On March 20, 2023, the University of Cagliari (UNICA) received the HR Excellence in Research award by the European Commission (EC). The HR Award process consists of a continuous, cyclical improvement that UNICA is committed to carrying out and whose actions strive to integrate into the institutional strategic plan in future years. HR award is a participatory, button-up process that requires input from researchers at different level of career development, particularly from early-stage researchers (R1 and R2). The new HRS4R  structure for the  implementation phase has been appointed by Rectoral Decree  DR 756/2024: by 20.03.2026,  the Internal Review for Interim Assessment  will be submitted to the EC to report on the progress and completion of the actions, as well as any deviations may occur and add new actions for the next years. The award achievement coincides with the completion of the initial phase, with the submission of an application dossier consisting of a gap analysis (mapping process) of the “gap” with respect to the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for their recruitment (C&C) and and to those of the “ new European Charter for Researchers” annexed to the Recommendation of the European Council of 18.12.2023, an of the action plan (AP) to fill them. The implementation of the AP  allows the Institution to align its policy, in compliance with the relevant national legislation, with the recommendations of the European Commission for the creation of the European Research Area (ERA) with regards to policies for the recruitment of researchers and good practices to be applied, guaranteeing them an attractive working environment if they come from other Organizations,  and at the same time motivating  UNICA researchers, particularly researchers at the beginning of the research career, such as doctoral candidates  up to full professors. From 20.03.2024, UNICA moves to the implementation phase: it will carry out the AP approved by the EC and previously by the Academic Senate and the Administrative Board in the meetings on September 26 (Del. n°117/23 S) and 28 (Del. n. 165/23C) 2023 respectively.    The AP also reports actions’ timelines and indicators.

HR Award Process