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INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research

Enhancing world-class research and education in biofilm and antibiotic resistance by strengthening cooperation between Norway-Brazil-USA

Alternative title: Forskning og utdanning innen biofilm og antibiotikaresistens: et samarbeid mellom Norge, Brasil og USA

Awarded: NOK 4.5 mill.

RESISPART was a Norwegian-Brazilian-American consortium led by the University of Oslo (UiO), with the primary goal to enhance world-class research and education in the combined fields of biofilm and antibiotic resistance. The partnership was based on already established successful collaborations on a researcher to researcher basis. With INTPART support we were able to strengthen and expand the quality of our collaborations by implementing education and research activities that fostered convergent interactions. Given the global challenge addressed in the project -antibiotic resistance, appointed by the WHO as one of largest threatens to humanity- the work had a strong focus on global reach. The RESISPART group organized international symposia, seminars and workshops in digital, hybrid and physical formats that together reached to an audience of more than 2000 participants, and that brought together students, scientific and administrative staff from the collaborative institutions, as well as stakeholders within public health and education, and general audiences. In addition, the consortium produced joint scientific publications in high impact international journals, and worked together to design and launch the massive open online course “Exploring the landscape of antibiotic resistance in microbiomes”. As part of the collaboration, we also developed the free web-tool ResistoXplorer, available to students and researchers all over the world. Efforts to anchor the collaboration at the institutional level has resulted in a MoU signed between the rectors of UiO and UNICAMP that incorporates collaborations beyond the thematic field. This has led to agreements to receive the first master students from UiO for clinical activities at UNICAMP in Brazil already in place for 2023. The project exchange activities have enabled students and staff to experience educational and research environments in the partner institutions, including (1) long- and short- term visits, (2) access to broader external funding sources from the participant countries through joint applications and awarded grants, and (3) close education-research interactions through co-supervision of PhD students that are being benefited from the international and inter-disciplinary scope of the network. The success of RESISPART has led to a new funded project, RESISFORCE, also within the INTPART programme, extending the already established partnership to additional leading educational and business institutions in Norway, India and Canada. By strengthening our collaborations, we are contributing on the one hand to the university's mission to prepare professionals equipped to confront the global challenge represented by antimicrobial resistance. On the other hand, we are working to create a strong research education environment supporting innovative discoveries in the fight against resistance.

RESISPART addressed the main objectives of the programme: (1) to enable long-term institutional partnerships with strong academic groups in countries prioritized by the Panorama Strategy 2016-2020 and (2) to strengthen the integration of higher education and research activities. The project brought together groups of students, scientific and administrative staff from UiO in Norway, UIC, the Forsyth Institute and J Craig Venter Institute in the USA, and UNICAMP in Brazil to develop a strong research-educational network on antimicrobial resistance. This is a field recognized by the United Nations as one of the largest threats to global health, food security, and development. RESISPART focus on global reach was addressed by team efforts that resulted in (1) more than 100 presentations by students and scientific staff in digital, hybrid, and physical meetings organized by the RESISPART group, (2) joint scientific publications in high-impact international journals, (3) Symposia and workshops organized in Norway, Brazil and the USA, as well as thematic arrangements connected to IADR meetings, which brought together more than 2000 participants worldwide, (3) launching of the massive open online course “Exploring the landscape of antibiotic resistance in microbiomes”, and (4) development of the free web-tool ResistoXplorer, available to students and researchers all over the world, and already in use by nations over all continents. In addition, to interact through such activities, the investment in anchoring the project at the institutional level has resulted in an MoU signed between the rectors of UiO and UNICAMP that incorporates collaborations beyond the thematic field. This has led to agreements to receive the first master students from UiO for clinical activities at UNICAMP in Brazil already in place for 2023. The project exchange activities have enabled students and staff to experience educational and research environments in the partner institutions, including (1) long- and short-term visits, (2) access to broader external funding sources from the participant countries through joint applications and awarded grants, and (3) close education-research interactions through co-supervision of Ph.D. students that are being benefited from the international and interdisciplinary scope of the network. The success of RESISPART has led to a newly funded project, RESISFORCE, also within the INTPART programme, extending the already established partnership to additional leading educational and business institutions in Norway, India, and Canada. By strengthening our collaborations, we are contributing, on the one hand, to the university's mission to prepare professionals equipped to confront the global challenge represented by antimicrobial resistance. On the other hand, we are working to create a strong research education environment supporting innovative discoveries in the fight against resistance.

RESISPART is a Norwegian-Brazilian-American consortium led by the University of Oslo (UiO), with the primary goal to enhance world-class research and education in the combined fields of biofilm and antibiotic resistance. The partnership is based on already established successful collaborations on a researcher to researcher basis. With INTPART support we are working to strengthen and expand the quality of our collaborations by implementing education and research activities that foster convergent interactions. Given the global challenge addressed in the project -antibiotic resistance, appointed by WHO as one of largest threatens to humanity- the work has a strong focus on promoting global networks. The RESISPART group has so far organized two annual international meetings: the first in Chicago in 2018, and the second in Brazil in December 2019. In these, researchers and students from all involved institutions have met for seminars and workshops on antimicrobial resistance, and disseminated their research to large audiences. In 2021, selected members met in Brussels, in connection with a symposium on Antibiotic Resistance, organized and presented by RESISPART partners in the CED-IADR Annual Meeting. Exchange visits of staff and students involving the different institutions have been organized, with special focus on strengthening the link between research and education. In 2020 and 2021, online seminars were implemented to enable students and staff to share knowledge and interact during the pandemic restrictions. To address one of the overall goals of consolidating long term collaboration between the institutions, heads of the project and the institutions have met on different occasions, and a contract between the rectors at UNICAMP and UiO, with the participation of the Dean of the respective Dental Faculties, has been signed. In addition, the dean at the Dental Faculty at UiO has been in the forefront, visiting UiC together with the central administration at UiO for negotiation meetings in 2019 to establish a long-term collaboration. Finally, a massive open online course (MOOC) on antimicrobial resistance is currently under development as a joint effort, with pedagogical support (content, text, videos, quizzes and interactive tools) from the LINK team at UiO. Highlights of the project are regularly updated on the websites created by the group for dissemination of activities, and also provided by each of the respective international collaborator institutions. By strengthening our collaborations, we are contributing, on one hand, to the university's mission to prepare professionals equipped to confront the global challenge represented by antibiotic resistance. On the other hand, we are working to create a strong research education environment supporting innovative discoveries in the fight against resistance. The project is a collaboration between UiO in Norway, UIC, the Forsyth Institute and J Craig Venter Institute in USA, and UNICAMP in Brazil.

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INTPART-International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research