary to promote the well-being of staff and students. Mental health has been getting worse over time in university students, with the pandemic exacerbating it. The aim is to leverage a mental health project, by comparing the mental health of university students between European countries and the factors that influence it. Data from this study will be used to apply for funding from Horizon Europe for the development of strategies to promote the mental health of university students, contributing to sustainable development.

Cluster 1_TAILEXER_Prescription of tailored physical exercise from the integration of omic, clinical and lifestyle data to prevent cardiovascular diseases 

Research has shown that physical exercise is an effective therapeutic tool to deal with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the success of these preventive programs depends on the ability to identify the population at risk and to apply tailored physical exercise interventions. The purpose of this project will be to integrate omic, clinical and lifestyle data to define the cardiovascular risk level of an adult population to propose tailored physical exercise programs that focuses on those physical condition factors most necessary for each person according with their health status. A randomized representative sample of the population (men and women) with ages between 18 and 65 years old will be selected. At a methodological level, participants will be classified into several risk levels of suffering from CVDs and an initial evaluation of inflammatory, protein, lipid, clinical and lifestyle markers will be made. Based on this stratification, a tailored physical exercise intervention will be performed. Lastly, a final evaluation will be made to analyze the effectiveness of the intervention in each of the defined categories. We will try to carry out a proof of concept to evaluate the  feasibility of our plan and methodology to refine the proposal to improve it to subsequently participate in future European calls (HORIZON, ERAPerMed, or MSCA schemes).

Cluster 2_AGRIOPEP_Bioactive peptides recovery from agrifood industry waste

The project proposes solutions for reusing and valorizing the high percentages of waste from agri-food industries. This involves studying alternative and natural sources of low-cost proteins that would reduce the dependence and environmental footprint that animal proteins tend to leave behind. It aligns with the Horizon Europe strategy "from farm to fork" and with the priorities of the European "Green Deal". Proteins would be used in future projects to develop technologies for use bioactive peptides as innovative food ingredients and supplements in the food industry.

Cluster 2_CDF+_Circular Dairy Farming Plus

The CDF+ seed funding project aims at creation of EUGREEN joint research and informative network focused on the application to international research calls related to the sustainable food production chain and waste management. Considering the need for an interdisciplinary approach to improve the dairy production system sustainability, an MSCA staff exchange proposal including cutting-edge research, covering the entire dairy production cycle phases (production, processing, recycling) will be finalized and submitted. Other proposals will be developed under the same concept.

Cluster 3 _ CHAIN2Sustain_ Collaborative Human AI Decision-Making for Sustainability

Decision making under the perspective of sustainability is a complicated endeavour. It requires taking into consideration several complex and uncertain factors, competing interests over varying
timescales regarding cost, environmental aspects, quality of life and fairness.We aim at benchmarking different approaches to hybrid Human and Artificial Intelligence (AI) collaboration, for the purpose of assisted decision making, with a sustainability bias.

Cluster 4_MOTEA_MODEL OF TOURISM FOR ENGAGEMENT ADOPTION

This project aims to enhance the digital communication of European Tourist Destinations (ETD) to transform them into Smart Tourist Destinations (STD) and promote sustainability. It focuses on studying ETDs webpages in the Strategic Online Communication Approach context for public engagement. The result is a scale MOTE-A (Model of Tourism Webpages for Engagement Adoption), applied to a sample of ETDs webpages to show their level of engagement. Then, model MOTE-P (Prediction) will then be tested with PLS to explain if greater engagement leads to better tourism economic results.  

Cluster 4_NOTES (Net-zerO challenge for Tourism EducatorS)

This project is a collaboration among EU GREEN Universities to support tourism, cultural and natural heritage industries transition to Net Zero. To address the significant gap in sustainable literacy  and decarbonisation knowledge (Conefrey, et al. 2023) this project will assess and identify the skills and training required by the tourism industry. This project will aid curricula design to provide skilled graduates to facilitate transition towards Net Zero, enable the sector to become more sustainable, align with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and benefit communities and destinations.

Cluster 5_BASE_Baseline Assessment of Sustainability related Educational practices and perceptions of the academic and research staff across EU Green 

Taking an intra-disciplinary approach, this project will design, execute, and evaluate a survey to explore the sustainability-related education practices and perceptions (SREPP) of academic and research staff across the partner Universities. It will establish critical insights into the existing SREPP and the associated challenges, and support the development of a framework to monitor the progress of EU Green towards embedding Sustainability, Education for Sustainable Development and the SDGs (collectively referred to in this document as SHE) in pedagogical practice.

Cluster 6_EUFoodHabits_European consumers' preferences and attitudes towards plant-based products designed to replace animal-based products

Across the world, there's a growing trend to eat less animal-based foods (ABF) for health and environmental purposes and eat plant-based alternatives (PBF). There is also the emergence of highly processed PBF, which aim to imitate the sensorial and nutritional qualities of ABF, but their impact on health is still under debate. This project aims to explore how European consumers, with different cultural backgrounds, perceive these plant-based options, so that we can provide as main outcome, scientific-based dietary recommendations based on enhanced and sustainable dietary patterns.

Cluster 6_PROVES_Promoting evidence-based solutions for biodiversity and ecosystem services delivery

Pollution, overexploitation, urbanization, demography, land use change and inequality, is leading to unprecedent biodiversity loss and humanity to face pervasive socio-economic crisis,aggravated by climate change. Decisive action and solutions are needed to overcome these challenges. We envision to build a long-term research collaboration platform to provide evidence based solutions that can foster biodiversity, restore degraded environments, promote ecosystem resilience and adaptation, and human well-being, with a focus on EUGreen regions.

Below are the projects that were not selected for the 2023 call

Cluster 1_ NEHCP_Nutrition Education for Health Care Professionals

In 2016, the pivotal role of nutrition in disease prevention was recognised by The United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. This declaration urged Health Care Professionals (HCPs) to gain basic evidence-based knowledge of nutrition to improve the health and wellbeing of their patients. Providing HCPs with a basic level of scientific-based nutrition knowledge further enhances the impact of their role in optimising health, not only from a treatment perspective but also through preventative measures.
Based on this recommendation, many HCP degree programmes implemented some level of teaching and training to develop nutrition knowledge. However, the depth and breadth of nutrition
information varies considerably between HCP curricula and programmes. We propose to conduct a review of HCP curricula in partner countries to explore the extent to which nutrition knowledge teaching has been incorporated into HCP undergraduate programmes and conduct focus group interviews of opinions on the importance of nutrition teaching to identify the training and teaching needs to subsequently participate in future European calls (Erasmus+ Higher Education).

Cluster 2_BIOCOWRNA_New screening approach to prevent and reduce drug use in dairy cows based on colorimetric gene-sensing platform microRNAs assay

The problem faced by animal production systems is maintaining the best possible standards of animal health together with minimal environmental impact including the use of antibiotics. Their sustainable use implies disease prevention, detection and monitoring. Mastitis is caused by a wide range of infections. A novel approach in order to perform the detection of mastitis is the detection of microRNAs from matrices such as saliva and milk. The developing of simple, inexpensive, and accurate analytical method to detect ultralow concentrations of specific microRNA is proposed. 

Cluster 3 _ ECOMINE_ Environmental Characterization of Mine Sites: A Comprehensive Approach for Sustainable Remediation

This project addresses the imperative need for a sustainable supply chain of raw materials to support the EU industry's transition to a circular economy. It aims to establish a network inside the EU GREEN universities to characterize, evaluate and remediate mining sites. The focus is on the Monges mine in Portugal, with future expansion to other countries. Objectives encompass soil contamination assessment, remote sensing, environmental characterization, and a comprehensive digital twin for surface and underground data, incorporating the different environmental parameters

Cluster 3 _PhotoXanDyC_Development of Photoelectrodes Based on Xanthene Dyes and Carbon Nanostructures for Hydrogen Production

Project PhotoXanDyC combines xanthene dyes and carbon nanostructures towards more efficient photoelectrochemical devices. Xanthenes are fluorophores,whose luminescent properties make them suitable sensitizers for semiconducting oxides,amplifying their capacity for light absorption. By integrating dyes and semiconducting oxides into carbon nanostructures as electron transfer channels, improved photoelectrochemical devices for hydrogen production via water splitting could be realizable, paving the way for developing efficient and low-cost systems for clean energy.

Cluster 4_MORE-Residents_Modelling Residents' perceptions and behaviours

This project aims to reflect on the definition of a model that allows the regular monitoring, in a comparable way, of the residents' perceptions and behaviours regarding sustainable tourism development, particularly in dimensions related to sociocultural heritage. The identification of a pilot solution that allows analysing whether residents of different European tourist territories are in line with the provisions of the 2030 Agenda, could facilitate its expansion to other territories that wish to replicate it.

Cluster 5_RCD_EMPOWER_Digital citizenship, digital competence and sustainable education for the empowerment of young people in rural environments

Digital technologies have been an indispensable part of students? everyday life. Reflecting advances in digital technologies, Schools and educational settings have mandated to prepare students for the  ever-changing information and knowledge-based society (Selwyn, 2012). The surge in fake news, conspiracy theories, and the growing prevalence of cyberbullying and online abuse in our digital  world are undermining trust in democratic institutions and posing a threat to democracy. This research project, empowering young people in rural areas through promoting digital competence and  digital citizenship education for democratic and civic engagement  (RDC_ENGAGE), aims to support teachers and non-formal educational actors, specifically from rural areas, in creating and  developing rich learning environments to enhance students? digital competences and digital citizenship. By providing this framework and highlighting technoeducational practices, the project aims to  support teachers and other key figures in educational settings, in design and developing learning environment where students can confidently, critically, and responsibly develop their competences in  using and engaging with digital technologies. This extends to various aspects, including learning, work, and active participation in society.

Cluster 5_ROAD2SSE_Role of affective domain in sustainable science education

Sustainable futures rely on resilient individuals with a strong educational foundation. Science provides an evidence base on which to identify and test potential solutions to tackle pressures facing our environment, society, economy and cultures. Science education often measures success using knowledge gained and less the feelings, emotions and attitudes of students. These constitute the affective domain and are increasingly recognised as playing an important role in science education for social progress. ROAD2SSE examines the affective domain to inform educational policy.

Cluster 6_INVAGREEN_Ecology and management of invasive species in the EUGREEN research network

An alarming number of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are being established, which adversely affect native biodiversity, ecosystem services and food, health and livelihood security. INVAGREEN will create a collaborative framework among EU GREEN partners, aiming to identify future innovative research approaches on IAS management. INVAGREEN i) examinesthe established definitions of IAS, including the perception of stakeholders, and ii) maps tools and methods for detection, containment, and restriction of IAS spread in Europe and establishment and their efficacy.