EUGLOH – Research and Innovation Action to fight pandemics in the UP

The University of Porto and the remaining partner universities at the European University Alliance for Global Health (EUGLOH) have started, last January, the EUGLOHRIA project, which has been financed with 2 million euros in the framework of the SwafS – Science with and for Society, under the H2020 programme.

In the context of the pandemic, it is clear that “there has to be emphasised interdisciplinary approaches and the transfer of results from academia to industry, regarding global health issues and the ability to cope with the social challenges and the problems which go along with that. The University of Porto joins its counterparts of Paris Saclay (France), LMU Munich (Germany), Lund (Sweden) and Szeged (Hungary) to increase cooperation in the fields of research and innovation.

This marks the Alliance’s fight against future pandemics as it promotes research in the field of innovation in health, where the five institutions that are part of the EUGLOH can boost synergies regarding not only common research, but also access to scientific infrastructure while encouraging greater approximation between civil society and companies.

The EUGLOHRIA project, which includes the University of Porto, aims at managing new challenges regarding public health, environment, food security, by pooling resources and expertise of the five member universities in the fields of Life Sciences, Social Sciences, Geosciences, Engineering, Sports, nutrition and veterinary.

Besides the development of research projects aimed at combating the effects of global health crisis, namely pandemics, EUGLOHRIA programme provides for the establishment of an excellent combating facilities network (ECF) and the setup of a Global Health Observatory.

The University of Porto will lead a project whose mission is to map and establish best practices and to develop action plans aiming to foster cooperation with industry and other stakeholders.

The University of Porto was selected by the European Commission to create one of the first 17 alliances of European universities. This community initiative will be an important step towards the realisation of a European Education Area through consortia of Europe's top higher education institutions from different Member States. The establishment of the European University Alliance for Global Health will also increase exponentially the international mobility of students.

With a total budget of 85 million euros, each one of these 17 alliances will receive up to a maximum of €10 million funding from the European Union over the next three years to implement specific projects and "to start to show other Higher Education Institutions within the European Union the way forward".