With an aim to increase the possibilities for the presentation of European projects by members of the RITECA Network, and in order to give researchers as many tools as possible to carry out their activities, it is essential to provide updated information on the various European calls through holding of information days on an annual basis.

     To do so, FUNDECYT will carry out an analysis of the most relevant European calls for their dissemination at every Information day and each of these days will be circulated among the members of RITECA Network and an annual information day will be held.

     Information days are expected to receive a high number of participants, in order to increase the number of presentation of projects for European calls.

The main purpose of holding these workshops is to promote cross-border collaboration between research centres and companies in Spain and Portugal, in order to be able to lay the groundwork for future collaborations that will materialise with the implementation of new research projects and with the improvement of quality management systems of these entities.

The specific objectives are:

• To promote the creation of multi-disciplinary synergies that allow for the design of new research projects aimed at the development of new devices in the application of minimally invasive surgery which will enable mitigation of delays which are experienced in comparison with other European regions.
• To promote communication between technology centres and companies to share their know-how and to deploy possible technology solutions to cater to the needs demanded by minimally invasive surgery and thus increase the quality of patients healthcare.
• Exchange knowledge and experiences in the field of quality management within the scope of technology centres of Spain and Portugal and to learn about the various actions that are being carried out and the people in-charge of them, spreading Quality in the areas of work of each of the participating entities.

 There are two planned actions in this task depending on workshop topic:

• Scientific-technical workshops
• Quality dissemination workshops

The overall objective of this task is to train research teams to successfully participate in competitive calls for projects in the European Research Area, for example, the Seventh Framework Programme.

This will be developed through the following specific objectives:

• To design and put in place a training programme for personnel of technology centres on the management of European research projects (proposal preparation courses to be developed in collaboration with FUNDECYT-PCTEX).
• To train work teams to apply for the above mentioned calls.
• To transfer knowledge between partners on technical matters of interest.

 To do so, the following actions are contemplated:

• Conduct courses and seminars on competition issues of concerned partners.
• Receive training for experts in European project management by prestigious agencies, such as CDTI and likewise.
• Hold workshops in collaboration with FUNDECYT-PCTEX to promote participation in competitive proposals of the European Research Area.

The First Iberian Meeting on Bioeconomy is intended to be the first step in the deployment process of the European Bioeconomy Strategy in Extremadura , in the context of cross-border cooperation within the EUROACE Euro Region and Spain-Portugal Iberian cooperation. The overall objectives of this meeting are: 1) To publicise the European Bioeconomy Strategy and its Action Plan to the interested parties present in EUROACE: government policymakers related to bioeconomy, universities, companies, research and innovation stakeholders and 2) To identify bioeconomy opportunities for Extremadura, Alentejo and Centro within EUROACE, analysing the cooperation channels between the concerned parties in relation to funding sources (EU, national and regional).

This meeting will comprise of:

• Introduction to the Bioeconomy Strategy in EUROPE, briefed by representatives from Portugal and Extremadura.
• Presentation of Hidranatura, The Campus of International Excellence and the Science and Technology Park of Extremadura as Support Tools for R&i in Bioeconomy sectors.
• Presentation of RITECA II Project and CAVATRANS project as cross-border networks that support, develop and implement R&I in Bioeconomy sectors.
• Presentation on Bio-professions and Bio-entrepeneurs from Spain and Portugal, as case studies related to Bioeconomy.

They will be organised by the Principal Stakeholders in collaboration with the partners involved in these tasks (IP Beja, COTR, INRB, CEBAL).

The purpose of these meetings is to showcase the results achieved by the participants of montado/dehesa (INTERREG IIIA) project and the related activity of RITECA I and II. Likewise, it will deal with the possibilities that innovation has to offer towards the conservation of this common ecosystem to both the countries.

As an additional goal, it is to foster collaboration between the teams working in both the countries to strengthen the Dehesa Observatory considered in the Project.

With regards to the Management of water resources, in collaboration with HIDRANATURA (The Campus of International Excellence of UEX), this important action is intended to enhance value and complementarities for an efficient management of these resources.