Project title: Cluster of excellence for interdisciplinary research of tangible and intangible heritage at the University of Bucharest
Project acronym: ACCENT
Contract: no.41PFE / 30.12.2021
Project type: institutional development project – Excellence Funding Projects in RDI
Contractor: University of Bucharest
Funder: Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization
Project director: Prof.univ.dr. Carmen Chifiriuc, Vice-Rector of Research
Implementation period: 2021-2024
Project description
The project “Cluster of excellence for interdisciplinary research of tangible and intangible heritage within the University of Bucharest” (ACCENT) is a particular initiative of UB that aims to increase institutional performance in the field of historical and archaeological cultural heritage in our country through an inter-, multi-, multi- and transdisciplinary, which involves the participation of teams from several faculties in our institution with expertise in various disciplines (archaeology, anthropology, biology, chemistry, physics, geology, geography, history, etc.), which facilitates a generous coverage of several priority areas of interest established by the “Development Strategy of the University of Bucharest (2020-2023)”. This harmonization is a strong point of this project proposal but also a primary guarantee of the excellent feasibility of this approach.
The project “Cluster of excellence for interdisciplinary research of tangible and intangible heritage within the University of Bucharest” (ACCENT) was submitted and won in Program 1 – Development of the national research and development system, Subprogram 1.2 – Institutional performance, 2021 competition for type INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS – PROJECTS FOR FINANCING EXCELLENCE IN RDI. This is a beneficial opportunity for consolidating and developing the field of RDI, in the segment of humanities, within our institution.
In this context, the challenges proposed by the ACCENT project overlap one of the directions of institutional development of our university in the period 2022-2024, which aims to consolidate and activate the research potential in the field of socio-humanities by developing new research directions and topics, unique and innovative for Romania, leading to the improvement of specific performance indicators. According to the UB research strategy for the coming years, a series of projects will be considered to deal with transdisciplinary topics of significant interest for the national, regional and European humanistic culture. In the context in which, at the international and regional level, the objectives of heritage and humanistic values, care for the environment and the planet, sustainability and sustainability, civil society-educational institutions and industries, including creative industries, are collaboration highlighted. At present, the ability to leap qualitative results in the medium and long term impact on the Romanian society.
Project objectives
The choice of RDI directions on cultural heritage, more precisely the study of the past (archaeology and history), is not random; this is a research direction with extraordinary potential, which involves not only the contribution of humanities (history, archaeology, cultural anthropology / social) but also that of some disciplines in the field of hard sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, geography, geology). Moreover, the implementation in 2018 at the UB of a new research direction in Romania – ArchaeoSciences (Archaeological Sciences), which involves an inter-, multi-, multi- and transdisciplinary framework based on the interaction and collaboration between several disciplines (archaeology, biology, chemistry, physics, geography, geology, history, etc.) in order to study the past, in a modern, feasible and current form, has already created the structural, conceptual and institutional framework necessary for the implementation of this project.
At the same time, this project proposal will undoubtedly contribute to the development of the national RDI system and reduce the existing gap in the field of cultural heritage research between Eastern and Western Europe by increasing the institutional performance of UB.
Observing the history and evolution of humanity, the representations in the heritage prove to be important vectors of value, which determines UB to pay special attention to increasing the human resource of research in the field and its quality, which can provide stability over time. Also, the coherence and depth of research results obtained can make a significant contribution to the quality training of generations of students and the assistance of specialists in the field of “strong disciplines”, but on the other hand, the latter benefit through the development of human value and humanism in general.
Project implementation plan
The project’s realization and implementation plan is a dynamic, coherent one, designed on 3 distinct annual stages, with 2 yearly sub-stages for 2022 and 2023 and a single phase for 2024 (according to the information package) to ensure the financial feasibility of the project.
The Gantt chart below shows a clear picture of the relative length of managerial and organizational activities within this project in annual stages, highlighting the overlaps of some activities and the volume of work involved:
The projection of time management in the Gantt chart above aims at segmenting the activities supported by this program into distinct categories – research support activities, activities related to research and development or activities other than those based on scientific research and experimental development.
Project budget
The budget is built in a balanced, responsible way, focusing on acquiring new equipment necessary for the RDI infrastructure imposed by the consolidation and development of the directions approached within the UB project. Another critical category is represented by scholarships, grants and support for training and advanced training involved in this project, both for young people (Postdocs, PhD students, Master’s students) and for young researchers who will specialize in the fields addressed in order to promote the critical concepts – education through research and research for education, based on the principles of meritocracy and professional performance, in order to consolidate and develop existing research skills at the institutional level, within UB, but also to increase the degree of involvement and visibility internationally, in order to improve institutional capacity and performance and performance indicators. The logistical and administrative support part will be a significant component, ensuring the proper support of the RDI activities proposed by our project proposal.
Project team
The project team is designed dynamically, with specialists from various disciplines (biology, chemistry, physics, geology, geography, history, archaeology), with particular and complementary specializations to make possible the proposed upward and coherent development of the RDI directions in the ACCENT project.
The project with teachers and researchers implicitly and explicitly aims to hire more young people in full-time equivalent positions (eni). At master’s and doctoral levels and postdoctoral, these young people will represent the core of the institutional consolidation of UB at the level of human resources, one of the fundamental pillars of a coherent institutional development and customary ascendancy for an academic institution. Thus, we envisage that during the project’s implementation period, 2022-2024, we will support at least 10 positions for young people, equivalent to some positions of Technicians and ACS, but also at least 5 Postdoc positions. In this way, UB aims at institutional consolidation at the level of human resources, on the research directions proposed by this project, in such a way as to ensure the training of young people in key fields, to ensure natural continuity in our institution for the following years. This approach is part of the strategic priorities of the European Union, which explicitly and implicitly highlights the continuous professional training of human resources. We also mention that the professional training of the new generations is a fundamental element that ensures institutional sustainability, especially in the academic environment, where RDI activities require a high degree of training and knowledge, along with appropriate know-how, which, at least theoretically, involves two primary functions: usefulness and motivation. Thus, the ACCENT project corresponds to the European directions on the labour market.
Results
In line with the result indicators of the subprogramme, the present project aims to improve the national and international position of UB.
The results forecast by this project target different target categories by supporting and developing existing research skills at the institutional level and the ability to obtain relevant results and scientific impact, in parallel with the initiation and development of viable collaborations with partners, from the country and abroad, will ensure the increase of the degree of involvement, affirmation and international visibility of UB, in parallel with the consolidation at the national level.
CONTACT
Project director: Prof. univ. dr. Carmen Chifiriuc
Tel. 021 305.97.31
Email: carmen.chifiriuc@unibuc.ro
University of Bucharest – ICUB
Adress: Șoseaua Panduri, nr. 90, Sector 5, 050663, București
Tel.: +4021-307.73.02
Fax: +4021-313.17.60
E-mail: archaeoscience@icub.unibuc.ro
Scientific Manager: Dr. Cătălin Alexandru Lazăr
Tel. 0721712378
E-mail: catalin.lazar@icub.unibuc.ro
