ERA-NET Cofund AquaticPollutants at half-time

After 18 months, the halfway point for the research & innovation projects, the ERA-NET Cofund AquaticPollutants met in person for the first time in Madrid for the AquaticPollutants Midterm Meeting! Representatives from all 18 projects, members of the transfer project, AquaticPollutantsTransNet, and representatives from the funding organisations were all there! Check out the upcoming press release at the AquaticPollutants website to learn more and scroll through this webpage for impressions from the midterm meeting.

Click on the following video link to learn more about how funded projects contribute to a healthy aquatic environment.

What do the communication plans of each of the 18 AquaticPollutants projects look like? In order to download the "Overview of communication and dissemination activities" table below, please click on the image below.

One objective of the Transfer Project is to strategically support the projects and help utilize commonalities among their communication plans to enhance collaboration and knowledge transfer to external stakeholders. Check the AquaticPollutants website and the individual project websites for updates and upcoming activities.

The following map shows the partner countries involved in the ERA-NET Cofund.​

 Country of Research Projects Coordinators ​

Each of the funded project addresses one of the following three themes of the Joint Transnational Call:​

Theme 1 – Measuring​

Environmental behaviour of contaminants of emerging concern, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria in aquatic ecosystems ​

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Theme 2 – Evaluating ​

Risk Assessment and Management of contaminants of emerging concern, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria from aquatic ecosystems to human health and environment ​

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Theme 3 – Taking Actions​

Strategies to reduce contaminants of emerging concern, pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria in aquatic ecosystems​.

The following table shows an overview of the 18 funded research projects of the ERA-NET Cofund AquaticPollutants and respective themes:

The Transfer Project AquaticPollutants TransNet aims to maximise the transfer of knowledge and impact of the research results and has been funded through the 2020 Transfer Project Call.

At the Midterm Meeting, the young researchers and PhD students also had a chance to talk about the work they’ve done over the past 18 months. These researchers, or “early career scientists” as we like to call them, were invited to present a scientific poster during the 1-hour long poster session on Wednesday, May 31st. Via a QR code, participants could vote for the best poster over the span of the two days. At the very end of the meeting, Naomi Massaccesi from the Italian National Research Council (CNR) was awarded the best poster prize for her work done within the ARENA project.

The poster session was organized by the AquaticPollutants PhD Forum, led by the Israeli Ministry of Health as part of the ERA-NET Cofund. When ask about the importance of the PhD Forum, Ms. Orly Spivak from the Ministry said “It is a top priority to support and advance the young scientists of today, to become the senior scientists of the future, to advance science and innovation”. See what else she had to say during our interview with her in Madrid:

How is the AquaticPollutants PhD Forum structured? What does it offer young researchers?  

The PhD forum is a platform to support scientists at their early stages of their careers. By creating a special network for them, which brings together activities for them, such as a LinkedIn page, webinars, contests, we aim to give added value for them to encourage them to stay on the right track for them. 

How do you choose and identify topics and speakers for the webinars?  

It is not very easy to find speakers for the webinars, however, usually I would contact well-known experts of the aquatic research field and ask them to contribute to our forum. Some of the lecturers contacted us themselves and offered to give a lecture, following an invitation we published to our research community through emailing lists. 

How does the PhD Forum support the AquaticPollutants Cofund and its objectives?  

It is one of the tasks under the additional activities of the ERA-NET Cofund, which received a designated budget for its activities. 

If you’re interested in getting involved, visit their LinkedIn page: aquatic-pollutants-phd-forum/