The first round of short staff visits within the CROSS-REIS project gathered academic and non-academic representatives from partner institutions in widening countries for a week-long programme hosted by Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) and its consortium partner Poliedra. The visit marked an important milestone in the project’s efforts to strengthen research collaboration, promote joint scientific work, and exchange good practices in project management across Europe.
The event brought together participants from the Faculty of Economics, University of Niš (Serbia), Faculty of Economics, University of Montenegro, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Rijeka (Croatia), University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering (Slovenia), CO-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development (Albania), and Development Solutions Associates – DSA (Albania).
On the opening day, the institutions presented their research focus areas and ongoing project activities, setting the stage for identifying topics of mutual interest and new avenues for cooperation. The session was followed by a networking meeting with Poliedra’s Scientific Committee, featuring Prof. Alessandra Neri (Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering), Prof. Luciano Baresi (Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering), and Prof. Francesco Causone (Department of Energy), alongside Andrea Villa from Cefriel. The exchanges offered a valuable opportunity to discuss interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable and regenerative urban development.
Throughout the week, participants engaged in a series of parallel meetings and collaborative sessions aimed at developing joint scientific papers and research proposals under Work Package 5 (Research and Innovation Excellence). A central theme of the academic discussions was the joint paper on urban ecosystem accounting, coordinated by Javier Babí Almenar and Renato Casagrandi, with contributions from Claudia Romelli and Simona Muratori. The paper focuses on integrating data, analysis, and methodological approaches to better assess urban biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Several thematic sessions explored participatory and data-driven approaches to urban sustainability, including:
Parallel meetings also discussed the use of the Urban Biodiversity Database, with researchers Sonja Jovanović and Vesna Janković Milić sharing their ongoing work and identifying next steps for collaboration.
In addition to research activities, non-academic staff participated in dedicated sessions on EU funding programmes, project management practices, and brainstorming on training needs for project administrators. These sessions, led by Alessandro Lué and Claudia Romelli, helped to align institutional capacities with the project’s broader objectives of enhancing excellence and impact through knowledge exchange.
The Milan visit concluded with final consultations and bilateral meetings that set the direction for the next rounds of short visits, planned at EMEA and OsloMet in later project phases. The event exemplified the CROSS-REIS mission of bridging academic and practical expertise to co-create pathways toward a regenerative built environment.
