European COFUND to convert ideas into actions to tackle global climate-related challenges 

The DREAM+PLAN program will spearhead a new community of visionary changemakers across Europe and Australia. 

RMIT University

RMIT Europe, RMIT University’s innovation hub in Barcelona, will coordinate Driving Climate Positive Futures (DREAM+PLAN), an interdisciplinary, international and intersectoral PhD program encouraging doctoral researchers to think big to challenge pressing climate-related problems.   

The program has been awarded over €7.5 million (AUD $12.42 million) by the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action COFUND through the European Union's Horizon Europe framework.  

DREAM+PLAN will recruit up to 32 PhD researchers who will be united by a mission to create a positive impact towards a more sustainable, fair, inclusive and thriving planet for future generations.  

Their research will be driven by resilience (the ability to withstand and recover from disruptions), restoration (the ability to repair or rehabilitate degraded ecosystems) and regeneration (fostering the renewal, revitalisation and replenishment of ecosystems and communities) to address key societal challenges.  

Professor Anne-Laure Mention, RMIT’s academic lead and Chief Investigator for DREAM+PLAN, said that the program aligned with the European Green Deal and would support research and innovation strategies related to clean technologies, green finance, nature-based technologies, renewable industry and entrepreneurship, among others.  

“DREAM+PLAN will recruit a group of forward-thinking early-stage researchers tasked with developing tangible pathways for solving local and global climate-related emergencies,” said Mention, Director for the Global Business Innovation Enabling Impact Platform at RMIT.

Each candidate will benefit from cutting-edge training grounded in best practice, that will include scientific training as well as transferable skills. 

The cohort will also enjoy a truly global experience, with a secondment of up to 12 months to RMIT, and will participate in activities and events including yearly doctoral schools, monthly online seminars and industry roundtables.

The DREAM+PLAN consortium is composed of 10 implementing partners across Europe that will employ and supervise the PhD candidates. 

17 non-academic associated partners (SMEs, multinationals, unicorns, NGOs, civil society associations, innovation agencies, clusters and policymakers) will work alongside the candidates to shape their research projects thereby ensuring applicable, actionable knowledge outcomes.  

“DREAM+PLAN’s doctoral graduates will be equipped with a unique set of skills and capabilities to fully comprehend and address the multifaceted nature and scale of climate change across sectors, setting them up advantageously in the competitive global job market,” said Mention.  

An international recruitment campaign will begin in early 2025.  

European participating universities: University of Cambridge; Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT); Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC); University of Vaasa (UVA); Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM); Tallinn University of Technology (Taltech); Kaunas University of Technology; University of Agder; University of Liege; St. Gallen University.

Associated partners: RMIT University; International Society for Professional Innovation Management; The Finnish Innovation Fund (SITRA); Oy Merinova Ab; HAUS Finnish Institute of Public Management Ltd; Radical Innovations Group Ab; Kempower Oy; Kuovola Innovation, Global Center of Expertise NODE; Huizing Academic Development; Schneider Electric; Innoget; MTU Finance Estonia; Tunne ry; DIVERSIunity; The Magic Circle Hut; Rosteka (UAB).       

For more information, contact Professor Mention (anne-laure.mention@rmit.edu.au).