From 14 to 16 January 2013, the launch of the HEIP-Link Project took place in Stellenbosch, South Africa. HEIP-Link (Promoting the international dimension of research in HEIs) is led by the University of Alicante and aims to strengthen cooperation in R&D&I between European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and their strategic partners (BRICS, Latin America, Asia), through the exchange of best practices in the management of R&D and intellectual property.

The project consortium consists of 11 universities from different countries (Russia, Brazil, India, China, Panama, Argentina, South Africa, Vietnam, Sweden, Poland and Spain) and the work will last 24 months. HEIP-Link activities include creating a website to facilitate R&D cooperation, providing information on key actors, sources of financing, legal framework for joint R & D, best practices in the management of R & D and intellectual property, and organising conferences to facilitate partnerships between countries.

The HEIP-Link Project is based on the results of other international initiatives previously led by the University of Alicante, such as PILA (Intellectual Property Network in Latin America) and IP-Unilink.

The coordinators believe that HEIP-Link will shorten the gap to make available not only information but a network of contacts in Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America.

The project is co-funded by the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Union.

Further information can be found on the HEIP-Link Project website.