SEED4EU+

SEED4EU+ enables funding for inter-university initiatives by teams from the 4EU+ member universities. The programme is funded directly from the budgets of the Alliance universities. Seventeen out of the forty two submitted proposals have been awarded. Among them there are three projects coordinated by the University of Warsaw:

• Naming for othering in a diversified Europe across selected European languages (NODE) led by Dr Marta Falkowska from the Faculty of Polish Studies – a team of researchers from the UW, Charles University in Prague, and Heidelberg University will examine the concept of “othering” in public discourse in selected languages (Polish, German, Czech, Croatian) with an emphasis on analysing those discursive strategies that aim to exclude, marginalise, delegitimise, denigrate groups or individuals. The research will focus on new words and their derivatives related to immigrants/refugees or stereotypes of nations and minority groups, among others;
• Raising accessibility in tertiary education: 3D teaching and learning aids in the multisensory approach (3MultiAccess) led by Dr Agnieszka Kałdonek-Crnjaković from the Faculty of Modern Languages – the researchers intend to develop and implement innovative teaching and learning methods, as well as create research-based teaching materials for use in language and language-related subjects in tertiary education. The materials are to deal with phonetics, phonology and practical pronunciation, and use non-standard solutions, such as the principle of multimodality, multisensory and 3D technology. The project is concentrated on further collaboration between the UW Faculty of Modern Languages and the UW’s Office for Persons with Disabilities to develop a set of 3D materials for English phonetics and phonology classes for blind students. The research will be carried out by researchers from the UW, Charles University in Prague, Heidelberg University, and the University of Copenhagen;
• Urban regulations and political memory: towards understanding spatio-temporal aspects of urban development PLUS (UNREAD+) led by Dr Karolina Wojciechowska from the Faculty of Law and Administration – is a continuation of the UNREAD educational project, which addresses the changing determinants of urban development of smart cities in Poland, the Czech Republic and Italy, according to three dimensions: past (history), present (law) and future (geography). The emphasis is put on an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to help students understand the complexity of new urban centres, where real estate development must co-exist with environmental protection as well as the history and heritage of the local community. UNREAD+ involves expanding teaching and research collaborations, improving organisational and administrative cooperation, expanding the geography team, collaborating with practitioners through workshops and seminars, disseminating course results through new communication pathways, and providing additional soft skills for students and faculty. It will be implemented by researchers from the UW, Charles University in Prague, Sorbonne University, and the University of Milan.

Visiting Professorships

Visiting Professorships enable academics to undertake a two- or three-month stay at another 4EU+ member university, carrying out joint educational and research activities. The programme is funded from the budget of the 4EU+ European University Alliance Association.

Nine out of the twenty two submitted applications have been awarded. Beneficiaries of the grants to visit other universities are:

• Prof. Aneta Ostaszewska from the UW Faculty of Applied Social Sciences and Resocialisation – the researcher will visit the University of Milan, holding interdisciplinary research seminars as part of a project focusing on women’s and human rights in the context of global challenges;
• Dr Joanna Wójtowicz from the UW Faculty of Biology – together with Prof. Jacob J.K. Kirkensgaard’s team, the researcher will conduct interdisciplinary research in the University of Milan. The scientific objective is to elucidate the light-induced dynamic changes in thylakoid structure, vital for photosynthesis, by measuring the kinetics of these alterations at the nanoscale level;
• Prof. Krzysztof Wohlfeld from the UW Faculty of Physics – the researcher will visit the University of Geneva to undertake a research collaboration with Prof. Louk Rademaker’s team on the exotic properties of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) in Moiré superlattices. The visit will also serve to engage students and doctoral candidates from the University of Geneva and the University of Warsaw in the jointly implemented projects;
• Prof. Vadym Zheltovskyy from the UW Faculty of Political Science and International Studies – the researcher will mainly co-teach a course at the University of Milan on EU law and institutions, covering both Polish and Italian perspectives. He will also participate in seminars on the EU’s transformational leadership and policy changes in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.