ELLS Showcased at INFORMS Congress 2025 in Madrid
The ELLS Research Support Team proudly represented ELLS at the prestigious INFORMS Congress 2025, held in Madrid and hosted by EARMA (European Association of Research Managers and Administrators). The global event aimed to promote international dialogue on research management and collaboration and brought together over 2,200 participants from 67 countries, making it the largest global gathering of research management professionals this year (and probably of all time).
A year ago, a team composed of Patrik Toula (CZU Prague), Caroline Grabbe and Fiona Reid (both from SLU), and Lada Fialová and Elisabeth Denk (both from BOKU) submitted an abstract highlighting ELLS’s approach to transnational cooperation. Their round-table discussion, "Euroleague of RMAs: Turning Research Management Into a Team Sport", was selected from over 700 submitted abstracts, which is a great recognition of the work being done across the network. During this one-hour session at the congress, they shared how research offices within the ELLS alliance work together across countries. By exchanging experience, supporting each other in project development, and learning from one another, they showed how teamwork makes research support more effective. Their practical examples of the annual Navigating Brussels course and Erasmus-funded staff week for knowledge exchange and capacity building showed how transnational collaboration works and how it can benefit researchers and institutions alike.
The session offered a valuable opportunity to share ELLS’s experience in maintaining effective international partnerships. By highlighting practical examples and lessons learned, the team demonstrated how structured collaboration can enhance research support across institutions.