Projects

Combating climate change with SpongeScapes

Too hot, too dry, too wet: Europe’s landscapes have already been visibly affected by climate change. In recent years, floods and droughts have caused damage amounting to billions of Euros. The SpongeScapes project was launched in October 2023 and aims to counteract the consequences of climate change by establishing sponge landscapes. The European Commission is funding the research project with a total of 2.6 million euros under the Horizon Europe programme.

Aquacombine – Using salt-tolerant plants to counter the consequences of climate change

EU project Aquacombine focuses on the potential of halophytes with the participation of Leibniz University Hannover. Gourmets relish the tips of the plants, which taste like the ocean. But until now glasswort – also known as sea asparagus – has eked out more of a niche existence. To date the plant, which grows in salt marshes and mudflats, has not been used for large-scale industrial food production. This is despite the fact that plants like glasswort (Salicornia europaea) have many useful qualities.

EULiST – Leibniz University Hannover is part of a European University

Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) initiated the alliance EULiST – European Universities Linking Society and Technology. Together with nine partners, LUH has acquired funding within the framework of the European Commission’s European University initiative amounting to a total of 14.3 million euros provided over a period of four years. 1.6 million euros are allocated to LUH.

AI@Smile – How can we use artificial intelligence to promote young people’s mental health?

The AI@Smile project addresses the increasing mental health issues among teenagers in Europe. It aims to harness the potential of artificial intelligence to preserve the mental health of teenagers
and counteract the rising suicide rate in this age group. The involvement of teachers and guardians is a crucial aspect of this initiative.

Lukas Hakelberg receives ERC grant for his research on the emergence of tax havens in the Global South

The ERC has awarded Prof. Dr. Lukas Hakelberg a Starting Grant for his project entitled “The Whiteness of Wealth Management: Colonial Economic Structure, Racism, and the Emergence of Tax Havens in the Global South (WOWMA)”. During its runtime, he will analyse the development of tax havens with a focus on colonial economic structures, income tax adoption, the survival of white oligarchies, and racism.

ERC Grant for Stephan Scheel’s project on digital ID devices and citizenship

Prof. Dr. Stephan Scheel has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for the research project “Doing Digital Identities” (DigID). In brief, the project investigates how digital ID devices are changing the transactions and power relations between citizens and state authorities in one international and five country case studies.

Browse through our collection of selected research projects and discover the diversity of European cooperation in Lower Saxony!