As part of the first call for projects under the cross-border cooperation program, Interreg VI France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen, nine research projects have been accepted at ULiège. They will benefit from substantial financial support for their implementation. The BIOCONTROL 4.0 portfolio, comprising 6 major biocontrol projects, will be coordinated by Philippe Jacques, Professor at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech.
The Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen (FWV) program, for the period 2021-2027, has been allocated 268 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This funding aims to strengthen cross-border exchanges and cooperation between the regions of Hauts-de-France, Grand Est, Wallonia, West and East Flanders. The selected projects cover five priority themes: Research & Innovation, Climate & Environment, Mobility, Social Cohesion and Governance.
Under the 1st Interreg VI FWV call, 9 research projects are being funded at ULiège. Four of these are included in the BIOCONTROL 4.0 portfolio, coordinated by Philippe Jacques, Professor at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech and Pr. Marc Ongena, FNRS Research Director at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech.
Coordinated by ULiège, GemblouxAgro-Bio Tech, BIOCONTROL 4.0 focuses on innovative biocontrol solutions for sustainable agriculture, and more specifically on the development of :
Philippe Jacques explains: "Today, agriculture is faced with a complex equation involving a major reduction in inputs, and in particular pesticides, which are now recognized for their negative impact on the environment, in a context of climate change, and if possible without affecting yields or production costs. By bringing together an exceptional number of players, the Biocontrol 4.0 project portfolio is a unique opportunity to provide sustainable solutions for managing crop pests in the Franco-Belgian cross-border region. It brings together upstream research players as well as those in direct contact with farmers, enabling the development of research directly related to the concerns of users of research results. This system also ensures optimum transfer of results to users."
This portfolio mobilizes the skills of 46 partners, from 24 institutions, with a budget of over 14 million euros (including over 2.2 million for the University of Liège), to develop an approach integrating digital and biocontrol tools and aiming to reduce the use of pesticides. To ensure the smooth running of the consortium, the coordinator has brought together the internal and external management and communication tools for the 6 research projects under a single project, Trans-Manage. The aim of Trans-Manage is to ensure that the various projects in the portfolio operate in an optimal, concerted fashion, with maximum visibility.
The aim of the ORION project is to propose a holistic and dynamic characterization of the pressures affecting the Meuse's transboundary aquatic ecosystems, in order to assess their vulnerabilities and resilience capacities. Based on a multidisciplinary approach combining biology, microbiology, chemistry, ecotoxicology and modeling, ORION aims to improve prediction of the consequences of certain management actions on ecosystems.
The aim of the COMPOVERT project is to develop functional composite materials with plant reinforcements, in particular through the valorization of local (sub)products such as lignocellulosic fibers and lignin. It will exploit synergies and close collaboration between all partners to promote the implementation of sustainable plant-reinforced composite materials with original functional properties in companies on both the Belgian and French sides of the Interreg territory.
The RAAVI project aims to promote the inclusion and self-determination of people with disabilities by improving organizational and educational practices. It aims to transform the way people with disabilities are supported, by promoting their self-determination, respecting their rights and creating a common support culture. It has the potential to generate positive changes in the lives of many people with disabilities in Belgium and France.
A prototype electronic nose with interpretable results (white box) compared with existing devices was developed and tested on artificial breath in the laboratory (TRL 4) during the PATHACOV project (2018-22). At the end of a very large-scale clinical study (1,400 subjects), PATHACOV highlighted a list of VOCs potentially marking bronchopulmonary cancers (PBCs) and algorithmic rules enabling diseased subjects to be discriminated from a priori PBC-free subjects. ALCOVE's challenge is to optimize and miniaturize the prototype to make it operational for testing under clinical conditions (TRL 5-6), before considering a future transfer to the industrial world and then to clinical practice.
These projects demonstrate ULiège's commitment to collaborative research for the development of innovative solutions to the regional and global challenges identified by the Interreg VI FWV program. The BIOCONTROL 4.0 project, in particular, highlights our ability to coordinate complex cross-border initiatives, integrating advances in biocontrol and digital technologies for sustainable agriculture.
See all Interreg FWV projects funded at ULiège
Find out more about these projects and other research initiatives at ULiège
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