In a collaborative effort, seven Unite! partner universities have curated a comprehensive catalogue of research infrastructures (RIs) now open to external users. This initiative stems from the initial creation of a non-exhaustive list aimed at facilitating the sharing of infrastructures among the partner institutions.
Informed by explicit criteria, the inclusion of Research Infrastructures (RIs) in the list was contingent upon their accessibility to external users and alignment with Unite!'s scientific focus areas, encompassing Industry 4.0, sustainable energy, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship. Acknowledging the partners' excellence in the domain, "health engineering" was seamlessly integrated into these focus areas. Furthermore, the selected RIs must demonstrate a notable degree of uniqueness or scarcity.
Recognizing the limited utility of a simple list, the workgroup transformed the concept into a dynamic online tool with filtering options to aid users in identifying and selecting the most relevant RIs. To enhance user-friendliness, the filters were refined to include keywords, the RI’s parent institution, and a more detailed scientific categorization based on the European Research Council (ERC) panel structure, a European standard framework which is familiar to researchers who apply for ERC funding.
The tool provides detailed information on each RI, including a concise description, a link to the respective website, contact email addresses, availability of technical personnel for external user assistance, and whether it has an online booking system.
Initially developed as a prototype on Excel with macros, the implementation of the online tool faced challenges during the conversion process on the Unite! Metacampus. Subsequently, a “satellite project of Unite!”, aUPaEU (a University Partnership for Acceleration of European Universities), took charge of the implementation. This tool is poised not only to enhance collaboration among the partner HEIs of Unite! but also to contribute to broader European cooperation, aligning with the EU's vision of fostering a unified research and innovation ecosystem.
While the Unite! catalogue of RIs will soon undergo testing by a group of UPC (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) and Grenoble INP – UGA users, it is already accessible through Agora: