2020 was an exceptional year. The pandemic slowed the development of many global challenges, including climate change.

MedEcoSuRe, a project aimed at addressing this challenge, will develop tools and strategic plans to implement innovative and eco-sustainable energy renovation solutions for university buildings in the Mediterranean.

As the end of the year approaches, and in the hope of safely overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, we would like to sincerely thank the ENI CBC MED program and its partners for their cooperation and collaboration during these challenging times, which are essential to the success of the projects.

The following are some of the approaches adopted to effectively implement project activities during the COVID-19 pandemic:

A participatory design process was adopted, allowing for the input of stakeholders involved in the project. This enabled the successful creation of the Cross Border Living Lab, through a series of webinars, a virtual intermediary entity for collaboration and decision-making.

New modalities for implementing activities were defined, including the launch of an online training program for students. This experience proved to be very fruitful and beneficial for both students and researchers, allowing them to enrich their training, hone their technical skills, and express and share their perspectives on various technical issues.

To address the delays that have affected or could affect the project’s progress, some activities began earlier than planned, such as the development of a decision-making tool to plan and optimize the renovation of university buildings, the installation of photovoltaic power plants, and the installation of a Smart Grid experimental platform.

Finally, the Covid-19 outbreak may seem like it has brought the world to a standstill. However, it’s important to remember that together, we can overcome this!