During 2 days, between 22-23 May, the PC members and the representatives of Donor Programme Partners - The Research Council of Norway, Icelandic Centre for Research, National Focal Point, Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest and UEFISCDI met in Cluj-Napoca, between 22-23 May, to discuss the projects' implementation stage & outputs and to visit the funded projects in this area.

Early Literacy of Roma Children from Romania: Bridging the Socioeconomic Divide (ELIRA 2.0)
PP: Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca, PI: Dacian Dolean – Viisoara School
The project aims to enhance and improve our understanding of the situation of Roma population by targeting the development of their literacy skills. More specifically, it aims to measure the effectiveness of a large-scale high-intensity educational program through the implementation of an experimental study (randomized control trial) targeted to improve the literacy skills of the Roma children and their non-Roma peers, and to expand our knowledge by continuing to explore longitudinally the factors that are associated with the reported poor literacy skills of many Roma children.

TiO2 nanotubes/graphene-based nanomaterials to address the emerging contaminants pollution
PP: National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj-Napoca, PI: Crina Socaci
The project goal is the development of an experimental laboratory set-up based on immobilized nanostructured surfaces, which exhibits a high efficiency of visible-light-driven remediation of emerging contaminants in aquatic systems.

Nanostructured microfluidic analytical platform for dual SERS-electrochemical detection of emerging environmental pollutants – POLSENS
PP: National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, Cluj-Napoca, PI: Cosmin Farcău
The goal of this project is to develop a sensing platform based on a plasmonic chip containing metal nanostructured surfaces that is able to detect pesticide pollutants by simultaneous optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry. The design and fabrication of the SERS-electrochemical sensor will target its portability, therefore answering the currently increasing demand for on-site detection and monitoring applications.

Treating Alzheimer's disease by characterising and repairing circuit activity using GENUS therapy
PP: Transylvanian Institute of Neuroscience, PI: Raul Mureșan
CIRCUITGENUS project aims to develop a novel, optimized therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, based on the entrainment of 30-80 Hz gamma oscillations in cortex by means of visual and auditory stimulation. The novel technique will employ advanced closed-loop stimulation tools, where the activity of the brain dynamically changes the properties of the stimulus to obtain the highest stimulation efficacy.

Adaptive evolution in marine algae under climate change and consequences for ocean services
The National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences,
PI: Bogdan Drugă
The ADVANCE project aims to understand the responses to climate change in marine phytoplankton, focusing on two of the most abundant microalgae on the planet: Skeletonema marinoi and Emiliania huxleyi, which are highly relevant for the aquatic food chain. The new knowledge of planktonic response to climate change will be incorporated into coupled climate-ecosystem models to provide authorities, fishing companes and the general public with relevant information for decision making.