The PhD Network gathers the expertise of PhD supervisors and jointly supervised PhD students within the VISCC, bringing them together through online webinars and workshops or physical, blended, and virtual mobilities, in order to create a multidisciplinary community of experts.

International Summer/Winter schools and training workshops are used to share knowledge within and between Virtual Institutes and the EC2U universities communities, aiming at reaching out the multidisciplinary scientific community in the field of SCC. 

Some past editions:

• B.SuRe – Building Sustainable Reuse
• Geographic Data Science for Sustainability

Its main objective is to actively promote in-depth collaboration among researchers and research groups of the 9 EC2U Universities, such as: 

• Networking and training visits on the VISCC topics.
• Initiation of joint activities within the VISCC: collaboration on joint projects, publications, presentations at conferences or at scientific events is encouraged.
• Promotion of interdisciplinarity: projects engaging multiple disciplines involved in the broad scope of SDG#11 and fostering collaboration between research groups within the EC2U network are encouraged. 

These seed projects aim at stimulating and incubating the development of interdisciplinary and scientific networking between the EC2U universities on novel and strategic scientific topics. 

2 specific seed projects are being developed: 

• Reducing the adverse effects of natural disasters: this project focuses on reducing the risks linked to anthropogenic climate change and urban sprawl via multidisciplinary perspectives, novel geomatics, and artificial intelligence technologies.
• Legal and Socio-Political Dimensions of Urban Sustainability: This project focuses on urban sustainability from a legal and social science perspective. Rethinking and reorganising for green social policies and welfare – social sustainability – is thus both a crucial task and a major challenge.

• Actions with Cities: collaboration with EC2U Associated Partners, including municipal authorities, supports the development and implementation of Sustainable Development and Climate Action Plans within the framework of the Covenant of Mayors. Collaborative actions between universities and cities focus on Climate Change, helping local communities better understand and engage with ongoing measures. As a researcher, you can actively participate in these actions with cities, applying your expertise and contributing directly to local climate initiatives.
   
• Actions with Local Communities: collaboration with high schools in EC2U cities includes locally implemented research projects on sustainable urban development, such as studies on urban heat islands and climate-compatible urban planning. Students gain hands-on experience with innovative tools and access developed concepts through platforms like Open Educational Resources. As a researcher, you can participate in these actions with local communities, testing methodologies, mentoring students, and fostering knowledge exchange.