Innovation emerges where strong collaborations, extensive synergies and creative research networks are fostered. NEXUSNET action builds on scientific cooperation and robust research ties towards advancing excellence, interdisciplinary research, and young researchers’/innovators’ empowerment.

Innovation emerges where strong collaborations, extensive synergies and creative research networks are fostered. NEXUSNET action builds on scientific cooperation and robust research ties towards advancing excellence, interdisciplinary research, and young researchers’/innovators’ empowerment.

COST Action CA20138

Network on water-energy-food nexus for a low-carbon economy in Europe and beyond – NEXUSNET

NEXUSNET is an international network of researchers collaborating with universities, research institutions, policymakers and the business sector to better understand how the water-energy-food Nexus fosters policy coherence and biophysical interactions in the domains of water, energy and food, supporting the transition towards a circular and low-carbon economy in Europe. The network focuses on job creation, enhancing wellbeing, establishing broad synergies and care for the environment. The Nexus concept is tested at different scales (i.e. local, regional, national, European), while the international dimension is explored through the involvement of international proposers. More Nexus-compliant practices are foreseen through a knowledge/research sharing hub at European level and beyond. Public-private initiatives pave the path for Nexus compliant practices, building on network members’ advice. NEXUSNET will deliver examples of nexus compliant policies, decision making, and recommendations to best achieve them, to come-up with an overview of Good Nexus Practices in Europe (policy coherence, Nexus-compliant practices and more coherent nexus evaluations). Trans-disciplinary approaches are adopted to test Nexus compliant practices with the involvement of relevant stakeholders, while interaction and engagement with current and finished Nexus-related projects will be pursued. Academic Nexus knowledge will be translated into practical and applicable knowledge for the private sector or policy makers. A series of intense knowledge transfer and dissemination actions are planned to ensure that the network will have a significant impact in Europe and beyond.

Activities and Grants

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs)

STMTs are funded as part of the COST Action CA20138 NETWORK ON WATER-ENERGY-FOOD NEXUS FOR A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY IN EUROPE AND BEYOND (NEXUSNET). STSMs allow scientists to conduct short research and study visits up to six months to a research institution or laboratory in another COST Country in order to strengthen the existing networks and to foster collaboration, to learn a new technique or to use equipment, data and/or methods not available in their own institution and to contribute to the scientific objectives of the Action.

Training Schools

Training schools are intensive coaching opportunities for Action participants that last for up to 15 days. Training is organized by each COST Action on a topic of their choice and held on the premises of a participating institution or organization. Young researchers in particular typically benefit from the training school initiative; however study opportunities can also be offered more widely within the Action and can be useful for participants wishing to learn new skills or retrain.

Meetings, workshops and conferences

Meetings are organized by COST Action Management Committees (MC) in any COST Member State joining the network. They can be of different types, such as MC meetings, working group meetings, workshops and conferences. They may be open to the wider community and provide opportunities to enhance the COST Action’s visibility. COST will contribute to the travel and subsistence costs of the invited participants, and to the cost of organizing the meeting.

Conference grants

These grants are aimed at young researchers and PhD students from Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) and help individuals attend beneficial international conferences that are not organized by COST Actions.

Communication and Dissemination

The sharing of scientific results is vitally important in strengthening science and research. Due to the value and impact communication and dissemination activities can have on the wider research community, COST actively encourages and supports Actions to share outcomes with researchers, policymakers, the private sector and civic society such as NGOs.

Virtual Networking Tools

COST has developed two new types of Grants to respond to the rising need of digital tools in the context of the pandemic and to ensure continuity of COST Actions’ work activities: a) Virtual Networking Support (VNS) Grant to stimulate virtual collaboration among all the members of a given Action by designating a Virtual Networking Support Manager. The successful applicant will be selected by the COST Action Management Committee (MC) to promote the virtual collaboration, such as developing a virtual networking strategy for the Action, taking overall responsibility for Virtual Mobility Grants and supporting the MC in the discussions and planning of virtual events and collaboration activities, b) Virtual Mobility (VM) Grants to strengthen the existing networks by allowing individual participants to foster collaboration, to exchange knowledge, to learn new techniques, etc. The successful applicants will be selected by the MC to perform activities that do not necessarily require in-person presence. These activities may include surveys, questionnaires or preparation of protocols, virtual mentoring of activities that can generate capacity, build new skills, etc.

News and events

2023

NexusNet Special Session at Sinarg Conference 2023

News

On the 14th of September 2023 in Nis, Serbia, the Grant Holder Manager of NexusNet, Dr. Giannis Adamos, Assistant Professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Affiliated Professor at University of Thessaly, Greece, represented the Action at the International Conference Sinarg 2023.

2023

Developing a Creative Mindset

News

The SustainFood Student and Early Career Scholars (SECP) group is hosting Dr. Abdullah Konak for the workshop mini-series “Developing a Creative Mindset”.

2023

New biodiversity nexus page published by BIONEXT

News

The biodiversity nexus demonstrates the diverse, intertwined relationships between people and nature. It shows how our resource use affects nature and biodiversity and vice versa.

2023

Expanding scientific frontiers via international cooperation with COST and NSF

News

What mechanisms exist in the US & Europe to support networking for the scientific community? How much networking and international collaboration is actually happening between researchers and innovators either side of the pond?

2023

Save the date and register for the Nexus Regional Forum of Stakeholders

News

Save the date for the Multi-event “Nexus Regional Forum of Stakeholders – From nexus thinking to nexus implementation in South Europe and beyond – Mutual learning between practitioners and policy makers” on the 27th – 29th September 2023 in Split, Croatia !

Figure 1: Map of Nigeria showing the 36 states & the FCT Source (10)

Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse in Sub Saharan Africa Countries: Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria

Blogs, News

The tenth NEXUSNET blog "Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse in Sub Saharan Africa Countries: Challenges and Opportunities in Nigeria" is now published by Bamgboye Taiwo Temitope, Doctoral Researcher at the Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Oulu, Finland.

5th Call for Short Term Scientific Missions and Virtual Mobility Grants

News

We are happy to announce the 5th Call for applications for Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) and Virtual Mobility Grants (VMG) funded by our Action.

4th Call for Inclusive Target Countries Conference Grants and Dissemination Conference Grants

News

We are happy to announce the 4th Call for applications for Inclusive Target Countries (ITC) Conference Grants and Dissemination Conference Grants (DCG) funded by our Action.

2023

NEXUSNET and Nexus Project Cluster Action Plan

News

NEXUSNET and the Nexus Project Cluster have drafted an action plan for the Nexus for 2023-2025. The current version presents the status as of May 2023.