European funds ERDF and ESF+: nearly 36 million euros granted to ULiège

Following the call for projects of the European structural funds ERDF-ESF+ (European Regional Development Fund - European Social Fund) for the 2021-2027 programming period, the Walloon Government has recently confirmed the list of selected projects. At the end of this final selection, 33 of them are supported by the University of Liege, for a total funding of nearly € 33 million for ERDF projects and nearly € 3 million for ESF projects, for a total of nearly € 36 million.

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total of 688 projects have been selected in Wallonia: 374 for the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund)  and 314 for the ESF (European Social Fund). They represent a total investment of 1.357 billion euros in Wallonia. The selected projects are co-financed by the EU, Wallonia (or the FWB or the COCOF depending on the type of project) and the selected operators.

Among the 688 selected projects, 27 ERDF projects and 6 ESF projects are led by the University of Liege.

• On the ERDF side, the projects aim to develop partnerships and synergies between public and private research actors and above all to boost their research and innovation capacity, in fields such as immunology-infectiology, circular economy (eco-design of plastics from waste), sustainable additive manufacturing (materials) agri-food (analytical and technological platforms, biocontrol, food supplements, plant proteins and alternatives), integrated water management, network and system medicine, decarbonization, cybersecurity, quantum computing, support for project leaders in agri-food prototyping, and the promotion of research.
• On the ESF side, the projects aim to improve access to training and employment, fight against poverty and promote social inclusion.

This result for ULiège is the fruit of intense collaboration between researchers, external partners (universities, colleges, companies, associations and public administrations), the ULiège authorities, its financial resources administration and the RISE service (Research, Innovation, Support and Enterprises).

Focus on 2 ERDF project portfolios coordinated by ULiège 

1. The SWAM@SC portfolio (Smart Water Management Across Scales) addresses the global, sustainable and resilient management of water resources. This portfolio includes 6 projects aiming at monitoring, controlling, optimizing and exploiting water management (smart cities, hydrogeology and surface water, circularity, environment and holistic data integration [Dashboard]) towards more resilience, in particular with regard to the evolution of our societies (their needs and the pressures they exert on the environment) and extreme events. This portfolio, conducted in partnership between ULiège and Cebedeau, will focus on developing technological solutions for Walloon companies and players in the water sector who are called upon to meet numerous scientific, technological and socio-economic challenges.
2. The PHENIX portfolio (Technological and analytical platforms of Walloon excellence in agri-food): this portfolio of structuring and multidisciplinary projects brings together analytical platforms in the field of agri-food and biotechnologies. The objective is to strengthen existing structures of excellence within the partner university institutions (ULiège, UMons and ULB Gosselies) and approved research centers (CER groupe and CELABOR), all recognized at the European level, in order to provide Walloon companies with high-performance tools and adequate know-how that most of them cannot acquire individually. In addition, research projects associated with the portfolio (FoodBooster and Biocontrol) will rely on the state-of-the-art equipment acquired in this framework.

With all the projects it coordinates or participates in, ULiège intends to be fully involved in its Region, and in particular in the provinces of Liège, Luxembourg and Namur, where it is located.

What they say about it ...

"I would like to congratulate our research and administrative teams for obtaining this funding, which is essential for implementing innovative solutions for the region's socio-economic development. This significant result for the research teams involved demonstrates that our Institution wishes to occupy a central place and become a privileged partner in research for all industrial and private partners in the Region" Michel Moutschen, Vice-rector for Research, ULiège

"The coordination work and especially the mobilization of researchers were essential upstream to obtain this result. This program was a real challenge for our teams. Although we would have liked to see a favourable outcome for all the projects submitted, this result is a real success for all the research teams involved. We are looking forward to working with the project leaders to implement these ambitious projects and valorize their results. We remain at the disposal of the research teams for which the projects were not selected to accompany them in their search for funding." Didier Mattivi, Director RISE, ULiège

"The positioning of the University of Liège with the smart specialization strategy of Wallonia and strengthened collaboration with the whole Walloon ecosystem (administrations, LIEU network, professors, and University authorities) were the keys to this result. The quality of all the projects submitted is exciting and suggests new prospects for project development, including outside the framework of this call." Isabelle Rausin, Head of ERDF, IIS & Recovery Plan Project Development, RISE, ULiège

For more information

• The ERDF (European Regional Development Fund)
• The ESF (European Social Fund)
• See the press release of the Di Rupo Cabinet

The ERDF projects of ULiège

The ESF+ projects of the ULiège here :