Alliance4Life
Alliance4Life is a bottom-up initiative of twelve leading life science institutions and universities from eleven countries of Central and Eastern Europe that aim at closing the divide in European health research and innovation between EU 14 and later joined EU 13 countries.
Members of the Alliance are progressive research institutions that have the necessary strength to stimulate institutional change.
Large-scale ESIF investments into the life science infrastructure alone could not close the R&I gap in Europe so far, financial support needs to be complemented by measures on research and innovation strategy at institutional and national levels.
Institutions gathered in this Alliance believe that improving governance and managerial practices as well as transforming institutional culture will enhance efficiency and increase return on investment.
Masaryk University (CEITEC) (Czech Republic)
St Anne University Hospital International Clinical Research Center (ICRC) (Czech Republic)
Biomedical Center of Slovak Academy of Sciences (BMC SAV) (Slovakia)
Medical University in Lodz (MUL) (Poland)
University of Zagreb School of Medicine (UZSM) (Croatia)
University of Tartu (UT) (Estonia)
Vilnius University (VU) (Lithuania)
Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis (LIOS) (Latvia)
University of Ljubljana (UL) (Slovenia)
Semmelweis University (SU) (Hungary)
Medical University Sofia (MUS) (Bulgaria)
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMFCD) (Romania)
Crowdhelix (CDH)
- Founded in 2017
- Permanent Alliance as structure since October 2019
- Brings together the top life science universities & institutions from each country based on their success in obtaining international grants
- Shared 3 European Commission projects (2018-2019, 2021-2024, 2024-2028 - ongoing)
- Shares the same goals and vision
- Develops mutual trust
- Clearly defined roles and responsibilities
- Culturally and geographically sensitive alliance
- Strives for long-term sustainability in CEE
Alliance4Life is committed to bridge the innovation gap in CEE region
University of Tartu is engaged in a prestigious EU ninth Framework Programme Horizon Europe four-year project Alliance4Life_BRIDGE aiming to bridge the research and innovation gap between EU14 and EU13. The action is supported by 4, 7 million euros from the Horizon Widera 2023 European Excellence Initiative and led by CEITEC Masaryk University.
Widening measures are used to be associated with helping eligible countries network with leading research institutions, learning from top scientists, gaining experience in call applications, running projects and attracting and retaining skilled staff. Instead of just networking and teambuilding, measures that aim to bridge Europe’s research gap must be used to fund scientific research itself.
On June 5, 2024 Science Business published a viewpoint of Toivo Maimets, Professor of Cell Biology, University of Tartu on Widening measures which is partly referred in the article.
The same viewpoint is published in Estonian.
Measures that aim to close Europe’s research gap must be used to fund science, says University of Tartu professor of Cell Biology Toivo Maimets.
While funding and participation of Widening countries has increased in recent years, the innovation gap is growing, because the leaders are moving faster than the rest. As the European Innovation Scoreboard 2023 shows, the difference in performance within the group of emerging innovators has not narrowed and they are not catching with the next group, the moderate innovators.
To make a true difference, Widening measures should no longer mainly deal with institutional capacity building and developing international research networks, but focus on supporting top level researchers and research cooperation. ScienceBusiness June 05, 2024
There is strong support for Widening to be retained in the EU’s next research and innovation framework programme, FP10, with an analysis of 15 position papers showing universities, research organisations and industry groups are in favour of keeping the measures in place.
However, there are diverging opinions on the structure, the instruments, the budget and the purpose of these measures.
We analyse the views of 15 groups of stakeholders to see how they want measures designed to close the east – west research performance gap to change in FP10. ScienceBusiness May 22, 2024
The upcoming Tenth Framework Programme (FP10) of the European Union (2028-2034) is expected to bring significant changes to research funding. In this article, Vallo Mulk, Senior Specialist of International R&D Cooperation at the University of Tartu, discusses the current developments and the uncertainties surrounding FP10, particularly in relation to changes in funding allocation and research fields.
Mulk also interviews Professor Toivo Maimets, head of the Alliance4Life project at the University of Tartu and co-author of the Alliance’s Widening Policy Paper, a key document influencing the new Framework Programme.
Read the full article (in Estonian) which was published in August 2024 in the University of Tartu magazine (Number 04/2024).
All publications
2025
On January 9th, researchers of the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology participated in a joint seminar with Alina Paas, an Intellectual Property Analyst from the University’s Entrepreneurship Center. The seminar aimed to address challenges scientists face in managing intellectual property and navigating the initial steps of commercialization, providing practical tools to help overcome these obstacles.
Alina Paas is responsible for the protection and commercialization of intellectual property (IP) created at the university. She also provides guidance and training for students and staff. With extensive experience, Alina has advised corporate clients and startups from 19 countries on matters related to intellectual property and contract law.
Starting in 2025, Alina will lead the Technology Transfer Focus Group within the Alliance4Life consortium, driving initiatives to enhance the transfer of research outcomes into practical applications.
The news was published at the webpage of the IMCB on 16.01.2025.
2024
The Alliance4Life proudly congratulates Professor Toivo Maimets, a distinguished member of our Board and a leading figure in Estonian science, for receiving the prestigious Tiiu Sild memorial lifetime achievement award for long-standing and systematic popularization of science and technology. This award was presented at the Estonian Research Council’s annual science communication conference on November 15, 2024, which recognised outstanding advocates of science.
Read the full article on the webpage
2023
University of Tartu is engaged in a prestigious EU ninth Framework Programme Horizon Europe four-year project Alliance4Life_BRIDGE aiming to bridge the research and innovation gap between EU14 and EU13. The action is supported by 4, 7 million euros from the Horizon Widera 2023 European Excellence Initiative and led by CEITEC Masaryk University.
The Alliance4Life consortium, consisting of 12 leading life science institutions from 11 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including the University of Tartu, hosted the conference "Widening Instruments - Participants' View" at the Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU in Brussels on 12 December.
On November 15, 2023 the conference on sustainable science titled “Sustainable Science – What is the Environmental Footprint of Scientific Knowledge Creation?” was organized by the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and the Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Tartu. This was the first conference focused on the environmental burden of creating scientific research itself among Estonian universities which brought together experts from all local major universities and research funders.
Although several measures have been implemented to close the innovation gap between the old and the new EU member states, the gap continues to increase. An analysis focusing on life sciences suggests that instead of importing talent from Western Europe, more emphasis should be laid on nurturing local excellence.
From 8-10 June 2023, 30 early-stage researchers (PhD, PostDoc) from Alliance4Life partners were invited to Ljubljana, Slovenia where another Skills Academy was held with the focus in upgrading personal competencies and expanding scientific, leadership and managerial skills.
On the last week of April, 2023 the Allinace4Life gathered in Medical University of Lodz, Poland to held a Community Meeting, thematic scientific mini-conference with matchmaking event and a technology transfer workshop for the members of the alliance.
The bottom-up initiative of twelve leading life science institutions from eleven EU-13 countries Alliance4Life held it’s second Research Management Administration Academy (RMA Academy) and Early Stage Researchers’ Retreat on the last week of January in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
With the first courses organized in September (12-16, 2022) in Bulgaria and hosted by the Medical University of Sofia, Alliance4Life has opened its Research Management Administration Academy (RMA academy) focused on training research management professionals from each member country of the project.
This long-awaited in-person Community Meeting followed a two and half years of online collaboration caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The Community Meeting and Skills Academy took place from 28th to 30th April and brought together 120 scientists and research managers from 12 countries in the intellectual capital of Estonia – Tartu.
PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from more than eleven European countries had a unique chance to get together, learn, network, explore interesting career possibilities and funding options. Alliance4Life organized Early Stage Researcher´s Retreat that will connect twelve leading Central and Eastern European life science universities and research institutes from eleven countries in an online interactive event that took take place on 20 and 21 January 2022.
2022
With the first courses organized in September (12-16, 2022) in Bulgaria and hosted by the Medical University of Sofia, Alliance4Life has opened its Research Management Administration Academy (RMA academy) focused on training research management professionals from each member country of the project.
This long-awaited in-person Community Meeting followed a two and half years of online collaboration caused by the covid-19 pandemic. The Community Meeting and Skills Academy took place from 28th to 30th April and brought together 120 scientists and research managers from 12 countries in the intellectual capital of Estonia – Tartu.
PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from more than eleven European countries had a unique chance to get together, learn, network, explore interesting career possibilities and funding options. Alliance4Life organized Early Stage Researcher´s Retreat that will connect twelve leading Central and Eastern European life science universities and research institutes from eleven countries in an online interactive event that took take place on 20 and 21 January 2022.
Friday, 4 October, the founding members of the Alliance4Life gathered at Vilnius University to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Alliance4Life connects 10 leading life science institutions from nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe that have joined the European Union since 2004.
2019
Friday, 4 October, the founding members of the Alliance4Life gathered at Vilnius University to sign a Memorandum of Understanding. Alliance4Life connects 10 leading life science institutions from nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe that have joined the European Union since 2004.
