New grant from the EU’s Horizon2020 programme

Press release

New grant from the EU’s Horizon2020 programme

The Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS) at the University of Tartu has received funding from the European Commission for a three-year Twinning project which will be carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University (Sweden) and the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent (United Kingdom). The 1-million euro grant has been allocated from the EU’s “Horizon 2020” Work Programme 2014-2015, based on an application entitled “Building Research Excellence in Russian and East European Studies at the Universities of Tartu, Uppsala and Kent.”

The project will be coordinated by the University of Tartu, with Dr Piret Ehin, the Director of CEURUS, assuming responsibility for the effective management of the work of the consortium. The proposal submitted by the three institutions was evaluated very highly by the European Commission, earning the maximum number of points. Altogether, 553 applications were submitted in the framework of the Twinning scheme.

Known as “UPTAKE” (UPsala-TArtu-KEnt), the project was designed to increase research productivity and excellence and promote international visibility and integration of the three universities in the field of Russian and East European Studies by creating a dynamic, comprehensive, open and sustainable framework for cooperation and transfer of knowledge. Specifically, the project includes the launch of an ambitious new academic conference series, the organization of four international summer and winter schools, extensive inter-institutional mobility, joint supervision of doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows, coordinated promotion of research outputs, joint conceptualization and launch of new collaborative research projects, as well as extensive dissemination and communication measures.

The expected impact of the project is a significant improvement in the overall scientific capacity of the University of Tartu in the field of Russian and East European Studies, measured in terms of high-impact publications, external research funding, and integration into relevant international research networks. Due to the regionally leading position of the coordinating institution, as well as the open and inclusive approach chosen by the consortium, the project is expected to make a significant contribution to spreading excellence in the entire Baltic region and post-communist Europe more broadly.

For more information, please contact Dr Piret Ehin at piret.ehin[at]ut.ee