The vertical training visits were planned to continue the training of Libyan academics and researchers, after the Horizontal skills training week in Tunis, going more in detail in the implementation of research activities at the European universities. Libyan colleagues attended seminars and workshops, but most importantly had the chance to visit different laboratories and plants where researchers in the two universities perform their activities. From May 15th to May 18th, Libyan academics were in Istanbul, at the premises of Boğaziçi University. The focus was mostly on environmental related fields, waste management, renewable energies, coastal zone management, and more. Most interestingly, due to the recent events in Istanbul, a visit was also organized to the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, which allowed Libyan colleagues to experience more than just a lab. The great value of the visits was to actually see how researchers work, learn about the different instruments they use, how they involve students and how the outcomes of their research is valued in the university and beyond. Many informal connections were made, conversations over common interests, improvised visits out of an unexpected curiosity and laughs over a dinner table. The IBTIKAR project, besides the overall objectives to reach, has the significant merit of having academics sharing ideas, imagining how to benefit from each other’s knowledge and experiences, and we have already seen the outcomes of these exchanges, in the form of new practices adopted by Libyan universities or plans of joint activities. To know more about the IBTIKAR next developments, you can visit www.ibtikarproject.eu and follow us on Facebook.