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Malta: highlights from the PRIMA Workshop

The Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) organised a day-long PRIMA Proposal Writing Workshop on the 10th of January 2022 from 9.30am – 5.00pm (CET).

The Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) is a multilateral programme that strives to bring stakeholders from 19 different Mediterranean countries to work together in addressing common challenges faced in this region through research and innovation (R&I). PRIMA has been awarding projects related to the thematic areas of Water Management, Sustainable Farming Systems, and the Agro-food Value Chain since 2018.

The workshop aimed to build capacity amongst PRIMA stakeholders on how to write successful proposals for R&I funding, as well as provide an avenue for networking, resulting in increased proposal submissions in areas of common interest – aims that align well also with the ambitions of the 5+5 Dialogue Member Countries. It was delivered by the PRIMA Project Officer Mr. Marco Orlando, who gave an in-depth overview of the PRIMA programme, how it operates, and the Calls foreseen for 2022. Furthermore, participants were informed on how to write PRIMA Stage 1 and Stage 2 proposals and on how to find international partners to join or build strong project consortia.

The workshop was held in a hybrid format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation. While only a small group could be allowed to participate in the in-person event to ensure the safety of those who attended, the online registrants counted 395, and hailed from a wide array of countries including Greece, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Italy, Mauritania, India, France, Algeria, Portugal, Tunisia, Spain, Morocco and Turkey. The wide geographical coverage of this workshop was facilitated by the esteemed support from the 5+5 Dialogue (Research, Innovation and Higher Education) and PRIMA Secretariat.

In-person attendees were invited to apply the knowledge acquired during the workshop to frame a project idea and pitch their project proposal to their peers. On the other hand, online attendees were invited to network virtually on the Wonder.me platform. The workshop came to an end with a final session that informed the workshop participants about the different PRIMA-related Calls/Schemes that MCST will be participating/launching this year, as well as a brief overview of the National Rules that apply to Malta-based entities.

Another PRIMA event, to be held fully online, is currently being organised by PRIMA on the 18th of January 2022 at 9.30 CET. Interested stakeholders are invited to register their interest to participate in this PRIMA InfoDay session, during which the annual work plan will be extensively discussed. A preliminary version of the annual work plan is currently available on the PRIMA website. More information about the PRIMA InfoDay can be found via the following link: PRIMA MED Infodays (prima-med.org)

Further information: https://www.plumtri.org/Highlights_from_the_PRIMA_Proposal_Writing_Works...