Mobility of students and academic personnel of Life Sciences between Latvia and Norway

Project facts

Project promoter:
University of Latvia
Project Number:
LV05-0024
Target groups
Students and trainees in all forms of higher education level education and training,
Teachers, trainers, managers, leaders and other staff within higher education institutions
Status:
Completed
Initial project cost:
€41,302
Final project cost:
€30,707
From Norway Grants:
€ 27,636
The project is carried out in:
Rīga

Description

The Strategic Plan of the University of Latvia (UL) 2010-2020 appreciates an active involvement of students in mobility schemes, as this contributes to the excellence of student training and improves subsequently their employability. Mobility is also regarded as an utmost important tool for raising staff Academic qualification in the strategic policy documents of the University. According to the Development Strategy of UL the research is focused on multi-disciplinarity and creation of synergy between both Latvian and foreign research institutions. In this regard, our partners are outstanding institutions with a strong background in education through research. The main objectives of the proposal are 1) strengthening of professional skills of students and academic personnel and 2) their integration into European research area. It is planned to ensure the sustainability of this project by allocating Erasmus funding and the funds available for bilateral cooperation activities. Also during the course of the project alternative routes for maintaining the established collaboration in long-term will be researched through integration of students into research project (see synergy). Practically, training through research is the main focus of this project. It is expected that students and academic staff will visit UO to acquire innovative immunological methods and proteome analysis techniques. Taking into consideration that specific equipment and models, such as the newest LC-MS/MS equipment, in vivo imaging system, mouse xenograft models, are not available for Latvian researchers, collaboration with UO would significantly broaden the horizons for the education and professional trainings of both young and experienced researchers.

Summary of project results

The project was focused on deep integration of students and academic staff from University of Latvia and University of Oslo, including associated research institutions. The main activities of the mobility were the training through research and scientific seminars/lectures, ensuring a platform for sustainable collaboration and efficient knowledge exchange between participants. Overall 2 student and 11 academic staff mobilities were implemented. The mobility resulted in strengthening of professional skills and academic knowledge of involved students, as well as their integration into European research area, which all together will benefit their career prospects. Specifically, the high quality research was performed by LU Biology faculty student Baiba Ķūrēna. Novel methods not available at University of Latvia (isolation and activation of tumor-associated macrophages, LC-MS/MS proteome analysis) were learned. On the other hand, the mobility was mutually beneficial for Norwegian scientists, since Baiba has transferred knowledge on oncolytic viral vectors acquired at Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre under the supervision of Dr. Anna Zajakina. Furthermore, the lecture courses selected by the second student, Anete Ogriņa, represent a high ranked programme on cancer research and animal studies. This programme is not available at University of Latvia now, therefore, the high impact of acquired knowledge is clearly visible. The academic staff mobility brought significant benefits to both institutions in terms of material exchange and the rational use of the infrastructure. Specifically, Latvian scientists had an opportunity to use Ivis in vivo imaging system for visualization and in vivo tracking of mesenchymal stem cells (performed by Uldis Bērziņš in collaboration with Inger Oynebraten, UO), whereas Norwegian partners received unique cell cultures and last generation oncolytic viral vectors, developed by Dr. Anna Zajakina (LU). In summary, the high impact of the mobility programme is confirmed by: -transfer of valuable knowledge through lectures, seminars and workshops; -strengthening the professional skills of the participants; -broadening the career prospects for young researchers; -synergy with the research project, significantly promoting the joint study; -sharing the infrastructure and facilities; -sharing the unique materials; -joint presentation of the results at the conference and preparation of publication; -exchange of cultural and social experience; -joint grant applications for sustainable collaboration.

Summary of bilateral results

The project anticipated deep integration of students and academic staff into collaborative project between Biology Faculty of University of Latvia and two world-class research institutions, including Institute of Clinical Medicine and Institute of Basic Medical Sciences as a part of University of Oslo. The infrastructures and facilities available at University of Oslo provided an outstanding platform for an excellent education and breakthrough research for young scientists. The research was focused on multidisciplinary and creation of synergy between both Latvian and foreign research institutions within the Research activity of the EEA and Norway Grants. The most talented and motivated students developed their theses within the frames of high quality research projects related to cancer studies and innovative approaches in stem cell research. Multilateral collaboration ensured knowledge transfer through a cooperation of groups with complementary expertise and implementation of internationally competitive research resulting in high-quality publications. Therefore, this cooperation has a clear potential to provide new carrier opportunities for the involved young scientists. The organized workshops, seminars and fruitful discussions during the visits ensured the transfer of knowledge and exchange of the ideas, which promote the sustainable interactions between participated scientists. The personal contacts and complementarity of the research interests already led to joint grant application within the EU EuroNanoMed 2017 programme. Other national and EU level research and education programmes are considered to support the long term collaboration of the participants.