Epileptic encephalopathies (EE) are heterogenous epilepsy syndromes associated with severe cognitive disturbance. EE vary in their onset age, seizure types, electroencephalographic patterns and etiologies. New molecular technologies increased the genetic diagnosis rate. Inline with EU orientations and Twinning requirements, the SEED project will provide Sfax University (SU), with capacity building in excellence and innovation for earlier clinical and genetic diagnosis of EE, thanks to collaboration with AMU and UA, two internationally leading organisations for the diagnosis of EE. Early clinical and genetic diagnosis allows early management, improves prognosis and reduces health costs. The SEED project will: 1) strengthen the medical and technological capacity towards innovative technologies of SU in the field of EE 2) allow access to scientific excellence at international level for members of the SU which will lead ultimately to a better integration into international networks in MENA and EU regions. The successful implementation of this strategy will rely on specific actions including: 1)enhancement of the existing and the creation of innovative scientific and technical collaborations through short-term staff exchanges and short-term on-site training activities; 2)training young researchers from SU to become trainers; 3)creating an experts’network for EE management centred at SU; 4) increasing awareness among the patient’s families through targeted dissemination and communication activities and 5) developing a strategy to sustain network activity beyond the project deadline. Through the completion of these activities, and with the support of AMU and UA, SU will be able to significantly reduce networking gaps, to increase its ability to compete for international research funds and to link further with stakeholders. In addition, thanks the SEED project, SU will become the reference center for the clinic and genetic diagnosis of EE in the MENA region.

The issue of coastal and maritime heritage management has turned into a main challenge as urbanization and industrialization expand in Southern Europe and around the Mediterranean. In this hazardous industry neighbouring context, littoral areas populations are directly confronted with the issues of sustainability and natural and cultural heritage preservation for the sake of future generations. The 2015-THUMCARI “Tourism and Heritage Uses of the Mediterranean Coast Adjacent to Risk Industry” project consists in federating a network of European scholars through multidisciplinary and international workshops held in France, Italy and Spain in the field of environmental and cultural heritage preservation studies of the Mediterranean coast. This 18 month-long project will be attached to the will of submitting in February 2017 a proposal to the European call programme Horizon2020. It will address the 2016-2017 Work Programme in the Societal challenge section: Europe in a changing world: inclusive, innovative and reflective societies and will be associated to the following call topic: CULT-COOP-07-2017 – Cultural heritage of European coastal and maritime regions. This Research and Innovation project will headed by the Mediterranean Laboratory of Sociology (LAMES) and will aggregate an international team of scholars, composed of Jean Lagane (PI) and Cesare Mattina (LAMES, UMR 7305, Aix-Marseille Université-CNRS), Chiara Certomà and Massimo Battaglia (Dirpolis Lab, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa) and Pedro Baños Paez (Lab. Reestructuracíon Territorial y Desigualdes Sociales-E0C2-05, Universidad de Murcia). Multidisciplinary research – including ethnography, qualitative and quantitative surveys, local and enterprise archival research – will be held in social sciences and humanities (sociology, cultural geography, political science, management science, communication science) and will give ground to an international comparative study of three coastal sites, adjacent to high-risk industry in France, Italy and Spain: - Marseille-Fos-Cavaou (Provence, France) regarding the impact of the Natural Liquefied Gas terminal port extension close to natural heritage, leisure and ecological zones; - Rosignano-Solvay (Tuscany, Italy) concerning the vicinity of heavy chemical industry with local leisure coastal activity and tourism; - Portmán bay (Murcia, Spain) related with the consequences of former mining pyrite industry upon natural and cultural heritage regeneration plans and further industrial and leisure activity enhancement. The scientific scope of the programme includes research upon international societal issues linked to risk sociology and cultural heritage and tourism management applied to the Mediterranean coasts. Workshops will be supported by research on social response and dynamics of these territories and their populations for environmental concerns, heritage conservation and economic enhancement (de-contamination, regeneration, conversion and re-appropriation processes and adjustment uses). During the workshops, two prominent aspects of excellence will be developed: multidisciplinary research and international cooperation. On the one hand, in order to provide a multidisciplinary coherence to the H2020 proposal submission, the team of scholars will seek favourable cooperation with science scholars (biologists [ecotoxicology], chemists) from Aix-Marseille University, whose research deals with contamination and decontamination of ecosystems and natural heritage close to industrial risks. On the second hand, international cooperation between Aix-Marseille University researchers (LAMES) and Tunisian geography scholars from Sfax University (SYFACTE Laboratory) – which was started in 2010 concerning sustainable urban management and phosphate decontamination plans – will be extended and rejuvenated with a focus upon plans to decontaminate suburban sites close to coastal natural heritage (wetlands).

TheThe analysis of the human microbiome (genome of memberThe analysis of the human microbiome (genome of members of microbiota that is composed of billions of micro-organisms) is an emerging research area of considerable interest in human health and diseases. Disruption of the microbial community is a major risk factor for many diseases such as metabolic syndrome, immune disorders, cancer development, and is linked to limited response to treatment. In the last decade, numerous initiatives and projects were launched to take advantage of new, high-throughput technologies to characterize the human microbiome and to explore its relationship with health/diseases. Also concrete actions were engaged to provide a tangible response to the need to standardize and harmonize study methods and protocols, as well as regulations. Despite the increasing number of European and International initiatives on human microbiome, very few studies have been carried out in North Africa (NA). Therefore, there is an urgent need in NA for the development of skills in human microbiome analysis. With the support of the EU partners (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Jouy en Josas and Aix Marseille University () from France and Florence University (UNIFI) from Italy), USFAX, aims to be a leading force in the region by: (i) increasing its staff capacities using new technological approaches such as Shotgun metagenome sequencing for the analysis of the human microbiome (ii) adopting a standardized approaches for collecting samples and analyzing data (iii) setting up and coordinating a consortium on human microbiomeat NA level building to start with on existing collaborations with Morocco, Algeria and Egypt that we have named “the North African Human Microbiome Consortium” (NAHMC). The MICAfrica objectives would be achieved through implementation of vertical coordination and support measures related to the definition of a scientific strategy for human and capital capacity building.

Global climate change is seriously threatening food security. Globally, agriculture must find alternatives for chemical fertilisers that contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions- and pesticides. Advanced plant breeding and biotechnology tools offer great opportunities to devise sustainable solutions for future farming. Next-generation sequencing technologies has created new research and innovation potential in genomics and transcriptomics. Also, groundbreaking proteomics, metabolomics and phenomics methods now generate big data beneficial to plant biotechnology and sustainable agriculture. In Tunisia, the Research and Innovation systems are not yet sufficiently developed to fully seize the opportunities made by the availability of omics tools to participate in the necessary transition to a sustainable and climate-neutral agriculture. At the University of Sfax (USF), the lack of strong scientific knowledge in plant omics technologies among researchers and of tailor-made plant technology platforms are major constraints to the development of sustainable and resilient agro-systems. The objective of INPLANTOMICS is to foster scientific excellence and innovation at the USF for the future implementation of the first North African plant biotechnological platform promoting sustainable agriculture and healthy nutrition, at the light of a strong European network and partnership. Equipped with the most advanced omics technologies this platform will greatly improve the transfer of knowledge and innovation to researchers and stakeholders including farmers, breeders, nurserymen and agri-food producers.

Since 2011, Tunisia has been the theatre of a profound social, political and economic transformation. The Humanities and Social Sciences can develop tools enabling Tunisian society to appropriate and perpetuate this transformation. Within this context, the “SfaxForward” Twinning project strengthens the capacities of an innovative academic centre regarding Cultural Heritage: the Maghreb House of the Humanities and Social Sciences (MdMSH) at the University of Sfax. SfaxForward postulates that Tangible and Intangible Heritage can play a central role in a territory’s transformation and development. By learning to cherish their Cultural Heritage, people can discover who they are and what they share. The characterization and subsequent participatory management of these common cultural assets should engender a more stable and inclusive society. One that better manages migratory flows thanks to its citizens enjoying greater control over their lives, while constructing and taking possession of their own territory. SfaxForward’s goal is to position the Sfax partner as an international model for mutually beneficial relations between academia and civil society, with Heritage serving as a driving force of regional development and stability. This necessitates establishing the conditions for a fruitful dialogue between researchers and civil society to enlighten public policy and action. Southern Tunisia constitutes the project’s territory-laboratory. To achieve this goal, SfaxForward develops three types of initiatives: multidisciplinary conferences and workshops on the project’s key themes, thematic schools dedicated to young researchers, and an Observatory of Southern Tunisian Heritage constructed in collaboration with civil society. The extensive interdisciplinary experience of the collaborating French and Belgian Houses of the Humanities and Social Sciences benefits MdMSH in constructing its own unique scientific identity, with an ambition for international excellence.