New Horizon Europe-Funded ERA Chair Project to Drive Research into a Sustainable Future at Tallinn University
Next January, Tallinn University will launch an ambitious research project focused on building a sustainable future. Supported by a €2.5 million grant from the European Commission’s Horizon Europe ERA Chair initiative, the project will be led by Professor Anu Realo from the University of Warwick (United Kingdom), the incoming ERA Chair Professor, in collaboration with Professor Kai Pata, Professor of Adult Education and Non-Formal Learning at Tallinn University.
Running from 2025 to 2029, SustainERA will combine high-level research with the development of innovative solutions to promote a sustainable mindset and practices. By integrating expertise from multiple disciplines and fostering international collaboration, the project also aims to enhance the university’s research excellence and capacity.
“The deteriorating state of the environment is a serious concern,” explained the project’s Principal Investigator, Professor Kai Pata. “While proposed solutions often focus on technological innovation, moving toward more sustainable choices also requires changes in people’s mindsets and habits.”
This is where the social sciences and humanities play a crucial role. “Disciplines such as psychology, education and behavioural studies, political science, and communication studies provide insights into how people think, learn, and behave. In our project, we will integrate knowledge across these disciplines to tackle sustainability challenges from various perspectives,” added Pata.
According to Professor Anu Realo, the incoming ERA Chair Professor, Estonians are deeply connected to nature but often fail to act on it, engaging in behaviours that harm the environment in daily life. “The main goal of our research is to understand why this happens and to find solutions to encourage people to adopt more sustainable and environmentally friendly practices,” Realo said.
Realo emphasised that identifying barriers to sustainable practices is essential for developing and implementing successful strategies. “People’s choices and behaviours are shaped by a variety of factors, including lack of knowledge, a weak sense of personal responsibility, limited time and resources, political attitudes, and the accessibility of eco-friendly options. By identifying these obstacles, we can design more effective incentives that are culturally and socially appropriate,” she explained.
The project stands out for its outstanding interdisciplinary team, which brings together experts from a wide range of fields in the social sciences and humanities. Four doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers will be recruited through an international competition to complement the existing team.
To enhance collaboration with various partners, including representatives from the public and private sectors, the project will adopt the Open Lab approach. “The Open Lab is not a physical space but a collaborative platform where researchers and stakeholders can share tools, data, and results to foster transparency and cooperation,” explained Pata.
In addition to conducting high-level research and developing research-based intervention and communication strategies to promote eco-conscious practices, one of the key objectives of the project is to strengthen Tallinn University’s capacity to secure future research funding. To achieve this, the project will organise workshops on grant writing, project management, and science communication. “These workshops will be specifically tailored for young researchers, equipping them with the skills needed to navigate the entire research funding process, from drafting proposals and finding collaborators to managing projects and disseminating findings,” said Pata.
According to Aija Sakova, Head of the Research Department at Tallinn University, the prestigious ERA Chair grant not only enhances the university’s research excellence in sustainable development but also supports its broader R&I activities. “Receiving an ERA Chair grant is a significant recognition for the university, comparable to an ERC grant,” emphasised Sakova.
Tallinn University has previously led two research projects funded by the ERA Chair grant initiative which were led by Professor Maximilian Schich (2020–2024) and Professor Tobias Ley (2016–2021), respectively.
ERA Chair grants are a funding mechanism under the European Commission's Horizon Europe programme, designed to strengthen research excellence and capacity Widening Countries. These grants support research institutions in less-advantaged EU regions by providing resources to attract outstanding researchers and enhance their competitiveness.