The Virtual Institute for Sustainable Cities and Communities (VISCC) aims at bringing together research, education and innovation, and outreaching in the field of the United Nation’s sustainable development goal n°11: “Sustainable Cities and Communities”.

The VISCC carries out scientific activities that promote interdisciplinarity, collaborative work and mobility between the EC2U Partner Universities, the cities and the citizens.

What does the VISCC offer?

• A Joint Master Degree in Sustainable Cities and Communities (more info)
• PhD training activities and thesis projects in co-supervision
• Online courses
• Winter and Summer Schools
• Research projects

RESEARCH SEED PROJECT A: Increasing the resilience of  vulnerable groups to the effect of heat waves in European cities, in a climate change scenario

The main objectives of this project are:

• Mapping and forecasting of the probability of occurrence of heat waves
• Definition of suitable indicators to generate alerts
• Implementation and testing of a Monitoring Pilot
• Guidelines and corrective measures to mitigate the impact of heat waves

RESEARCH SEED PROJECT B: Preservation and retrofitting of historical university buildings with relevant culture heritage

The main objectives of this project are:

• Identifying urban planning, environmental and sustainable development Laws and Methods
• Expansion of knowledge-based conservation of the historical heritage, sustainable reuse and retrofitting
• Development of heat transfer simulations of buildings
• Guidelines and corrective measures to improve Indoor environment and energy efficiency of historical buildings

Name of the Researcher	Expertise
University of Coimbra Prof. Manuel Gameiro da Silva, VI Leader Researcher Ana Rita Amaral	Indoor environmental quality, sustainable built environment, energy efficiency in buildings and in university campuses
University of Iasi Prof. Mihai Bulai Prof. Lucian Sfica	Urban planning, spatial analysis, sustainable tourism, water quality
University of Jena Prof. Alexander Brenning Researcher Bettina Böhm	Spatial analysis, geomorphology, regional innovation, physical and human geography
University of Pavia Prof. Marco Morandotti	Architecture technology, sustainable reuse of historical buildings
University of Poitiers Prof. Frédéric Richard Prof. Marie Ferru	Geography, Science and technology of the built environment, transient heat transfer in buildings
University of Salamanca Prof. Juan José Rastrollo Prof. Agustin E. Ferraro	Law and political science, sustainability, urban planning, urban security and public governance
University of Turku Prof. Jukka Käyhkö	Geography, urban climatology, sustainability

The VISCC launches frequently opportunities for mobility of researchers, university staff and students.

Ongoing opportunities:

• PhD scholarship in cotutelle in the field of Energy, Environment and Evolution (Universities of Coimbra and Poitiers)
• Call for researchers’ mobility

Call for Researchers’ mobility

Objectives

The main objective of the VI SCC research seed mobility programme is to actively promote in-depth research collaboration among researchers and research groups of the seven EC2U universities, such as:

• Research visits regarding the topics of the VI SCC.
• Initiation of joint research within the VI SCC: joint research projects, publications, presentations at conferences.

Profile

Researchers:

• must hold an academic position or be enrolled as PhD student or Master thesis student at one of the seven EC2U universities;
• must be able to undertake research activities for the duration of the mobility project;
• must be able to publish research results and present them at conferences/workshops;
• must have a working knowledge of English; documents, grant applications and assessment reports will be submitted in English.

Researchers working on the following topics are encouraged to apply for research seed mobilities:

Sustainable reuse of buildings	Heat waves in cities
Energy efficiency of buildings	Geospatial modeling
Energy efficiency at urban scales	Earth surface processes
Indoor environmental quality	Green infrastructure
Sustainable urban governance (law – politics)	Outdoor/indoor thermal comfort in urban residential areas
Circular economy in tourism	Urban environment and health
Waste management

 

How to apply ?

Projects proposals can be continuously submitted to your local VI SCC representative until 30th of April 2023.

• If you are from the University of Jena, click here to submit a proposal
• If you are from the University of Iasi, click here to submit a proposal
• If you are from the University of Coimbra, click here to submit a proposal
• If you are from the University of Pavia, click here to submit a proposal
• If you are from the University of Poitiers, click here to submit a proposal
• If you are from the University of Salamanca, please contact directly rastrollo@usal.es
• If you are from the University of Turku, click here to submit a proposal

► Find out the complete mobility call here