UNIVERSITY OF THE HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS

Their core work

The University of the Highlands and Islands is a distributed Scottish university with deep expertise in freshwater and marine ecology, particularly around river systems, fisheries, and coastal environments. Their research focuses on understanding how human infrastructure (dams, hydropower) fragments river ecosystems and how fish populations — especially Atlantic salmon — respond to environmental pressures. They bring strong field ecology and genetic analysis capabilities, grounded in the real landscapes of the Scottish Highlands, one of Europe's most important salmon and river conservation regions.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

UHI's early H2020 work (2016–2018) centred on broad environmental management — river connectivity, hydropower impacts, EU water and habitat directives, and fisheries socio-economics. By 2022, their focus sharpened significantly toward salmon biology, specifically the genetic architecture of migration timing and how climate change affects fish populations. This shift from environmental policy and infrastructure problems toward molecular ecology and climate-species interactions suggests a research group that has built up from applied ecology toward more fundamental, genetics-driven science.

UHI is moving toward genetic and genomic approaches to predict how aquatic species will respond to climate change — a growing priority for both conservation agencies and aquaculture industries.

How they like to work

UHI primarily joins projects as a specialist partner (3 out of 4 projects), contributing domain expertise rather than managing large consortia. Their one coordinated project (SAL-MOVE) is a focused MSCA fellowship, suggesting they are building toward more independent research leadership. With 52 unique partners across 17 countries, they connect broadly across Europe despite being a relatively small institution — useful as a bridge to Scottish and Northern European ecological research networks.

UHI has collaborated with 52 distinct partners across 17 countries, a notably wide network for an institution with only 4 H2020 projects. This breadth reflects participation in large RIA consortia focused on pan-European environmental challenges.

What sets them apart

UHI sits at the intersection of river ecology, fisheries science, and salmon genetics — a combination few European universities can match from a single location. Based in the Scottish Highlands, they have direct access to some of Europe's most important wild salmon rivers and pristine freshwater systems. For any consortium needing expertise on Atlantic salmon, river barrier management, or climate impacts on migratory fish, UHI offers both the scientific depth and the geographic relevance that field-based ecological research demands.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SAL-MOVE
  UHI's only coordinated project, linking salmon migration genetics to climate vulnerability — signals their emerging research leadership in this niche.
• AMBER
  Largest funding (EUR 300K) and most keyword-rich project, addressing the major EU policy challenge of river fragmentation across Europe.
• PANDORA
  Brought fisheries management and socio-economic analysis together, extending UHI's reach from freshwater into oceanic resource assessment.