Three weeks in Athens: Researcher exchange  

As part of the EU-funded SynGRID project, an academic exchange was carried out in May 2026 between the Innovation and Research Institute of the University of Ljubljana (IRI UL) and the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA). Jan Jeriha, a researcher from IRI UL, spent three weeks at NTUA working with the research team on shared interests in energy systems and funding strategy.

The visit took place in the weeks before the SynGRID Summer School, allowing for extended collaborative engagement. A central focus was reviewing the EU funding landscape together and identifying calls suitable for future joint research.

One concrete outcome was the identification of a LIFE call as a joint target, which both partners now plan to pursue within the SynGRID framework. The visit also included discussions on capacity building activities at the institutional and regional level, contributing to SynGRID’s objectives in this area.

Reflecting on the visit, Jan shared that going through the funding landscape together with the NTUA team was particularly valuable, understanding their work in depth made it considerably easier to identify areas of genuine alignment.

Sharing his experience of the stay, Jan said: “Several colleagues from the NTUA lab were already familiar from previous encounters, but spending three weeks together allowed for much deeper exchanges than had been possible before. I was also genuinely impressed by Athens, the city, the culture, the food. And the hospitality of the whole team made the stay truly enjoyable.”

The exchange has strengthened the working relationship between IRI UL and NTUA, building a solid foundation for continued cooperation within SynGRID and beyond.