HEROES Alliance

A guided tour through the first issue of the HEROES Science Magazine (May 2026). The episode presents the HEROES4REGIONS joint research hub and its six research PODs: Agriculture and Food, Care and Wellbeing, Circular Economy, Digital Transformation, Education, Learning and Inclusion, and Regional Development.

'It also highlights the interviews with researchers Alina Katunian (VIKO) and João Dias (IPBeja), the Small-Scale Cooperation Call and the Blended Intensive Programme on building Horizon Europe proposals. 

This episode is an AI-generated audio overview, created with NotebookLM. 

This episode includes AI-generated content.

This episode explores how Artificial Intelligence is being applied to the ancestral art of making Serpa PDO sheep milk cheese. The podcast is basen on an article with prof. João Dias from the Polytechnic University of Beja. He explains the partnership between the Polytechnic University of Beja and the Serpa Cheese Producers Association, created to address the shortage of specialised labour in artisanal dairies.

He also talks about the role of applied research in regional development, the value of the HEROES alliance and the National Agriculture Award received by the team.

This episode is an AI-generated audio overview, created with NotebookLM. 

This episode includes AI-generated content.

This podcast series explores the findings of the HEROES Skills and Competences Need Map, a comprehensive analysis of the skills, competences, and capabilities required to strengthen the resilience of European regions in a rapidly changing world.

Part 3 concludes the three-part podcast series by exploring the regional perspectives highlighted in the HEROES Skills and Competence Need Map. It focuses on how different regional needs and challenges shape the skills and competences required for the future.

The full report is available at: a6ec08a0-heroes_skills_and_competences_need_map_final_report_2025.pdf

This podcast episode has been produced using Gemini Notebook,| AI Research Tool & Thinking Partner. The discussion presented in this episode is based on the contents of the report, but the dialogue, interpretations, examples, and reflections have been generated by artificial intelligence. Therefore, the views expressed in the podcast should be understood as AI-generated interpretations of the source material rather than official statements of the HEROES Alliance or its partner institutions. 


This episode includes AI-generated content.

Welcome to the HEROES Podcast for Researchers. This podcast series explores the findings of the HEROES Skills and Competences Need Map, a comprehensive analysis of the skills, competences, and capabilities required to strengthen the resilience of European regions in a rapidly changing world.

Part 2 explores the three interconnected dimensions of resilience identified in the HEROES Skills and Competences Need Map: people’s resilience, business resilience, and nature’s resilience. The discussion highlights how digital transformation, sustainability, lifelong learning, and adaptability are shaping the competences needed to support resilient individuals, organisations, and regional ecosystems.

The full report is available at: https://storage.googleapis.com/seamk-production/2026/06/a6ec08a0-heroes_skills_and_competences_need_map_final_report_2025.pdf

This podcast episode has been produced using Gemini Notebook,| AI Research Tool & Thinking Partner. The discussion presented in this episode is based on the contents of the report, but the dialogue, interpretations, examples, and reflections have been generated by artificial intelligence. Therefore, the views expressed in the podcast should be understood as AI-generated interpretations of the source material rather than official statements of the HEROES Alliance or its partner institutions.

This episode includes AI-generated content.

This podcast series explores the findings of the HEROES Skills and Competences Need Map, a comprehensive analysis of the skills, competences, and capabilities required to strengthen the resilience of European regions in a rapidly changing world.

Part 1 introduces the HEROES Skills and Competences Need Map and presents the key drivers shaping future skills needs across European regions. The discussion focuses on the interconnected roles of digital transformation, the green transition, and transversal competences such as adaptability, critical thinking, and lifelong learning in building regional resilience.

The full report is available at:
a6ec08a0-heroes_skills_and_competences_need_map_final_report_2025.pdf

This podcast episode has been produced using Gemini Notebook,| AI Research Tool & Thinking Partner. The discussion presented in this episode is based on the contents of the report, but the dialogue, interpretations, examples, and reflections have been generated by artificial intelligence.

Therefore, the views expressed in the podcast should be understood as AI-generated interpretations of the source material rather than official statements of the HEROES Alliance or its partner institutions.

This episode includes AI-generated content.

How can innovation methods be applied in real-world professional practice—and what you can really take away from a short, intensive programme?

In this episode, Mads Andreasen (University College of Northern Denmark) is joined by Lisa Claessen (Thomas More, Belgium) and Sam Crielard (Fontys University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands) to reflect on their participation in a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) as part of the HEROES Alliance.

The programme brings together students from across Europe to work with real-world problems. Throughout the conversation, the participants reflect on how innovation and facilitation can be applied in fields such as social work and teaching, and what you can gain from a short, intensive learning experience.

The episode offers insights into interdisciplinary collaboration, international learning environments, and how students can be trained to facilitate innovation processes in addressing complex societal challenges.

Recorded during a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) in Aalborg, Denmark, hosted by University College of Northern Denmark, as part of the HEROES Alliance.

Participants

• Mads Andreasen – Host, Student of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University College of Northern Denmark
• Lisa Claessen – Social Work Student, Thomas More (Belgium)
• Sam Crielard – Social Studies Teacher Student, Fontys University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)

In this episode of our Heroes Podcast, our guest host Theresa Köck takes listeners deep into the Bavarian Forest, recording on location in Finsterau alongside Professor Florian Wahl (DIT, Germany) and two international students, Lucien (Fontys, the Netherlands) and Karolina (Thomas More University, Belgium).

The conversation centers on the Blended Intensive Programme “Leveraging Crowdsourced Data for Sustainable Tourism in the Bavarian Forest National Park.” Together, they explore how innovative, data-driven approaches can support more sustainable tourism while reflecting on the academic and personal value of the experience.

Lucien and Karolina share their insights into working in an international team, earning academic credits through the programme, and what it’s like to spend one week abroad – with culturethemed evenings and making new friends. From practical learning to unforgettable moments in the forest, this episode highlights how collaboration, travel, and education come together in the HEROES project.