The University of Edinburgh is one of eleven leading European research universities who have come together to transform higher education and research in Europe in this unique alliance – Una Europa.
To be eligible for seed funding, the initiative proposed must be coordinated by senior academic staff from one Una Europa university and involve senior academic staff from at least one other Una Europa university.
Virtual Slaughterhouse Simulators
Dr Alessandro Seguino is Senior Lecturer in the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies. He explains how his successful project was impacted by this funding: “Veterinary surgeons working on farms and at food-processing establishments play a fundamental role in safeguarding public health and animal welfare.
“An essential part of the undergraduate training in Europe involves veterinary students undertaking placements within abattoirs. Increasing exposure to practical training in inspection techniques of animals presented for slaughter contribute to the prevention of foodborne hazards entering the food chain, posing a risk to public health.
“Our main aim was to create a forum of multidisciplinary experts from five European universities, the UNA Europa partners, to support the development of virtual slaughterhouse simulators and other educational tools to advance Veterinary Public Health pedagogy in Europe and internationally.
In March 2022, a hybrid workshop was held at the University of Bologna in Italy to showcase a demo of the Virtual Slaughterhouse Simulator and to have a wider discussion that involved all the main stakeholders in Veterinary Public Health education. As a result, ten additional European academic institutions have now joined the consortium and support this project.”
Find out more about this project.
ILIO
Federica Pedriali is Professor of Literary Metatheory and Modern Italian Studies in the School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures. She also won this funding previously with her project ILIO. She shares more: “The Una Europa Seed Funding grants are a fabulous way to get a collaborative project going. With colleagues from the Universities of Bologna, KU Leuven and Madrid, last year we applied for a kernel project called ILIO.
“The idea was to establish an international observatory on contemporary Italian fiction hosting online and in person events to discuss reception, translation and pedagogical traditions in the four partner’s countries.
“Our ambition is to set up a permanent summer school long-term. As well as hosting workshops online, we have met once already in Bologna, and will host a conference in Madrid in the autumn to discuss ways forward and next funding bids. In short, the perfect project size to grow ideas and networks.”
An expression of interest should be submitted by 1 July 2022. The deadline for applications is 29 July 2022, at 5pm.
More information can be found on the Una Europa website: