Project name: Straits Climate Connections: Net Zero Research and Impact Database
Project partners: The University of Kent (Kent, UK) ; Université de Lille (Nord, FR) ; Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (West Flanders, BE) ; Universiteit Gent (East Flanders, BE)
Project length: September 2022 - April 2023
Grant awarded : 15,000 € (Oost-Vlaanderen ; West-Vlaanderen ; Nord) ; £5,000 (Kent)
Project status : Completed
Link : https://research.kent.ac.uk/environmental-sustainability-experts/
Description
This project will establish an open, publicly accessible web-based database of net-zero and cross-regional environmental research by the 3i network of universities (University of Lille, Ghent University, KU Leuven and the University of Kent). There will be an emphasis on accessible language and ease of communication to ensure wide reach. The database will create a ‘one stop shop’ for knowledge exchange between regional stakeholders in addressing net-zero challenges and provide a platform for increasing collaboration and for connecting regional climate ambitions with research expertiserme permettant de renforcer la collaboration et les liens entre l’expertise scientifique et les ambitions climatiques à un niveau régional.
Achievements
The database has been freely and publicly accessible since February 2023. It provides contact details for researchers at 3i institutions and further information on their research outputs through a link to their institutional profile.
Each member of the 3i network has used existing public engagement channels to inform target groups about the database. By the end of April 2023, the database had been visited over 2,000 times from countries across the world, including the UK, Belgium, France, the USA, India, China and a range of EU states.
The database will play an important role in facilitating the 3i consortium’s CChESMate project (Climate Change and Energy Solutions through Materials Science), a growing collaboration between research groups from all four 3i institutions working in the field of ‘climate & energy’. A workshop is planned for late 2023 or early 2024 to identify cross-network proposals, appropriate funding opportunities. The 3i partners would also like to discuss future collaboration with the Straits Committee and are considering holding a climate conference to support the ongoing development of regional cooperation.