My research mobility supported by the YERUN RMA took place between April 25 – May 10, 2019, at three Barcelona-based academic institutions, two of which are YERUN members (UAB and UPF) and one is a think tank (IBEI) founded by several public bodies including YERUN members. My principal collaborators were Antoni Durà, Tenured Professor at Department of Geography, UAB and Andrea Noferini, Associate Professor at Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, UPF.

I am very happy about the visit on all accounts. My host and other members of staff were very accommodating and took very good care of me. During the visit, I met with many members of the department staff and the research group Grammar and Pragmatics. I gave two lectures on the use of English in Finland and in the European context, both of which were met positively by the students, who showed interest by asking questions and reflecting on their own use of English, and the use of English in Belgium.

Thanks to the YERUN mobility award, I was able to visit Dr. Susana Cristobal at Linköping University (Sweden). She is an impressive and creative scientist with an outstanding career. My visit to her lab allowed me, first of all, to perceive how it is to manage a top research group in the field of environmental proteomics; and, secondly, to know a remarkable scientist and learn from the invaluable knowledge that she has acquired through her life and scientific experiences.

Thanks to the YERUN Research Mobility Award I have done a research stay from the 11th to the 18th of May 2019 with Prof. Dr. Tsjalling E. Swierstra at the Department of Philosophy of the Maastricht University Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, within the framework of the excellence Science, Technology and Society Studies (MUSTS) research programme. The stay has also allowed me to exchange views with other researchers of the group, among whom Darian Meacham, Ties van de Werff and Katleen Gabriels.

The proposed legislation published by the European Commission (EC) on 11 July reinforces the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), enabling it to impact on innovation policy in member states and on the performance and funding of European institutes of higher education (HEI).  YERUN previously advocated more openness of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), as well as more outreach to and collaboration with non-member HEI.