The University of Salamanca (USAL) is a Spanish public higher education and research institution with a long-standing international reputation for academic excellence and scientific production. Founded in 1218, USAL is one of Europe’s oldest universities and today remains at the forefront of research and innovation, with strong capacities across multiple scientific domains.
Within USAL, the BISITE Research Group (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) brings together around 100 researchers from multidisciplinary backgrounds, including computer science, biology, physics, and economics. BISITE is specialised in the development and application of intelligent computational systems in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, IoT, Blockchain, Industry 4.0, Smart Cities, Smart Grids, and digital transformation. The group combines strong scientific capacity with a highly practical orientation, generating applied innovation, research projects, patents, high-impact publications, and technology transfer activities.
USAL has significant experience in national and international collaborative R&D projects, including Horizon Europe, and is part of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and the DIGIS3 European Digital Innovation Hub ecosystem. The university also offers advanced
research infrastructure, including a state-of-the-art HPC environment with NVIDIA H100 GPUs, large-scale storage, and high-performance computing capabilities that support AI training, simulation, digital twins, optimisation, and large-scale data analysis.
The University of Salamanca (USAL), through its BISITE Research Group, is seeking to join an existing consortium as a research and technology partner for the following PRIMA topics:
Topic 1.1.1-2026 – Decentralised Brackish Water Desalination for Climate-Resilient and Resource-Efficient Mediterranean Agriculture
USAL can contribute through AI-based monitoring, optimisation, and decision-support systems for decentralised desalination infrastructures. The university can support the development of IoT-enabled monitoring architectures, digital twins, predictive models, and intelligent control tools to improve operational efficiency, energy performance, and system adaptability under varying agro-environmental conditions. USAL can also contribute to data analysis, modelling, and performance assessment frameworks supporting lifecycle, operational, and sustainability evaluation.
Topic 1.2.1-2026 – Next Generation of Sustainable and Alternative Animal Feeds for Circular and Resilient Mediterranean Farming Systems
USAL can contribute to the modelling, optimisation, and digital support of circular feed systems through AI, data analytics, and interoperable digital platforms. This includes resource-flow modelling, traceability, environmental and techno-economic analysis, and digital tools supporting validation in Living Lab or near-operational settings. The university can also support data integration and intelligent analysis related to feed performance, circularity, and decision-making across farming and value-chain contexts.
Topic 1.3.1-2026 – Sustainable On-Site Transformation of Perishable Mediterranean Agri-food Products
USAL can contribute through intelligent digital solutions for decentralised and modular transformation systems, including AI-supported process optimisation, quality control, traceability, and resource-efficiency monitoring. Its expertise in IoT, edge computing, simulation, and digital twins can support the validation of practical, scalable, and cost-effective processing solutions adapted to real local conditions. USAL can also contribute to performance assessment, smart operational support, and digital tools that enhance replication and long-term uptake.
Topic 1.4.1-2026 – Institutionalising and Scaling the Mediterranean WEFE Nexus Community of Practice for Cross-Sectoral Governance and Policy Uptake USAL can contribute to the design and development of digital knowledge platforms,
collaborative hubs, and intelligent tools supporting the Mediterranean WEFE Nexus Community of Practice. The university can support structured knowledge exchange, digital interaction environments, decision-support resources, data organisation, and tools for capacity building and policy uptake. USAL also brings strong dissemination, training, and international networking capacity, which can support peer learning, stakeholder engagement, and science-policy dialogue.
Across these topics, USAL offers expertise in:
Artificial Intelligence and explainable AI
IoT and edge/cloud architectures
Digital twins, simulation, and intelligent control
Data interoperability and digital platforms
Traceability and decision-support systems
High-performance computing for advanced modelling and analytics
Multi-actor collaboration, dissemination, and capacity building
As a Spanish public university with strong national and European project experience, USAL is particularly interested in contributing to Mediterranean projects that combine scientific excellence, practical innovation, stakeholder engagement, and scalable impact.
As USAL is not currently coordinating a proposal for this topic, it would be glad to join an
existing consortium and is open to taking on a coordination or leadership role during
project implementation, if appropriate. The University brings solid experience in
collaborative R&D, advanced digital technologies, international project participation,
scientific dissemination, and training, with the capacity to contribute both to research
excellence and to the practical validation and uptake of project results. This is supported
by BISITE’s participation and coordination experience in numerous international
projects, including HERMES, HESSP, GILL, TECTONIC, and LIFE VIA DE LA
PLATA, among others, as well as by its strong internationalisation capacity through
ecosystems and networks such as DIGIS3, the European network of EDIHs, and the
International Chair of AI for the Demographic Challenge. For further information please
consult USAL’s BISITE Group website: https://bisite.usal.es/en
