Short-Term Staff Exchanges

In November 2024, the inaugural HemaFAIR Short-Term Staff Exchange (STSE) was successfully completed in Barcelona. Dr. Dilem Ruhluel, our Project and Dissemination Manager, visited our esteemed partners at the Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR) to gain insights into their advanced practices in managing research projects.

About the Vall d’Hebron Institut de Recerca (VHIR)
The Vall d’Hebron University Hospital is a leading institution specializing in rare diseases at regional, national, and international levels. It is a full member of 20 out of the 24 European Reference Networks (ERNs) and actively participates in over 200 national and international research projects. VHIR’s dedicated project management unit is staffed with highly skilled professionals who manage both pre-award and post-award phases of research initiatives.

Objectives and Achievements of the STSE
This STSE marks a significant milestone for HemaFAIR, laying the groundwork for benchmarking EU standards in research project management. It provided an opportunity to study best practices and standard operating procedures (SOPs) within an international context.

During the exchange, Dr. Ruhluel collaborated with VHIR’s operational manager to identify key areas for analysis of standard procedures across various EU centers. Together, they developed a comprehensive set of questions addressing four critical phases of project management: pre-award, post-award, project implementation, and project closure. These questions will serve as the basis for interviews with project management personnel across the HemaFAIR consortium. The collected data will be analyzed to benchmark current practices and identify gaps for improvement.

Planning Future Initiatives
In addition to these achievements, Dr. Ruhluel and Ms. Claire initiated the development of a roadmap for establishing a dedicated project management unit at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics (CING). This initiative includes drafting SOPs for various aspects of project management, ensuring alignment with EU standards and fostering best practices within the consortium.