The University of Valladolid ERASMUS+ KA103 mobility programme is a key tool for the internationalization of our students and teaching staff as well as administrative and service staff in addition to the teaching, research and management activities undertaken by our university. Internationalization is a cornerstone of our university strategy and of its language policy, for which the present project is also vital, since it boosts teaching in English aimed at attracting students from the leading institutions and vis-à-vis providing the best training for our own students. Furthermore, it also enhances the qualifications and development of the teaching staff involved. One priority for us is the mobility of our students who engage in an officially recognised period of studies and/or placement, not only due to the academic and language enrichment it offers but also given the personal maturity it provides students with, which is subsequently reflected in their improved employability. This proves crucial in a region such as Castilla y León, where youth unemployment is amongst the highest in Europe.This project allows us to enhance the quality of our university since it has enabled us to set up double degrees with prestigious European HEIs, provide co-supervision of theses and to establish cooperation for conducting joint research. It has also led to our boosting the international dimension of our courses thanks to our hosting of teaching staff from other countries in Europe and to our own teaching staff coming into contact with curricula as well as the different teaching and assessment methods in place in other partner universities. In terms of quality, it has also helped us to improve the way in which our university is run by providing experience of other forms of management and good practices and by creating synergies.

The Erasmus + KA107-36589 Project, coordinated by the University of Valladolid (UVa), has successfully implemented a mobility scheme of 289 scholarships aimed at exchanging students and academic staff. The geographical diversity of this project is outstanding, with 67 partner universities from 33 countries and 8 regions: Albania (Western Balkans); Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine (Eastern Partnership countries); Egypt and Tunisia (South-Mediterranean countries); Vietnam (Asia); Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan (Central Asia); Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Paraguay (Latin America); South Africa; Belize, Cape Verde, Fiji, Gabon, Jamaica, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago and Zambia (ACP).The project has met not only the quantivative objectives of the mobility, but most significantly it has achieved qualitative objectives so important as: to contribute significantly to enhancing the international capacity of the universities thanks to the training offered by the UVa in the “International Weeks”; to foster the mutual knowledge of the higher education systems in Spain and in the targeted countries; to improve the partner universities’ understanding of the academic recognition process; to increase the visibility of the UVa and the Spanish higher education system in countries which traditionally used to establish cooperation with countries from other parts of the world. The priority areas identified by the partner universities have been reinforced and the mobility of students and academic / administrative staff has had a possitive impact, as shown by the cooperation agreements established, the doctoral co-tutelle agreements, the improvement of the study plans or the reinforcement of master programmes. Furthermore, it has had a multiplier effect, as evidenced by the several projects within the framework of Erasmus + Actions 1 and 2 in which the partner universities are involved since 2016.As a result of the project the academic offer in English at the UVa has been strengthened, with the consolidation of four academic semesters taught in English in the areas of Engineering, Commerce, Agricultural Sciences and Education as well as new Master programmes in Physics and Forestry which is also a Double-Degree with Vietnam. Moreover, the interest in these countries of the UVa’s students and academic staff has increased. The project has also attached special importance to language training, offering a Spanish language and culture course to all participants.

The fellowship AstroSsearch addresses open questions related to the abundance of sulfur and metals in the interstellar medium. While some species have been detected in astronomical environments, their abundance and complexity is quite low, thereby preventing a full understanding of the chemistry occurring in these environments. We will attack this problem with a synergic approach exploiting new laboratory microwave spectroscopy developments and radio astronomy observations. The key objectives include the generation of high-resolution rotational spectra of previously undetected sulfur/metal containing compounds and ions by mating broadband (chirped-pulse Fourier transform) microwave spectroscopy techniques with electrical discharge and laser ablation sources. Additionally, a novel discharge source will be developed in which the chemistry can be controlled to reveal likely reaction pathways that produce the observed species. This will allow for the postulation of viable astronomical formation mechanisms. The expected results are: (1) Development of a new controlled reactive chemistry source that can be paired with laser ablation. (2) High-resolution, rotational spectra of complex sulfur and metal containing species leading to their unambiguous identification in interstellar environments and their inclusion in theoretical models. (3) Elucidation of viable reaction pathways in astronomical environments for targeted and detected species and the insertion of these pathways into existing models. These results will facilitate radio astronomy detections, expanding our comprehension of astronomical chemistry. The synergy of laboratory spectroscopy and observational astrophysics will bring together all facets of the multidisciplinary field of astrochemistry, broadening our understanding of the chemistry that is occurring in interstellar and circumstellar environments and shedding light on the chemical complexity of the universe.

The urgent need to reach EU independence from fossil fuel imports, decarbonization and circular economy encourages the development of sustainable technologies for the production of biofuels and high added-value products. Photobiorefineries are a promising platform to produce biofuels and high added-value products. However, the low algal biomass productivities typically limit their application. NANOBOOSTER will engineer a high-performance photobiorefinery based on the addition of nanoparticles (NPs) to boost Haematococcus pluvialis metabolism, resulting in a biomethane that meets the EN 16723 standard (CH4>95%, CO295% and CO2<2%, and astaxanthin contents of 10%. Finally, the process will be validated under outdoor conditions at demo scale to assess its techno-economic feasibility and draft a business roadmap. NANOBOOSTER will position photosynthetic biogas upgrading as a cost-effective process easy to implement in the biogas sector. The fellow, Dr. Vargas, will conduct this action at the Institute of Sustainable Processes of University of Valladolid under the supervision of Dr. Muñoz, with secondments at Calpech and the University of Almería under the supervision of Dr. Gabriel Acién.

The European Union has clear targets in place to maintain an average global temperature 2˚ below pre-industrial levels, as shown by the Green Deal, Circular economy action plan, and Bioeconomy strategy; reducing emissions levels, incentivising a green, circular economy, and consolidating Europe's resources and environments. Gasification can convert organic waste into a potential feedstock (syngas), while reducing landfill volume, and emissions. Furthermore, microbial processes are seen as a potential next step to de-fossilise the industrial chemical industry. Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) can produce a host of value-add compounds while fixing inorganic wastes (e.g., CO2), gaining interest as a microbial tool for next-generation biorefineries. As such, the HALO project seeks to use halophilic PPB to convert syngas, CO2/CO/H2, into a host of valuable chemicals (medical, pharmaceutical products). The host of target compounds, the osmolytes ectoine and hydroxyectoine, the amino acid proline, the enzyme ubiquinone, and carotenoids (β-carotene, lycopene, spheroidene, spirilloxanthin) have high market value, with lycopene reported at 5500€/kg. In order to develop PPB syngas valorisation technology, specific PPB's ability to fix CO2 and CO must be determined and new high mass transfer bioreactors designed. HALO is a multi- and inter-disciplinary research project which aims to help achieve the EU's Green Deal goal of continental carbon net-zero by 2050 while creating green, competitive, and sustainable bioindustries and economies. On a global scale, HALO will help fulfil the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 13, 11, and 12 (Climate Action, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, respectively). Additionally, this project will allow the researcher's current abilities to flourish, while learning new techniques and methods from pioneering researchers outside of his immediate field of expertise.