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On 4th October 2019, the founding members of the Alliance4Life gathered at Vilnius University and signed the Memorandum of Understanding, which formalizes the alliance as a permanent structure. The Alliance4Life connects progressive life science institutions from Central and Eastern Europe. The mission of the Alliance4Life shall be to support and strengthen European research excellence and the impact of scientific research on society, human health, and quality of life. The signing of the memorandum is the crown jewel of Alliance4Life´s achievements during the past two years of its existence. It symbolizes the partners’ commitment to make this alliance a long lasting one, for the benefit of the members and the whole region.

The formal existence of the Alliance4Life is in line with the current shift of the EU research policy towards a more sensitive approach to research and innovation needs of the Central and Eastern European countries. The Alliance4Life´s voice has been heard also during the new Horizon Europe negotiations, and surely will be listened to in the future. Alliance4Life intends to become a role model for institutions in less performing regions and to serve as a hub of excellence, inspiring others.

The Alliance4Life started two years ago as a project initiated by CEITEC Masaryk University with the clear mission to help close the innovation gap. Benchmarking exercises served as a starting point for development strategies for all seven focus groups – science evaluation, ethics and integrity, human resources and mobility, grants and funding, core facilities, knowledge and technology transfer, and science communication. The project enabled the members to gather for joint trainings and to develop best practice inventory, representing an enormous value for the members. During this meeting hosted by Vilnius University, all members confirmed that progress was made and a solid strategy was developed to be implemented in the years to come!

Masaryk University (CEITEC – Central European Institute of Technology) CZ

St. Anne's University Hospital Brno (ICRC – International Clinical Research Center) CZ

Biomedical Research Center of the Slovak Academy of Sciences SK

Medical University of Lodz PL

University of Zagreb School of Medicine HR

University of Tartu EE

Vilnius University – Faculty of Medicine LT

Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis LV

University of Ljubljana SI

SU Semmelweis University HU

The project “Alliance for Life Sciences: Closing Research and Innovation Divide in
the European Union” received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 779303.