ATU researchers win funding from EU GREEN university alliance to collaborate on transnational sustainability projects

Researchers in Atlantic Technological University (ATU) have won funding of €210,000 under EU GREEN (a European university alliance for sustainability, responsible growth, inclusive education and environment) to foster collaborative research to further the sustainable development of the regions. The alliance has nine universities located in peripheral regions of Europe. 

In November, ATU responded with alliance partners to the first annual seed funding call and this week learned that 23 ATU researchers’ joint research proposals were successful. In the new year, they will collaborate with partners across the EU GREEN alliance to share skills and build capacity in these new projects spanning many of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). 

Dr Orla Flynn, President of ATU, says: “I am delighted to see that so many of our ATU researchers are already engaging in building research collaborations with our EU GREEN partners across Europe. These seed projects will develop research knowledge and team building across the university alliance. The leadership and participation of ATU researchers in these seed funding projects builds capacity for larger funded projects and a more sustainable future in our regions”.

The BASE Project, led by Dr John Scahill, and ATU team, will survey and explore the sustainability-related education practices and perceptions of academic and research staff across the EU Green partner universities.  The aim is to establish baselines and insights into existing practices so that progress towards embedding education for sustainability and the SDGs can be monitored and reviewed.  BASE includes a multidisciplinary group of academics and researchers from across the partner Universities and was the top scoring project application.

Dr Lisa Ryan, ATU Head of School of Science and Computing (Acting), says: "We are thrilled to receive seed funding for our EU green projects, particularly focusing on innovative initiatives aimed at enhancing both environmental sustainability and human wellbeing. Our exciting projects are focused on developing personalised physical exercise programmes using clinical data and the mental health of university students.  We are very grateful to collaborate with such outstanding universities across Europe as part of the EU Green”. Other projects are TAILEXER, tailored physical exercise from the integration of omic, clinical and lifestyle data to prevent cardiovascular diseases, and MHUS which explores the mental health of university students and associated factors between countries

Research has shown that physical exercise is an effective therapeutic tool to deal with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the success of these preventive programmes depends on the ability to identify the population at risk and to apply tailored physical exercise interventions. The purpose will be to integrate omic, clinical and lifestyle data to define the cardiovascular risk level of an adult population to propose tailored physical exercise programmes that focus on those physical condition factors most necessary for each person according with their health status. 

Dr James Hanrahan, lecturer, Department of Marketing Tourism and Sport, School of Business and Social Science, is leading a Project called NOTES (Net-zerO challenge for Tourism EducatorS) that will assess and identify the skills and training required by the tourism industry.  This project will aid curricula design to provide skilled graduates to facilitate transition towards Net Zero, enable the sector to become more sustainable, align with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and benefit communities and destinations.  

ATU is also involved in the MOTEA (Model of Tourism for Engagement Adoption) Project which aims to enhance the digital communication of European Tourist Destinations (ETD) to transform them into Smart Tourist Destinations (STD) and promote sustainability.

Other EU GREEN funded projects involving ATU researchers are: 
AGRIOPEP Bioactive peptides recovery from agrifood industry waste
CDF+ Circular Dairy Farming Plus
CHAIN2Sustain_Collaborative Human AI Decision-Making for Sustainability
EUFoodHabits European consumers' preferences and attitudes towards plant-based products designed to replace animal-based products 
PROVES Promoting evidence-based solutions for biodiversity and ecosystem services delivery)

For further information about ATU and EU Green projects please contact Margaret Mulchrone, Project Co-ordinator. Margaret.mulchrone@atu.ie or see: Seed projects_2023 - University of Angers (univ-angers.fr)

Regina Daly, Atlantic TU Communications 
Tel: +353 (0)91 742826 Mob: +353 (0)879618355
regina.daly@atu.ie  www.atu.ie/news