Land degradation, especially physical degradation, with soil erosion as the most common degradation process, is a significant problem for the conservation of resources and has a large negative effect. One of the consequences of soil erosion is the occurrence of torrential floods. The floods that occurred in the last time, again point to the need to improve the education of professionals who will enable better prevention of torrential floods. The field of soil erosion control and protection against torrential floods are not included in the study process at all the faculties of forestry and other related faculties of the universities in Serbia and B&H. The Faculty of Forestry of the University of Belgrade has the academic studies devoted to these issues, while other universities have individual subjects whose syllabuses are partially related to this field. For these reasons, there is a need for the development of a new master and improvement of the existing bachelor curriculum by introducing new subjects or by changing the syllabuses of existing subjects. In addition to the development of new master and improvement of the bachelor curriculum, in compilance with the Bologna Process and the EU good practices, the specific objectives of the project are also the following: the implementation of improved knowledge of practical solutions against torrential floods and the education of local governments to create prevention programs. The project includes five universities of the partner countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina), where the curricula will be developed, and universities from the four program countries. The project will be implemented through the 7 work packages with 34 activities. The Project implementation will contribute to the establishment of better cooperation between the participants, who, by improving the university curriculum with the support of the EU, will achieve harmonized approach to the methodology for flood prevention at the regional level.

The electrospray ionization with mass spectrometry detection (ESI-MS) has been widely used to study biomolecules, low molecular weight compounds, and noncovalent complexes. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), capable of separating ions with the same m/z but varying sizes and shapes in the gaseous phase, has been recently hyphenated with the ESI-MS to conduct fundamental and applied research. The overall objective of this proposal is to generate new knowledge on the biological function and chemical characteristics of siderophore-metal complexes (SMCs) under real conditions such as seawater and rhizosphere by harnessing in-source activation (ISA) and cutting-edge ESI-IM-MS technology. To this end, the experimental investigations will involve varying ESI parameters, such as ESI and ISA voltages and drying gas temperature, and solution conditions, e.g. pH, solvent type, ionic strength, and matrix, to investigate stability and competitivity, hydrolysis, hydrogen-deuterium exchange behavior, and fragmentation patterns of SMCs plus finding the binding site locations of siderophores to metal ions in SMCs. The proposed project will also include experimental and theoretical calculations of collision cross-section (CCS) values and thermodynamic studies via quantum-mechanical methods, i.e. density functional theory to rationalize the experimental observations. The obtained CCS values will allow us to derive additional structural and spatial information on the investigated SMCs. The proposed project is multidisciplinary in nature as it integrates analytical chemistry, soil/plant research, environmental science, physical chemistry, and quantum mechanics. Two-way knowledge transfer in this project ensures the transfer of the candidate's expertise in the areas of sample preparation, flow systems, and 3D-printing technology to the host institution and training of the candidate in advanced analytical chemistry techniques to enhance his employability and career development.

The ERASMUS+ Project for Mobility of learners and staff of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) hassuccessfully met all project goals. The objectives of the project were: sending and receiving students (for study periods abroad (SMS) and for traineeships (SMT)),teaching staff mobility (STA) and staff mobility for training purposes (STT).The project is not only fully in line with BOKU’s strategy for Internationalisation, but also meets the objectives of BOKU’s European Policy Statement(http://www.boku.ac.at/fileadmin/data/H05000/H12000/Baum_2012/G-_Internationale_Kooperation/C-_Strategie/29312_2013_EUC_BOKU_application_FINAL.pdf , seepages 12 -14), and contributes to achieving the goals with regard to each of the five priorities of the Modernisation Agenda. In the framework of the Quality AssuranceMechanisms implemented at BOKU [BOKU successfully completed the audit of the quality management system in 2014 – with special emphasis on QA in internationalrelations - and was awarded a HS-QSG (Agency AQ Austria) certificate, valid until 2021], the feedback given by mobile participants is regularly taken into account forfurther improvement of the services offered.For SMS, we had slightly fewer outgoing mobilities than originally planned in the grant agreement. This may be due to the long planning period ahead of the mobility forstudents; SMT mobilities are much more flexible and thus better meet the needs of many of our students. This has led to an ongoing increase in SMT mobilities. With regard to staff mobility, the number of STA outgoing mobilities was only slightly lower than planned, but STT mobilities were easily fullfilled, as weparticularly encourage administrative staff members to get a training abroad in order to increase their intercultural competence and thereby contribute to the aim of“internationalization at home”, which is one of the objectives of BOKU’s strategy for internationalization.The most important results of the project, which are also disseminated among BOKU’s partner universities, networks and stakeholders (including industry and thesociety), are:• our welcome sessions for incoming students and partially also staff members: 4 days with information on studying at BOKU and living in Vienna (and additional infosessions for latecomers), including social activities. The social activities were offered together with the ERASMUS student network and the Austrian student union – seevideo: http://www.boku.ac.at/int-in-welcome-en.html• thanks to our student and staff mobility, BOKU has strengthened its co-operation with other European Higher Education Institutions and Industry, and - particularlythanks to staff mobilities – BOKU has successfully laid the basis for further ERASMUS+ project applications.The impact on mobile participants is of course immediate (increase in employability, intercultural competences etc.), but there is also an impact on our university:“Internationalisation at home” through incoming mobile participants; intensified co-operation with existing and potential Erasmus+ Partner institutions in both HigherEducation and Industry.Consequently, the longer-term benefits for all target groups can be summarized as follows:• mobile participants have benefitted from an increase in personal and academic skills (increased employability, intercultural competences),• in addition, mobile staff members have strengthened ties with partner universities, which in turn has led to an increase in future joint project applications.• For BOKU, the incoming mobile participants have contributed to achieving the objective of “Internationalisation at home” and our outgoing mobile participants havehelped intensify the collaboration with other HEIs and Industry.

The Danube River Basin (DRB) faces significant challenges associated with river sediments. In the 2021 update of the Danube River Basin Management Plan, sediment balance alteration emerged as a new sub-topic within the existing Significant Water Management Issue titled "Hydromorphological alterations." Additionally, sectors like industry, urban sewage, and agriculture call for sediment quality evaluations throughout the DRB. However, the absence of standard sediment monitoring limits our understanding of risks. Addressing the sediment mismanagement in the DRB, the iNNO SED project aims to establish the Danube Sediment ‘Lighthouse’ Knowledge Centre. This centre will: • Introduce a set of innovative methods for monitoring and modelling sediment quantity and quality, thereby deepening our knowledge of sediment processes. • Provide innovative sediment management practices to improve sediment continuity and quality in DRB sections facing with sediment-related issues. • Showcase co-created innovative measures through demonstration activities, while also evaluating their socio-economic and environmental aspects. • Empower the public with innovative knowledge transfer methodologies. • Collaborate with five Associated Regions, transferring the iNNO SED solutions to other river basins. To accomplish these goals, iNNO SED will leverage the achievements and key contributors of the DanubeSediment and SIMONA initiatives. Moreover, it will engage relevant stakeholders of sediment management, such as ICPDR, policy makers, river managers, hydropower plant managers, waterway authorities, national parks, environmental agencies, SMEs, and more. iNNO SED will represent a pioneering approach to sediment management in large international river basins. This approach sets an example for other major global river systems like the Amazon, Mekong, or Niger. In doing so, it aligns with the Mission's objective of intensifying the European Union's competitiveness.

FRAMEwork is constructed based on the Farmer Cluster approach successfully implemented in the UK. FRAMEWORK will enrich and innovate existing Farmer Clusters by liaising with local and (inter)national stakeholder groups, and set up new, multi-actor, Farmer Clusters in different cropping systems in Europe, based on existing collaborations. The Farmer Clusters will be united in a European-wide self-sustaining network and linked with the Citizen Observatory and Information Hub that will facilitate farmer and citizen-based collection and sharing of harmonised, high-quality information on biodiversity and farming, and develop engaging online and offline activities to amplify awareness and understanding of biodiversity and BSF across different stakeholders in Europe. The scientific contribution to these citizen-based activities will deliver the following outcomes: 1) Advanced ecological understanding of the drivers of biodiversity change in agricultural landscapes; 2) a selection of best-practice biodiversity-sensitive management by farmers based on their local requirement; 3) validated methods for biodiversity targeting, monitoring and evaluation and 4) private and public incentives to foster biodiversity-sensitive farming as a public good. Furthermore, FRAMEwork will assess the effectiveness of the Farmer Cluster approach to develop and implement place and system-specific biodiversity-sensitive farming practices and evaluate the economic and environmental performance, delivering a permanent on-line evaluation tool on the Citizen Observatory and Information Hub. The TRL of the DSTs ranges from 3-5, where improvements are foreseen for the TRL5 DST, while the ones at TRL3 will be brought to TRL4-5 through testing and improvements in the Farmers Clusters. FRAMEwork will be innovative in the way in which it will implement EU ethics, data protection and gender regulations.