Giraf PM e.K.
Projects


MICROCASA (2023-2026): is the first international project aimed at sharing the European experiences and building institutional capacities in Southeast Asia to co-create, promote and deliver short competence-oriented educational units leading to micro-credentials with the goal of solving various economic and social problems. Focusing on different aspects of micro-credentialing, for instance course content co-creation, educational technology, transparent quality assurance, technologies for issuance and verification of digital micro-credentials, the project builds a comprehensive set of competences and technical capacities in Southeast Asian Universities. Leveraging on the partner networks, as well as on the links to the national educational authorities and regional initiatives, MICROCASA has an ambition to have a systemic impact on the ASEAN region as a whole. The project plan builds around the following groups of activities:
- Regional Micro-credentials Study and Roundtables, which will allow gathering factual data and experts opinions about the barriers and enablers for introducing micro-credentials into the regional HEIs, as well as to benchmark the regional approaches to the ones in the EU;
- Micro-credentials capacity building Programme covering all abovementioned aspects of micro-credentialing;
- Pilot development, delivery and evaluation of the set of Digital Competences courses granting micro-credentials;
- Targeted awareness raising and dissemination activities spreading the excellence beyond the project consortium.
On the European side, the project consortium includes 3 European Universities with complementary competences, Italian NARIC Agency and the quality assurance expert company. The representative group of 6 Southeast Asian University includes central agenda-setting national Universities, as well as Universities with regional development missions.
GIRAF is a Quality Assurance partner in the project.

MENVIPRO (2018-2022): The overall objective of the project is to significantly improve the quality of MSc studies in the field of Environment Protection in Armenia and Georgia on the basis of complex modernization of the curricula in line with the Bologna principles, Salzburg principles of EAU and best European practice.
The curricula development is firmly based on the analysis of the best practice obtained in Europe, target countries and beyond, and incorporate the latest innovations in educational technologies. The focus is on close relations between postgraduate studies and research activities in order to equip the graduates with cutting-edge knowledge and practical skills. University-society-industry links will play also a key role to guarantee high employability of graduates.
In order to radically modernize the MSc education in EP - technology-intensive domain of knowledge, the project will establish a unique inter-University education and research facility, which will be used for student projects, collaborative projects with external stakeholders and demonstration activities to reinforce links to the University environment and promote environment-friendly mindsets.
The project consortium combines credible partners with diverse and mutually complementary expertise from the region of South Caucasus, as well as Italy, Portugal and Germany.
GIRAF is a Quality Assurance partner in the project.

ECoVEM (2020-2024): ECoVEM is an Erasmus+ KA3 project building a European VET Centre of Excellence in the field of Miscoelectronics, the project website is here ECoVEM
The key personnel of GIRAF has been provided as a contribution in-kind to EXOLAUNCH GmbH (consortium member of ECoVEM) to lead Quality Control tasks in the project.

COMPETEN-SEA (2016-2019): COMPETEN-SEA is an Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education project (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/erasmus-plus-key-action-2-capacity-building-in-field-youth_en) addressing the topic of enabling Universities in Southest Asia (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines) to develop, market and deliver Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The overall project aim is to make a significant contribution towards strengthening relations between higher education systems in Southeast Asia and wider economic and social environment by building organizational, pedagogical and technical capacities in local Universities to design, develop, market and deliver MOOCs for various economic and social problems. The project will implement the following activities:
- Regional MOOC SWOT analysis and feasibility study to identify best strategies for educational outreach using MOOCs
- Intensive MOOC Capacity Building programme aimed at building local capacities to develop MOOCs addressing local educational needs and deliver them to target users
- Development and evaluation of the system of MOOCs addressing urgent socio-economic development needs
- Dissemination and awareness raising campaign addressing academic communities in the region, as well as other key stakeholders: policy makers, potential users of MOOCs (e.g. public bodies, NGOs, businesses, etc.), general public. Importantly, the project will undertake efforts to integrate the regional MOOC specialists with the European MOOC movement.
GIRAF is a COMPETEN-SEA consortium member responsible for Quality Control tasks in the project, as well as for supporting the coordinator in managing and communicating with the consortium.

5TOI_4EWAS (2016-2019): 5TOI_4EWAS project will focus on Targeted Open Innovation in energy, water and agriculture societal challenges through a balanced innovation-friendly ecosystem in the Southern Mediterranean Neighborhood (SMN) based on quintuple helix and NEXUS approach. The project will enhance and support regional smart specialization and development by increasing research capacity, effective mobility of young innovators/researchers and shared knowledge to improve their participation in the EU research area. It will contribute to the establishment of favorable and stable conditions for international cooperation and the set-up of a Common Knowledge and Innovation Space of specialization in the SMN for a real socio-economic impact, based on co-ownership and mutual benefits. GIRAF will build on its expertise, partner network and capacities established through MAP2ERA and CINEA in the MEDA partner countries. Particularly, GIRAF will contribute to building the ecosystem bringing in the expertise in the field of agri-food, facilitate capacity building and support innovation by maintaining the Helpdesk services.

LIGHT-TPS (2014-2017, http://www.light-tps.eu/): This project results from the the last FP7 SPACE call, objective International cooperation with Ukraine in the field of New super-light materials for space applications. The GIRAF's experts provided key integrating contribution to the proposal writing and will support the project coordinator (Tecnalia, Spain) in management and dissemination activities. LIGHT-TPS will develop a new super-light Thermal Protection System (TPS) for various space applications, above all for Reusable Space Systems (RSS), capable of operating within the entire range of working temperatures. The project aims at radical properties improvements of the TPS to be used in existing and under-development RSS.
The main challenge of the project is to develop a super-light, corrosion and oxidation resistant TPS by combining the advantages of metallic and ceramic materials in a single system. The developed TPS will be significantly lighter than any existing TPS (under 10 kg/m2) thus reducing the cost of delivering a payload to orbit and volume of emission, guarantee reliable thermal protection in the entire range of working temperatures, possess improved mechanical and durability properties. The project consortium integrates best European research teams (Tecnalia, German Aerospace Agency DLR, Italian CNR Institute of Ceramics) and 4 absolutely central research institutes of Ukraine.

CINEA (2013-2016): With an excellent 14.5 out of 15 possible points in the ESR, CINEA is now in contract negotiations. Coordinated by GIRAF PM Services, the project brings together leading research organisations, industry associations and innovation players from the EU and the MED region to bridge the existing gap between research and innovation in the area of food and agriculture research. The ultimate goal is to facilitate the transfer of scientific knowledge to industries and public services and bi-regional cooperation between all stakeholders along the knowledge value chain in the agro-food domain, thus contributing to meeting European and national/regional sustainable development goals. The project builds on the fundamental of previous RTD cooperation capacity building initiatives (e.g. INCO ERA-WIDE projects MAP2ERA, FAWIRA etc.) and involves leading Mediterranean research entities (INRAA, CBS, USF, USMBA), industry associations/ innovation support agencies (API, CGEM, ANVREDET). On the European side the consortium includes exemplarily innovative research organisations (CNRS) and technology providers (CENTA), and relevant expert organizations and facilitators in the field of innovation and technology transfer (UAGF, GIRAF).

EcoArm2ERA (2012-2014): EcoArm2ERA is an FP7 Supporting Action aimed at strengthening the cooperation capacities of the Armenian leading research institute in the area of environment protection and monitoring: Center for Ecological-Noosphere Studies of National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (CENS). The project will reinforce strategic ties between CENS and (i) the School of Geography, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin (UCD), and (ii) the Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Geneva (UNIGE). Moreover, it will build the competences that are needed by the Armenian researchers and staff members to participate in the FP7 and upcoming FP8. Last but not least, the project will define and implement a sustainable development strategy for CENS focusing on the overall improvement of the institution's capacities, visibility, and competitiveness. GIRAF leads the cooperation capacity building training activities in the project and assists to the coordinator in management and dissemination issues.

MAP2ERA (2010-2013):The central goal of MAP2ERA is to reinforce the international research cooperation between Morocco�s leading institute in medicinal & aromatic plants research � the National Institute for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants NIMAP - and the European research area. The project�s activities will focus on (i) widening and reinforcing direct links between leading research teams of NIMAP and best relevant European research organisations through a series of partnering and networking events, (ii) building the required cooperation capacity in NIMAP by providing comprehensive training to members of the Moroccan research institute, and (iii) guaranteeing the sustainability and long-lasting positive effect of the project by developing a corresponding Organisational Development Strategy for NIMAP. In addition to training and project management expert GIRAF PM Services GmbH, the consortium includes prominent members like the French CNRS Institut de Chimie des Substances Naturelles and the University of Alican. For more details and current status of the project please visit the project website http://www.usmba.ac.ma/map2era/

MEDEO (2011-2013): The project focuses on overcoming current technical difficulties related to the exchange of earth observation (EO) data. In particular, the project will (i) structure and make publicly available internal data formats used in the Resurs satellite system, (ii) develop mathematical methods for data conversion and several software toolboxes enabling independent EO service providers and GIS developers to access and use both European and Russian EO datasets from a single application, and (iii) develop a web interface for the collections of the Resurs satellite data, thus enabling access to and efficient search for EO images. The consortium includes the developers of the only Russian civil EO satellite system Resurs-DK and reprentatives of the European EO research community and service industry. GIRAF PM Services GmbH has obtained the service contract for technical tasks linked to the representation of the Resurs data format in the Internet, including the collection of required information, translation, hypertext development, and design and development of the project website. For more details and current status of the project please visit the project website http://www.medeo-eu-ru.org/

POPDAT (2011-2013): The project's aim is to develop tools for the problem-oriented processing of observational data collected and stored by former ionospheric satellite missions � their data mining with the aim to create the database of ionosphere waves catalogues. The particular goals of POPDAT Project are: (i) collection of datasets from different sources which concern the wave-like phenomena in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere to form input data field for further processing; (ii) design of the flexible software tools for the search of wavelike and/or any other anomalous behaviors detected in the satellite datasets; (iii) creation of thematic catalogues of ionosphere perturbations, which have known, supposed or unknown origin; (iv) implementation of a Ionosphere Wave Service accessible to scientific communities and public users; (v) creation of Ionosphere Virtual Dynamic Observatory to assist educational activities; (vi) dissemination and promotion of the Ionosphere Wave Service at topical conferences and in scientific and public press. GIRAF PM Services and its experts will support the project implementation by providing management services in RTD and dissemination activities, as well as by enabling communication with third-country researchers.

GEO-RECAP (2010-2012): The project�s central goal is to initiate and significantly increase scientific cooperation between the European Research Area (ERA) and Georgia�s leading research centres in ICT: The Muskhelishvili Institute of Computational Mathematics and the Institute of Cybernetics. Activities include (i) conducting a series of networking events between members of the Georgian research institutes and key partners of the ERA, (ii) providing comprehensive training to the members of the Georgian research institutes to develop/enhance their skills and competences with regard to acquiring and participating in European research projects, and (iii) to develop a sustainable strategy for increasing the research centre�s regional coverage and to improve their response to socio-economic conditions. The prominent consortium includes elite partners such as DFKI (the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence), ERCIM (the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics), and ICARTI (the International Centre for Advancement of Research and Technology & Innovation of Georgia). GIRAF PM Services GmbH is responsible for all training activities and provides guidance to the Georgian co-ordinator in running the project. For more details and current status of the project please visit the project website http://www.georecap.eu/

NOTE! In March 2019 GIRAF PM e.K. took over GIRAF PM Services GmbH
through the Universal Transfer of Rights and Obligations (UTRO) procedure
Handelsregister-Nr. / Legal registration number: HRA 10653
USt-Ident-Nr / VAT registration number: DE265343956
Amtsgericht Saarbrücken, Handelsregister Saarbrücken
Geschäftsführer / Managing Director: Dr. Andrey Girenko