New 4EU+ Visiting Professors to advance teaching, research, and cooperation

Focusing on innovative environmental sensors, this project integrates chiral conductive polymer helices with nanoscale magnetic functionalisation. It will pioneer chip-based electrochemical platforms for ultra-sensitive pollutant detection, merging University of Milan’s expertise in electrochemistry with Heidelberg University’s strengths in nanofabrication. The programme of the visit will also include seminars and groundwork for future European projects.

The project explores the reception of Finnish literature in Central Europe after 1989, combining research and teaching. It includes a new course on contemporary Finnish literature in Prague, with a focus on minority representation and intercultural perspectives, while fostering long-term collaboration in literary and translation studies.

Focusing on Europe–China relations in a changing world, this project builds on complementary expertise in foreign policy, domestic politics, and area studies. It will develop a joint research proposal on Europe–China relations and design a shared research-based course, contributing to innovative teaching and long-term collaboration within 4EU+.

This project investigates intergenerational care and health inequalities among undocumented children and elderly migrants in European cities. Building on the 4EU+ GRACE project, it combines research and teaching activities, including a graduate workshop on ethnographies in migratory contexts and a public lecture, leading up to proposals of joint publications and a final conference in Geneva.

Through role-play simulations, this project develops innovative teaching formats to engage students with EU institutions and policymaking. It integrates law, history, and political science, producing a transferable toolkit for simulation pedagogy and laying the groundwork for shared modules, blended programmes, and long-term civic education initiatives within 4EU+.

Focused on environmental transitions, this project develops innovative molecules and materials for sensing pollutants and creating new chiroptical applications. It combines complementary expertise from the University of Geneva and Charles University to design advanced chemosensors, explore sustainable catalysis, and build long-term research links across the Alliance.

Focusing on mathematical biology, this project bridges partial differential equation modelling with data-driven statistical methods to analyse stem cell systems. The collaboration will engage doctoral students, contribute to international Master’s tracks, and support applications for future Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks.

Focusing on congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), this translational research links neonatal urinary proteomics with maternal micronutrient signalling. The collaboration will harmonise sample protocols and link existing biobanks, develop interdisciplinary teaching modules in perinatal medicine, and lay the groudwork for future joint projects in neonatal precision medicine across the Alliance.

Bringing together geography and visual studies, this project explores documentary filmmaking as both a research method and a teaching tool. It focuses on Alpine landscapes and their representations, linking academic and artistic approaches. The collaboration with Geneva’s Laboratoire du Visuel will foster new teaching formats, joint research outputs, and public-facing dissemination on territorial identities and the Alpine region.

This project investigates how environmental stressors like plastics, metals, and salinity shape extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in aquatic biofilms. By combining geomicrobiology, chemistry, and geoscience, it aims to reveal how fungi and algae mediate contaminant interactions in estuarine ecosystems. The collaboration builds on 4EU+ projects such as MIRACLE and will result in shared analytical methods and teaching modules.

This project develops advanced numerical methods for optimal control in magnetic resonance (NMR/MRI). It combines numerical mathematics with experimental validation to enhance sensitivity in solid-state imaging, while also piloting an interdisciplinary teaching module. The collaboration builds on the SEED4EU+ INGREDIENT projectand aims to initiate a future Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network.

The project strengthens collaboration in mycology and fungal ecology education between the University of Warsaw and the University of Copenhagen. Building on joint programmes already established, it aims to better coordinate teaching, develop advanced modules on molecular mycology, and prepare common curricula for future joint master programmes in biodiversity and evolution.

This project addresses the evolution of media and democracy in Europe, focusing on disinformation, polemics, and digital platforms. It combines new teaching for journalism students, a summer school on media and democracy, and the first steps toward a research network on media, counter-truth, and democratic processes, linking expertise across 4EU+ universities.

This project advances research on low-cost, non-viral gene delivery systems by integrating biophysics, chemistry, and nanomedicine. Building on a joint PhD, it will expand into a “spread laboratory” model between the University of Milan and Sorbonne University, while offering lectures to Master’s and PhD students and laying the groundwork for future large-scale collaborations.

This project studies environmental transformations and geohazard interactions in high mountain regions. Using historical maps, remote sensing, and case studies in the Alps, it will analyse riskscapes and adaptation strategies, while also preparing a blended course on natural hazards and extending the research to Himalayan contexts.

This project investigates the European Union’s pursuit of technological sovereignty through econometric and machine-learning analysis of patent data. It examines how independence in critical technologies may affect innovation performance and aims to generate joint research outputs as well as teaching synergies in innovation economics.

Building on previous 4EU+ collaborations, this project develops a joint MA programme in Archaeology of the Early Aegean. It integrates natural science methods into archaeology, introduces new courses such as Archaeology of the 21st Century, and involves students directly in research on textiles and sealing practices.

The BLOOM project investigates the emergence of ribosomal function via nucleic acid–protein interactions, combining biophysics, synthetic biochemistry, and structural/evolutionary perspectives. Building on earlier 4EU+ collaborations, it includes joint experiments, student mentoring, and an astrobiology workshop, while also sharing innovative teaching approaches such as VR-based modules.