From November 28th to December 2nd, 2022, about 85 people between European and Libyan partners finally met in Tunis for the Horizontal Training Week of the IBTIKAR project. After almost two years of implementation, it was a key moment for the project as it was the first time for the partners to meet in presence, and for many researchers in Libya to meet each other and discuss the future of research in the country.
The Horizontal skills training week was the first step of the capacity building action of IBTIKAR and aimed to develop a set of transversal skills of both academic and administrative staff at Libyan universities, meant to complement technical skills and contribute to an effective research management at the institutional level. The content of the horizontal training has been defined after consultation of the Libyan partners on their needs and after the validation of the whole training plan.
The training was structured in theoretical lectures and practical labs, working groups and interactive session, delivered by the European partners of IBTIKAR namely the University of Salento, Bogazici University and University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, and targeted both academic and administrative staff in the 11 Libyan universities of the project. The scope of the training was to learn about horizontal skills supporting research and cooperation, share experiences and ideas, and reflect on institutional and national strategies for research in a collective and participatory approach towards the definition of the Research Agenda for Libyan universities. During the week, partners had the opportunity to analyze and focus on pivotal topics such as research management, project management, proposal writing, communication and financial administration. Besides that, the Tunis week was the occasion to discuss research priorities for Libyan universities, the transferability elements of the inspiring practices collected, and debate about the technical instrumentation to be purchased for research activities.
The Agenda of the Horizontal skills training week in Tunis is available here.
The in-presence training week is complemented by an online training, developed by colleagues of the University of Salento, based on the UNIMED learning platform and accessible to +80 Libyan colleagues. Topics of the training: English skills; Digital tools for research. A series of thematic webinars is also under definition, to involve external stakeholders such as APRE, the Italian Agency for promoting European research, the European Training foundation on collaborative work and time-management, and include topics such as Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and governance of research.
The Horizontal skills training will be followed by a Vertical advanced training, in the form of on-site visits at European universities, at Bogazici University and at the University of Salento, focusing on the ne side on environmental studies, chemistry, health and biomedical sciences, and on the other side on engineering, nanotechnology, and environmental sciences and technologies.
