On 21 and 22 October the 4th EPTRI General Assembly meeting was held in Warsaw and was organised in collaboration with the Polish partner Instytut “Pomnik-Centrum Zdrowia Dziecka” (Children’s Memorial Hospital). The first day of the meeting was hosted at the Polish Ministry of Health and was the occasion to discuss the future design of EPTRI in the European context and in particular within the ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) landscape as well as highlight the importance to promote a strict relationship with the Governments supporting EPTRI.
Two sessions were dedicated to the feasibility studies, a virtual exercise aimed to test the process, the scientific interest, the availability of requested services and facilities that could be needed to conduct paediatric research in the areas of competence of EPTRI. A call for application for the preparation of EPTRI feasibility studies was launched last summer and currently six study proposals have been received and positively assessed by the EPTRI Advisory Board.
The second day was focused on the Thematic Research Platforms design and the services that they could offer, starting from the analysis of the crucial results of the context analysis, which mapped the research units in Pan-European countries and their expertise, and of the user survey, identifying the potential users and their needs. During the meeting also some useful tips and update on the communication and dissemination front has been provided as the new brochure of the project and the patient toolkit under finalisation.
During the meeting a visit of some private institutional rooms of the Pac’a Palace and the thrilling concert of the violinist Patrycja Piekutowska, an international artist who gave concerts in the four continents with the aim to raise funds for children health, cheered the social moments of the General Assembly.
Overall, the General Assembly meeting has represented a crucial occasion to discuss the work done so far and emphasise the key activities on which the partners need to join the efforts and collaborate with each other to reach all the prefixed aims and face the next challenges.
For more information, please visit official EPTRI website.
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