Consortium

NextTechTalents brings together 8 partners from 5 EU countries (Austria, Romania, Latvia, Slovenia and Ireland) with interdisciplinary expertise from academia, industry, digital transformation, innovation ecosystems as well as communication, dissemination, and exploitation. This diversity supports the core objective of developing early-career researchers and building sustainable talent ecosystems.

MINDS & SPARKS GmbH (M&S) - Coordinator

MINDS & SPARKS (M&S) is an independent, non-profit research organisation based in Vienna, Austria fostering science, innovation and technology to address major challenges and develop new methods and solutions for a better society. M&S creates strong connections between science and society using interdisciplinary approaches, promoting best practices and raising awareness on research and innovation achievements. Furthermore, the organisation focuses on improving the sustainability of research and innovation outcomes especially of public funded projects to ensure that spent resources lead to permanent positive impacts for the society as a whole.

M&S is formed by a team of highly skilled personnel which holds many years of experience in designing, leading and implementing research and advisory projects and it hosts development consultants and technical engineers which have broad knowledge along the software development cycle. The organisation is involved with various research and innovation stakeholder networks including research organisations, academic institutions, civil societies, NGOs, governments, and industry in various sectors such as safety and security, health and care, energy and environment, or information and communication technologies.

BABES-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY (UBB)

Babeș-Bolyai University (UBB) is a leading Romanian public university, widely recognized for its strong commitment to education, research, and cultural development at local, national, and international levels. With 23 faculties, 12 regional branches, and 3 foreign language centers, UBB serves over 44,000 students, supported by more than 2,800 academic, research, technical, and administrative staff.

Research is at the core of UBB’s mission. As a testament to its scientific excellence, UBB joined the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities in 2020. It is also a proud member of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance, a forward-looking network of ten universities dedicated to transforming higher education in Europe.

Consistently ranked as Romania’s top university in global rankings—including the Academic Ranking of World Universities, Times Higher Education, and CWUR—UBB stands out as a hub for innovation, diversity, and sustainable development

VENTSPLIS UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES (VUAS)

Ventspils University of Applied Sciences was founded on 23rd July, 1997, by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia (hereinafter - the Cabinet') No. 384 "On the Establishment of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences". As a State-founded institution of higher education, VUAS is under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia, but it promotes its activities and development in accordance with the development guidelines of Kurzeme Region and Ventspils city, thereby contributing to the polycentric development of the State.

VUAS complies with the Law on Higher Education Institutions, the Law on Scientific Activity, the Education Law, the Constitution of Ventspils University of Applied Sciences and other international, national, and regional development planning documents and regulatory enactments.

VUAS has three faculties:

Faculty of Information Technologies
Faculty of Economics and Management
Faculty of Translation Studies

There are four fields of study, with 17 study programs, six of which are at the Faculty of Information Technologies.

The mission of VUAS for 2021-2027 is to provide modern, tailored to the changing requirements of the labour market, research-based, accessible education for all, and to become a platform for excellence and innovation in education, where young specialists discover their talents and where knowledge is disseminated by professionals.

The future vision of VUAS is a digitally open and accessible European-level university that is internationally recognized and makes a significant contribution to the development of the economy and science. Therefore, it can be concluded that the mission and vision of VUAS are closely related to the goals of the project.

Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS) conducts research across a broad spectrum of disciplines, including natural sciences (particularly astronomy and physics), social sciences (economics, business, management), and humanities (linguistics, translation, and intercultural studies). The university's research infrastructure is centered around the Engineering Research Institute "Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre" (VIRAC), featuring two unique parabolic radio telescopes – RT-32 and RT-16 – used for both fundamental radio astronomy research and applied projects in satellite communications and space technologies. The LOFAR antenna field in Irbene integrates VeA into the European-scale low-frequency radio astronomy network, providing researchers with access to unique data and an international research environment. VUAS infrastructure also includes high-performance computing (HPC) clusters that support research in astronomy, astrochemistry, computer science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, enabling efficient processing of large data volumes and simulations.

JOZEF STEFAN INSTITUTE (JSI)

The Jožef Stefan Institute (JSI) is the leading research institution for natural sciences in Slovenia having over 900 researchers within 25 departments working in the areas of computer science, physics, and chemistry and biology. The Department for Artificial Intelligence (AILAB) (http://ailab.ijs.si) of JSI, having approx. 40 researchers, is one of the largest European research groups working in the areas of machine learning, data mining, language technologies, semantic technologies and sensor networks. The key research direction is combining modern statistical data analytic techniques with more semantic/logic-based knowledge representations and reasoning techniques with the purpose to progress in solving complex problems such as text understanding, large scale probabilistic reasoning, building broad coverage knowledge bases, and dealing with scale. The members have developed several software tools for multimodal data analysis, among others: Qminer analytics platform for large-scale real-time streams containing structured and unstructured data, Enrycher system for semantic enrichment of textual data, StreamStory for qualitative multi-scale data analysis, Wikifier for Semantic Annotation of documents for more than 100 Languages, Event Registry for global real-time media observatory, Water Observatory, Smell Tracker and the Slovenian AI Observatory.

The AILAB is firmly committed to the long-term development of research careers, specifically by providing structured mentorships, an immersive research experience, and continuous learning opportunities to early-stage researchers. Targeted research is combined with a broader program that includes hands-on involvement in state-of-the-art, innovative projects, allowing researchers to contribute to and learn from active and applied research. The AILAB has participated in numerous projects aimed specifically at the training and career development of researchers including:

EDSA: European Data Science Academy,
BigDataFinance: Training for Big Data in Financial Research and Risk Management,
x5Gon: Cross Modal, Cross Cultural, Cross Lingual, Cross Domain, and Cross Site Global OER Network,
Cleopatra: Cross-lingual Event-centric Open Analytics Research Academy
Apriori: Active PRoduct-to-Process LearnIng fOR Improving Critical Components Performance

The AILAB actively collaborates with UNESCO and OECD and has been involved in more than 100 international research projects, contributing to the scientific advancement of artificial intelligence.

MUNSTER TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY (MTU)

Munster Technological University is a multi-campus technological university, contributing to the region through the provision of academic programmes that support student development and opportunities, education and research. MTU has an extensive and impressive regional footprint with six campuses across the South-West region in Cork and Kerry and a student body of 18,000.

Small class sizes, an excellent staff-student ratio and a strong emphasis on learning through practical application combine to make an interactive, dynamic learning environment.

MTU courses include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Business, Engineering, Science, Computing, Nursing, Humanities, Art and Music. MTU has a very well-developed ‘ladder’ structure to enable students to progress through the different levels of qualifications.

The university prides itself on its close links with industry, which are crucial to ensuring that MTU graduates have the education and skill set necessary to thrive in the global tech high-skill economy across a diverse range of sectors, including computing, engineering, pharma, agri-food, health, tourism and sports.

MTU has six research centres of excellence which develop multi-disciplinary, industry-focused research programmes with national and international partners and prides itself on research output that benefits both the economy and the wider public.

IMPACT HUB LATVIA (IH)

Impact Hub Liepāja (IH) is a non-profit innovation and entrepreneurship support organization based in Liepāja, Latvia, and a member of the global Impact Hub network. IH connects early-stage researchers, startups, academia, and the public sector to foster innovation, knowledge transfer, and inclusive economic growth. Through capacity-building programs, co-creation workshops, mentoring, and tailored training initiatives, IH supports the development of entrepreneurial skills, interdisciplinary collaboration, and sustainable talent ecosystems.

With experience in EU-funded projects, IH contributes expertise in stakeholder engagement and career development support. The organization plays a key role in strengthening connections between research and non-academic sectors, particularly in regional contexts.

Impact Hub Liepāja is committed to empowering emerging talent by providing collaborative spaces, digital tools, and strategic partnerships to advance innovation and research impact across Europe.

CLUJ IT CLUSTER (CLUJ IT)

Cluj IT Cluster was founded in 2012 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, a growing IT hub in the Center and Eastern Europe. Cluj IT Cluster is Romania’s largest innovation ecosystem built along the IT industry value chain. Our business and innovation community has well over 100 members, with more than 80 thriving companies, 17 universities and research institutes, as well as a wide array of catalyst organizations.

Driven by the needs and aspirations of our cluster members and of the larger community we are part of, Cluj IT focuses on strategic activities that push digital and green transformation, foster collaborative partnerships and forge transnational projects. We promote an open approach from which all stakeholders, whether providers of IT products and services, public institutions and the society at large, can contribute and benefit.

DIGITAL INNOVATION HUB (DIHS)

Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia (DIH Slovenia) is a private, non-profit institute established in 2018 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, in cooperation with strategic partners such as the University of Ljubljana, University of Maribor, Technology Park Ljubljana, TECOS, and others.

DIH Slovenia supports companies—especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—in their digital transformation, with a strong emphasis on digital competencies, innovation, and sustainable development. The institute provides research and development services to help businesses stay aligned with emerging digital trends and technologies.

Its mission is centered on sustainable digitalization, helping companies adopt technology in ways that support long-term competitiveness, efficient resource use, and responsible business practices. Through international collaboration, DIH Slovenia facilitates the exchange of knowledge and best practices across the European Union.

The institute also offers access to financing, training, consulting, and management support, while actively promoting the benefits of digital innovation to the Slovenian business community.