20-22 mai 2025 : NEOLAiA Research Support Team Seminar at Örebro University - Fostering Collaboration and future strategy

From 20 to 22 May 2025, Örebro University (Sweden) hosted the first seminar for the research support teams from the partner universities of the NEOLAiA European alliance, co-organized with the University of Tours.. Over the course of three days, participants had the opportunity to collectively reflect on current practices and future developments in three key areas: research data management, scientific communication, and doctoral studies. At the same time, the groups engaged in discussions about their roles in developing cooperation within the alliance, identifying concrete actions to strengthen synergies and facilitate inter-university collaboration.

Communicating NEOLAiA's scientific activity 

Science communication officers and researchers involved in public engagement and science outreach explored best practices for communicating science, both to internal university audiences and the general public. The variety of formats presented helped participants renew their approaches and enrich their communication tools. Discussions highlighted three major priorities: better sharing of good practices among partners, strengthening connections between researchers within the alliance, and increasing the visibility of initiatives, notably through close collaboration with the WP10 Communication team.

Supporting doctoral-level cooperation 

Bringing together doctoral school administrators and staff responsible for doctoral training, this group conducted a reflection on how to enhance doctoral cooperation. Discussions revealed a wide range of online training opportunities. Doctoral mobility was also seen as a key element, supported by the active promotion of joint supervision and cotutelle agreements. The identification of key contacts and the establishment of initial direct connections marked a concrete step toward deeper and more lasting cooperation.

Shared Challenges in Research Data Management 

The last group, composed of research data officers and institutional repository managers, identified common concerns and strong potential for collaboration. Discussions focused on raising awareness among researchers about the benefits of open data, developing good practices for data archiving, and responding to the growing demands of European funders. A partnership is currently being developed with the Research Data Centre at Bielefeld University to continue and deepen this work.

Collective highlights of the seminar 

Beyond the group work, the seminar featured several shared highlights: a tour of the Örebro campus and city, and two keynote lectures—one by Pr Thomas Denk (University of Örebro) on comparative approaches between universities and the other on the impact of generative artificial intelligence on research support professions, with the intervention of Jörg Heeren, specialist for Bielefeld University's communication office (UNIBI), Pr Mike Schäfer (University of Zurich) who offered a scientific perspective on how AI tools are shaping public and academic discourse, and Dr Justus Henke (Institute for Higher Education Research, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) who explored the wider implications of using AI in academic communication strategies.

The seminar ended with the presentation of another Research support network at the European University ERUA, an overview on Lithuanian research funding opportunities and a working session in which the RST members drafted the action plans for 2025–2026. This successful first seminar strengthened the ties between teams and laid the foundation for solid and lasting cooperation within NEOLAiA. The detailed reports and full programme are available on the NEOLAiA alliance website.