At the Châlons-en-Champagne Fair, held from 2 to 12 September 2022, the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne promoted its partnerships with Wallonia through various events on the theme of the bioeconomy in “Research-Training-Innovation”.

There were a number of high points during the week:

• Reporting on “Green Line Project” research in 2020-2022 for the joint Erasmus Mundus Bioceb Excellence Master – European Master in Biological and Chemical Engineering for a Sustainable Bioeconomy, 3 September;

• Two round tables on 6 September examining entrepreneurship and tools deployed by different academic and regional operators to encourage the transfer of knowledge and innovation from the research to the economics world;

• The institutional “Tribute to Wallonia” day on 9 September, promoting the joint initiatives and ambitions of regions and universities related to the bioeconomy. The day was an opportunity to increase the visibility of cross-border policy in terms of bioeconomics, and also invite key players to commit to that goal.

Focus on the “Tribute to Wallonia” day

The Tribute to Wallonia day began with a round table on the theme of “Cross-border cooperation and funding opportunities”, and the presentation of four Interreg programme projects (SMARTBIOCONTROL, ALPO, DIADEM and VALBRAN), followed by the awarding of Erasmus Mundus Bioceb Master diplomas in the presence of the Universities of Namur, Mons, Liège and Aix-la-Chapelle (RWTH).

The subject of potential funding tools related to European programmes for the Wallonia and Grand Est regions was subsequently examined.

The afternoon session was devoted to an institutional round table entitled “Cross-border policy for research and training”, introduced by the president of the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Guillaume Gellé, with the participation of the Grand Est Region, represented by its president, Jean Rottner; the Wallonia Region, represented by Christophe Collignon, Minister for Housing, Local Authorities and Urban Environments; the University of Liege, represented by Eric Haubruge; the University of Mons, represented by Ruddy Wattiez; the University of Namur, represented by Olivier Hostens; and RWTH Aachen University, represented by Ulrich Schwaneberg, under the twinning agreement between the cities of Reims and Aix-la-Chapelle.

The day ended with the signature of a statement of intent of cross-border “Research-Training-Innovation” cooperation by the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, the Wallonia and Grand Est regions, the University of Liege, the University of Mons, the University of Namur and the University RWTH Aachen. The statement reflects the signatories’ wish and ambition for the future development of new cross-border initiatives, especially in the URCA’s signature field: the bioeconomy.