BETTER Life

Bringing Excellence to Transformative Engaged Research in Life Sciences through Integrated Digital Centres

Name of the project: Bringing Excellence to Transformative Engaged Research in Life Sciences through Integrated Digital Centres

Acronym: BETTER Life

Grant provider: European Commission

Programme: Horizon Europe

Duration: 2022 – 2025

The general objective of the project “Bringing Excellence to Transformative Engaged Research in Life Sciences through Integrated Digital Centres” — short BETTER Life — is to establish the EU Digital Centre of Excellence for Socially Engaged Research in Life Sciences (hereinafter EU BETTER Life Centre). The Centre will be an inter-institutional support structure for developing capacities of early career researchers (PhD students and researchers not yet fully independent) (hereinafter ECR) aiming to foster socially engaged research (SER) to tackle societal challenges in their surrounding ecosystems while consolidating the EU BETTER Life Centre as a world reference in planning, supporting, and implementing SER in life sciences.

EU BETTER Life Centre addresses the issue of research engagement and collaboration as a key element to generate wide impact in the surrounding ecosystems and diverse stakeholders. Recent studies agree that there is a growing need for collaborative and interdisciplinary research in addressing global challenges and that ECRs play a key role in challenging the existing academic barriers and consolidating the field. In Europe, this claim is supported by the MORE4 Report that shows that only 32% of researchers collaborate with non-academic sectors or receive any transferable skills training and only 24% of researchers have moved to other sectors during the research career (a decreasing number compared with previous reports). This phenomenon is similar in the universities that are a part of this consortium – there is a need to establish support structures for early carrier researcher to upgrade soft skills, developing tools, and find the connections with the surrounding ecosystem to socially engage their research. Our consortium is committed to address this challenge in life sciences, which is the key field of strength across the institutions, by engaging the partners in creating the support structures to build individual, intra-institutional, and inter-institutional capacities, engaging with the surrounding ecosystem, and constructing in international framing guidelines.

Latest updates

  • PULS Hosted Workshop for ECRs

    PULS Hosted Workshop for ECRs

    Before the summer period, the BETTER life project was introduced to participants of PULS PhD School on 18th May, 2023. The attendees included 29 students, professors (including the PhD School’s director, Prof. Janusz Olejnik, and visiting professor Prof. Christopher Randler), as well as university staff responsible for PhD School organization. The introduction took place during […]

    Read more
  • The Second Issue of the BETTER Life Newsletter is here

    The Second Issue of the BETTER Life Newsletter is here

    We are pleased to announce the release of the second issue of our BETTER Life project NEWSLETTER. The BETTER Life project celebrates its first anniversary of advancing socially engaged research (SER) in life sciences. Within the framework of the project, we have hosted workshops, developed ten toolkits and co-organized a summer school to support researchers, […]

    Read more
  • Project BETTER Life on Radio Television of Vojvodina

    Project BETTER Life on Radio Television of Vojvodina

    On September 4, 2023. Dr. Gordana Racić from Educons University, Serbia, appeared as a guest on Radio Television of Vojvodina, where she discussed the impact of Project BETTERLife on the importance of engaging citizens, stakeholders and governance with the academy in the field of life sciences. Open this article to see the video.

    Read more
  • ENGAGE Summer School in Tartu has started!

    ENGAGE Summer School in Tartu has started!

    The highly anticipated ENGAGE Summer School in Tartu has officially begun, setting the stage for a transformative learning experience focused on enhancing science for resilient and liveable cities and socially engaged research. Diving deep into the heart of the BETTER Life project, Patrik Toula from the Czech University of Life Sciences (CZU) and Arjan de […]

    Read more
  • BETTER Life co-organizes ENGAGE Summer School in Tartu

    BETTER Life co-organizes ENGAGE Summer School in Tartu

    The Estonian University of Life Sciences, in collaboration with the BETTER Life project and other initiatives, is organizing the ENGAGE! summer school in Tartu from August 7th to August 18th, 2023. This dynamic program will feature interactive sessions, field trips, and group work, focusing on urban green and blue infrastructure management and planning. The summer […]

    Read more
  • June’s Board of Directors Meeting of the Faculty of Ecological Agriculture at Educons University

    June’s Board of Directors Meeting of the Faculty of Ecological Agriculture at Educons University

    The Faculty of Ecological Agriculture at Educons University organized a Board of Directors meeting in Vrdnik, held within the educational center. Educons University, in collaboration with prominent agricultural companies, is actively involved in projects aimed at facilitating the transfer and exchange of knowledge and skills. These initiatives foster long-term partnerships and create employment opportunities. Educons […]

    Read more
  • June’s Board of Directors Meeting of the Faculty of Environmental Protection at Educons University

    June’s Board of Directors Meeting of the Faculty of Environmental Protection at Educons University

    The Faculty of Environmental Protection at Educons University recently convened its Board of Directors at the educational center in Vrdnik. In collaboration with prominent companies specializing in environmental protection and sustainable development, Educons University is dedicated to projects that facilitate the transfer and exchange of knowledge and skills, fostering the creation of long-term partnerships and […]

    Read more
  • BETTER Life in Italian TV and Other Media

    BETTER Life in Italian TV and Other Media

    BETTER Life recently gained significant attention when it was featured in the renowned Italian VeraTV and other printed and electronic media after the project consortium of nine partners from eight countries came to the city of Ascoli Piceno for the annual meeting. Prof. Massimo Sargolini from the University of Camerino, prof. Michal Lostak from the […]

    Read more
  • BETTER Life Meets Local Representatives in Ascoli Piceno

    BETTER Life Meets Local Representatives in Ascoli Piceno

    During the BETTER Life Annual Meeting in Italy, the project representatives had a unique opportunity to meet local stakeholders, authorities, and other project representatives involved in socially engaged research. The focus of the meeting, in the form of an outdoor excursion in a pilot area, was the urban redevelopment plan for the Tofare and via […]

    Read more