MILESTONE will attempt to establish strong collaboration links among three widening academic institutes from Greece (UPAT), Slovenia (KI), and the Czech Republic (MU), as well as with an advanced partner (AMU, FR), to overcome locked-in institutional effects, build synergies, and create a pathway to excellence, producing new knowledge in antiviral research and pandemic preparedness. UPAT, KI, and CEITEC, all acknowledged national/regional research actors funded by ERDF, share common interests in biosciences and will collaborate with a world-class expert in biochemistry, virology, and infrastructure management, the AMU.

The MILESTONE strategy seeks to internationalize widening partners to boost their access to EU R&I consortia in joint applications under Pillars I & II, as well as to unlock, reinforce, and improve the utilization of existing R&I capacity. A key project module is training, knowledge sharing, and the acquisition of transferable skills for R&I personnel to increase performance in research, research management, fund raising, and communication.