MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECTS IN A VIRTUAL CONTEXT: THE METATRADUTECH PROJECT CASE STUDY

This paper focuses on the management of international research projects, during the COVID 19 pandemic, under the conditions of distance education and research and the use of new technologies in the management of research activities within international research teams. The main objective of the paper is to describe the types of activities carried out in the framework of an international research project, focusing on the development of project activities in a virtual environment: the constitution of the consortium, the division of tasks within the project and the setting up of the research; the implementation of the project; the valorization of the results and the evaluation of the project.The international project is conducted in French language and is entitled ''La dimension métaphorique des langages de spécialité : analyse et traduction des métaphores techniques (METATRADUTECH)'' [''The metaphorical dimension of specialized languages: analysis and translation of technical metaphors (METATRADUTECH)'']. The project runs from 1 May 2021 to 30 April 2022 in the framework of the Call for Projects of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie in Central and Eastern Europe. The project is coordinated by the Politehnica University Timișoara, Romania, in partnership with the Ibn Zohr University of Agadir, Morocco.The interest of the project lies in the identification of a relevant metaphorical discourse associated with the technical discourse of the automotive field, placing the vehicle (or parts of the vehicle) at the heart of the imaginary of a specialized, intensely mediated communication. The results of the project highlight the cognitive importance of metaphor in the thinking of scientists and technicians. The presence of metaphors, alongside terminology, allows us to account for the cultural dimension of science and technology.The paper also highlights the roles played by the project manager as well as by the responsible persons of the two Universities participating in the project. The project manager was responsible for: coordinating the project activities; steering the project; managing and monitoring the project activities; allocating the main responsibilities of the research teams; managing and allocating the financial resources of the project; ensuring the monitoring of the financial management; preparing scientific and financial reports; other responsibilities related to the coordination and steering of the project. The coordination of the two research teams is carried out by two responsible persons of the two Universities participating in the project. Communication between the members of the project team is ensured by the responsible persons of the two Universities. All the meetings were held online, on a collaborative platform, for the implementation of the project activities. The results of the paper highlight the importance of the use of new technologies in the conduct of international research projects, in the management of project activities and in the coordination of the research teams of the Universities participating in the project, as well as the importance of the internationalization of Universities in the perspective of international cooperation in the field of education and scientific research.