<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><ns2:project xmlns:ns1="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api" xmlns:ns2="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/project" xmlns:ns3="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/fund" xmlns:ns4="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/person" xmlns:ns5="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/project/outcome" xmlns:ns6="http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk/gtr/api/organisation" ns1:created="2026-08-26T13:36:10Z" ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/projects/C7563C4B-43FF-4C9A-BBDE-0041FCB69805" ns1:id="C7563C4B-43FF-4C9A-BBDE-0041FCB69805"><ns1:links><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/persons/320A09D4-FB45-4ADF-B934-1BE41F7B4C65" ns1:rel="PM_PER"/><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/organisations/EC9326B5-50D8-459F-9932-1D39B5055FC9" ns1:rel="LEAD_ORG"/><ns1:link ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/organisations/EC9326B5-50D8-459F-9932-1D39B5055FC9" ns1:rel="PARTICIPANT_ORG"/><ns1:link ns1:end="2025-11-30T00:00:00Z" ns1:href="http://gtr.ukri.org/gtr/api/funds/AA13C04B-F7FC-4A4F-A24C-5C6C5551FA58" ns1:rel="FUND" ns1:start="2022-12-01T00:00:00Z"/></ns1:links><ns2:identifiers><ns2:identifier ns2:type="RCUK">10058103</ns2:identifier></ns2:identifiers><ns2:title>South Eastern Mediterranean Excellence Development in FIre REsearch (SEMEDFIRE)</ns2:title><ns2:status>Closed</ns2:status><ns2:grantCategory>EU-Funded</ns2:grantCategory><ns2:leadFunder>Horizon Europe Guarantee</ns2:leadFunder><ns2:abstractText>In full alignment with the WIDERA-Twinning-topic’s requirements, SEMEDFIRE aims to enhance the capacities and knowledgeacquisition of the Widening institution; EUC, in Research-&amp;amp;-Innovation (R&amp;amp;I) and Research-Management-Administration (RMA) relating to Fire Safety and Fire Management. This is aimed through networking activities with five top-class leading counterparts at EU level; IMPERIAL COLLEGE, WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY, PAU COSTA FOUNDATION, FRENCH GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF CIVIL SECURITY AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT and NIMES-Metropole, which represent a multifaceted, but complementary and synergistic, ‘geography’ of R&amp;amp;I-philosophies and approaches, comprising: •two leading Academic institutes in the area of fire safety and integrated fire management; •a leading Foundation in investigating fires and communities-engagement; •a Governmental Agency leading the EU-effort in operationally combating Forest Fires; •an Agglomeration of Municipalities providing the tangible example of local governance in Forest Fires; •a representation of both Member States and an Associated Country; •a linking of the European Research Area (ERA) in a “compass” fashion: from north (UK) to central Europe (FR, NL), to the west (ES), and to the Mediterranean biogeographical region (ES, FR, CY) and its South-Eastern area (CY). The networking-for-excellence and twinning-contributions of the internationally-leading Advanced Partners in knowledge-transfer and capacity-building, focus on both EUC and within and for its surrounding targeted stakeholders from public governance, industry/ entrepreneurship and civic society, at local and regional levels. It is hence scoped to raise the profile and reputation of EUC to such a level of ERA-excellence that it will be able to become a lighthouse of spreading fire-science excellence in Cyprus and the SE Mediterranean, as well as to nurture a culture of societal fire-safetyno public description</ns2:abstractText></ns2:project>