As YERUN celebrates its 10th anniversary, April shines the spotlight on one of the network’s most fundamental pillars: research collaboration. From enabling and supporting cross-border partnerships to promoting a culture of openness and shared discovery, collaboration has always been central to YERUN’s mission of strengthening young research universities in Europe.
A culture of cooperation
YERUN was founded on the belief that collaboration is the driving force behind innovation. Over the past decade, our members have continuously worked together to address global challenges, pool expertise, and amplify their collective impact. Whether tackling topics ranging from sustainability, digitalisation, health, to social inclusion, YERUN universities have demonstrated that working across institutional and national boundaries accelerates excellence and multiplies opportunity.
Our approach to research collaboration is rooted in trust, mutual respect, and a shared ambition for European research. From co-authoring publications to forming interdisciplinary consortia, YERUN members engage in partnerships that extend beyond institutional walls and disciplinary silos.
YERUN Research Mobility Awards: connecting talent, advancing knowledge
At YERUN, collaboration is more than a value – it’s a practice that empowers researchers to learn from each other, develop new skills, and create lasting partnerships across Europe. One of the most impactful ways we foster this is through the YERUN Research Mobility Awards (YRMAs), launched in 2017.
Originally created as mobility grants to support short-term research visits between YERUN member institutions, the YRMAs have evolved over the years to reflect changing research needs. During the pandemic, the programme incorporated virtual collaboration, allowing researchers to connect and co-develop projects remotely.
Today, the awards place a stronger emphasis on team-based research collaboration, often involving multiple researchers and institutions, and aligning closely with YERUN’s strategic goals on openness, interdisciplinarity, and impact.
These awards offer early-career and mid-career researchers the opportunity to connect with peers at other YERUN institutions, explore new methodologies, and co-develop ideas that often grow into long-term collaborations. The RMAs have led to co-authored publications, new grant proposals, and expanded professional networks—bringing lasting value well beyond the initial mobility period.
In this short testimonial, Dr. Maria Meier, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Konstanz, shares how her RMA-funded visit to the University of Essex allowed her to learn a cutting-edge method in neuroimaging and establish new collaborations in her field of psychoneuroendocrinology.
Through her experience, Maria highlights how the YRMAs not only enhance scientific knowledge and skills, but also embody YERUN’s commitment to Open Science, early-career support, and a more collaborative and transparent research ecosystem.
YRMA Voices: Spotlight on Collaboration
Research Mobility Awards continue to be a cornerstone of YERUN’s mission to connect and empower the next generation of researchers. As part of our new series, YRMA Voices, we’re sharing stories directly from researchers whose careers and collaborations were impacted by the award.
In the first edition, Dr. Sangeet Saha (University of Essex) and Dr. Tullio Viola (Maastricht University) reflect on the impact of their mobility experiences.
Dr. Saha, a computer scientist, collaborated virtually with the University of Bremen during the pandemic, resulting in joint publications and ongoing funding applications.
Dr. Viola, a philosopher working on cultural transmission, visited Brunel University’s Centre for Culture and Evolution.
Both scholars agree: YERUN’s support allowed them to grow not only as researchers but also as members of an international academic community.
In the second edition, we meet two of the 2024/2025 awardees: Dr. Hannah Ihme (University of Bremen) and Dr. Dorina T. Papanastasiou (NOVA University Lisbon), who are preparing for their upcoming research stays.
Dr. Ihme will join the SoNeAt Lab at the University of Essex to train in fNIRS hyperscanning and enhance her team’s neuroimaging capabilities for studying parent-child attachment.
Dr. Papanastasiou, a materials scientist, will visit Brunel University to collaborate on life cycle assessment for printed electronics.
As they prepare for their mobility periods, both researchers highlight the excitement of hands-on learning, shared methodologies, and building sustainable, cross-border collaboration.
Explore Previous YERUN Research Collaborations
Curious to see how YERUN Research Mobility Awards have sparked collaboration across Europe?
Browse through our past projects and discover how researchers have turned mobility into meaningful, long-lasting partnerships.
Explore previous YRMA collaborations here:
Connect by YERUN: a smarter way to collaborate
Officially launched in November 2024, Connect by YERUN is a new digital platform designed to boost collaboration among researchers and research managers across the YERUN network. Developed by the University of Southern Denmark, the platform brings together tools to simplify partnership building and support research strategy.
With real-time collaboration insights, AI-powered matchmaking, and easy access to EU funding calls, Connect helps users identify the right people, projects, and opportunities quickly and efficiently. Researchers can search for profiles, publications, and grants, while also receiving smart suggestions based on their own research interests. Everything is consolidated in one intuitive interface, integrating data from ORCID, CORDIS, and more.
Open to all YERUN researchers and managers with a visible ORCID-linked institutional email, the platform is already transforming how members connect and collaborate across borders and disciplines.
Explore Connect by YERUN today: discover new collaborations, build your network, and unlock new research possibilities across the YERUN community!
