Internationale Kooperationen in Lehre und Forschung

Übersicht zu laufenden Kooperationsprojekten an der MNF

EmpoWering EDUC for Inclusive Development of the ERA. The EDUC university alliance, supported by the 2019 Erasmus+ call, has established a trans-institutional community for both students and academic staff in recent years, offering significant benefits to its members. However, there are disparities in performance between EDUC members in widening and non-widening countries, reducing the benefits received by some members. To address this issue, the EU-funded EDUC-WIDE project aims to reinforce the EDUC alliance. This will be achieved by protecting and ensuring the integrity of open science in research and infrastructure within EDUC, preparing researchers for diverse careers, assisting in implementing gender equality measures, focusing on responsible research practices, scaling up research and innovation collaboration, and increasing focus on addressing significant societal challenges.  
Widening Participation EDUC-WIDE: 

Climate tectonics interactions using big data-informed models. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions DN (MSCA) Earth topography and its subsurface are the result of complex interactions between tectonics and climate. Sediments in the shallow subsurface contain vital resources including water and energy that are crucial for mankind. They also provide temporary and longterm waste and energy storage. At the same time active deformation and rapid climate change interact posing significant risk for natural hazards such as debris flow, hillslope instabilities, and active faulting. The objective of the INITIATE doctoral network is (1) to fill key knowledge gaps how climate tectonics interactions on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales control distribution of sediments, landscape stability, and geohazards using big-data informed models, and (2) to improve urgently needed training in linking large data sets to deterministic forward models and machine learning. The training of a pool of DCs provides an excellent capacity building for the next generation of geoscientists. Combined training in large data, modelling, and entrepreneurial skills will prepare the DCs to create their own start-up business at the end of the project and / or be employed in industry or academia.  INITIATE

Studying the Earth's surface with seismic methods. Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions DN (MSCA) Natural processes such as landslides, river flows and glacial movements all transfer energy through the ground in the form of seismic waves. In practice, tracking these seismic signals can help to monitor and predict processes of surface activity to prevent hazards. Known as environmental seismology, this emerging scientific field is in need of trained experts. To introduce a new generation of competent environmental seismologists, the EnvSeis project, funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, endeavours to train 12 young researchers in seismology and Earth surface sciences. The trainees will use seismic methods to study a vast array of landforms, establishing techniques and software to set standards in seismic monitoring within Europe and beyond. EnvSeis

SUSTAINABLE JET FUELS FROM CO2 BY MICRO-ALGAL CELL FACTORIES IN A ZERO WASTE APPROACH Green approach to developing sustainable jet fuels. Sustainable aviation fuels offer a promising solution for alleviating the environmental impact of the aviation sector, which is vital for trade and transportation. Their implementation could lead to a significant decrease in conventional fossil fuel usage over the medium to long term. The EU-funded ALFAFUELS project aims to advance this objective by developing a direct CO2 capture and utilisation solution. The project will concentrate on creating multiple cost-efficient and sustainable technologies, including microbial production for volatile fuel precursors, valorising cell components for starch and H2 production, and upgrading kerosene-type jet fuel through photochemistry. Alphafuels

BirdWatch - a Copernicus-based service for the improvement of habitat suitability of farmland birds via satellite-enabled monitoring, evaluation and optimisation of CAP greening measures  Farmland biodiversity is pivotal to a healthy ecosystem and depends on habitat suitability for different species, including farmland birds. The EU-funded BirdWatch project will develop a freely available monitoring tool for farmland bird habitat suitability. The service will be based on the combination of rigorous species distribution modelling with geospatial features of individual farmland parcels, derived from Earth Observation data. The project will set the habitat requirements against the requirements of local stakeholders, such as their budgetary and operational constraints. To determine the most appropriate choice of greening measure, BirdWatch will consider the benefits for both bird species and farmers, thus providing stakeholders with a decision support system for financial and operational planning. https://birdwatch-europe.org/  

Enhancing Climate-Resilient Crops by Innovative Priming Strategies. Climate change is putting crops under increasing stress. Heatwaves are a serious threat to global food security. Tomatoes, one of the most important crops worldwide, are especially at risk. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PRIMER project is training 12 doctoral candidates in priming strategies. These include genetic, chemical, and physiological methods that improve heat tolerance and protect yields. The project uses tools such as single-cell analysis, genomics, computational modelling, and new priming stimulants. PRIMER connects fundamental plant science with practical solutions. Beyond tomatoes, it prepares young researchers to face the complex challenges of sustainable agriculture in a warming world. Growing tomato resilience in a changing climate    

Breeding for coffee and cocoa root resilience in low input farming systems based on improved rootstocks Resilient rootstocks for low-input coffee/cocoa farming systems. Climate change seriously affects fruit tree crops. Thanks to grafting, rootstocks can confer enhanced tolerance to abiotic and biotic stresses. The EU-funded BOLERO project will develop phenotyping tools, apply them to evaluate coffee/cocoa root system architecture (RSA) traits, decode the microbiome of coffee/cocoa plants and interface with the root exudates with large-scale metabolic modelling. The project will use these resources to build predictive models of RSA traits in terms of genotypic data and microbiome composition and abundance to increase coffee/cocoa breeding. BOLERO will propose fast and low-cost breeding strategies to create rootstocks, test them in low-input coffee/cocoa farming systems and assess the agronomic performances and profitability of grafted plants in Vietnam.. BOLERO

Zoonoses Emergence across Degraded and Restored Forest Ecosystems. Contribution of ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss to the spread of zoonotic diseases. Ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss resulting from human interference have been speculated to contribute to the emergence of zoonotic diseases. However, it is still unclear exactly how and to what extent biodiversity loss contributes to zoonosis risk. Focusing on tropical biodiversity hotspots and temperate regions impacted by deforestation and related land use changes, the EU-funded ZOE project will dissect the connections between ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss and the emergence of zoonotic diseases. ZOE will carry out innovative research and establish collaborations across a consortium comprising seven EU and four American countries. The researchers will use cutting-edge technologies and community engagement to inform our understanding of these connections. Furthermore, they will propose means of mitigating the escalating risks to environmental health and human well-being.ZOE    

Development of innovative priming technologies safeguarding yield security in soft fruit crops through a cutting-edge technological approach.- Priming of plants to protect them from stresses Plants get stressed. Crop plants are vulnerable to various abiotic stresses (salinity, flooding, heat, cold, excess light) that reduce productivity and ultimately threaten efforts to nourish the planet. One solution is to use priming agents. Plants can be primed by chemical compounds, such as sodium nitroprusside and hydrogen peroxide. Today, the development of non-toxic priming agents (PAs) is an important R&D activity. The EU-funded PRIMESOFT project will explore innovations in the application of PAs in value-added soft fruit. It aims to bridge the gap between chemical and nanomaterial priming research and smart farming practice. The project will use computational analysis and mechanistic modelling to identify components that regulate the mode of action of PAs.PRIMESOFT