A dialogue to plan corporate, academic and government R&D strategies for the future
What will Europe, and its science and technology, be like in 2030 and beyond? How are companies, universities and governments preparing for a better future? What should the EU do to help them? As the European Commission is just now beginning to draft its next big R&I effort, Framework Programme 9, Science|Business offers a unique opportunity to debate policy options for the future.
Research strategy is the focus of this Science|Business Network conference. It will bring together a select group of corporate executives, university administrators and policy leaders from all over Europe and from all sectors/disciplines to:
- Discuss among peers the Commission's newly prepared scenarios for the future
- Analyse how they will affect R&D strategies of companies, universities and governments
- Deliver recommendations on how the EU should shape its own R&I programmes for the future
9:00 - Conference opening by Richard L. Hudson, Editor-in-chief and Vice Chair of the Board, Science|Business
9:05 - The EU Framework Programmes: New directions, now and into the 2020s
- Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
Q&A moderated by Richard L.Hudson, Editor-in-chief and Vice Chair of the Board, Science|Business
9:30 - Panel - the policy environment
- Alessandro Curioni, IBM Fellow, Vice President Europe and Director of IBM Research - Zurich
- Christian Ehler, Member, European Parliament
- Lino Guzzella, President, ETH Zurich
- Angeles Rodriguez-Pena, President, COST Association
- Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission
10:00 The outlook for European science and technology: The Commission's foresight studies
Presentation of the foresight studies, with group discussion of the scenarios and policy implications with the panelists, joined by:
- Matthias Weber, Head of Unit, Research, Technology and Innovation Policy, Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) and Chair for the Foresight study groups.
- Introduced by Nikolaos Kastrinos, Team Leader - Policy Officer - Foresight Research & Innovation policy, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
Panel members remain on stage for a discussion moderated by Richard L.Hudson, Editor-in-chief and Vice Chair of the Board, Science|Business
10:50 Coffee break
11:20 News flash: Frontier science could change how you eat
Three ERC-funded food researchers talk about their work, and why basic research matters
- On a shared-economy in food: Anna Davies, Professor, Geography, Environment and Society, Trinity College Dublin
- On diet and longevity: Riekelt Houtkooper, Associate Professor, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam
- On the Mediterranean diet: Miguel Angel Martinez Gonzalez, Professor & Chair, Preventive Medicine & Public Health, University of Navarra Medical School
Moderator: Wendy Sadler, Director, Science Made Simple, Member of the Advisory Board for ERC=Science²
12:00 Strategy workshops
Parallel workshops pooling expertise to discuss sector-specific scenarios. How should companies, universities and governments prepare for the future? What main challenges will R&D managers, university administrators, and R&I policy makers have to deal with?
Connected health: Can big data help us live healthier, longer?
Energy and resources: Can innovation really help us manage the planet better?
Security and defence R&D: How can we make Europe safer?
Connected cars: Can autos, ICT and regulation work together?
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Post-Brexit geometries: Ideas to re-shape Europe's research landscape
- Jeremy Farrar, CEO, Wellcome Trust
- Barbara Haering, Chair of the Board of Directors, econcept Inc; Lecturer, University of Lausanne
- Wilhelm Krull, Secretary General, Volkswagen Stiftung
- Jacqueline Kay Swinburne, Member, European Parliament
14:50 Policy workshops
Parallel workshops on different policy domains that could be included in future Framework programmes. Each workshop opens with a few short presentations to stimulate debate, and concludes with a managed discussion of policy ideas to be gathered together and discussed in plenary, and published online.
Open Innovation: How public labs and private investment can work together
Scaling up: How can Europe grow its companies faster?
Enabling technologies: How can R&I re-power Europe's industries?
15:50 Coffee break
16:15 Policy directions - a synthesis
The workshops report to the conference on the ideas considered. A panel comments.
- Joanna Newman, Vice-Principal, International, King's College London
- Kurt Vandenberghe, Director, Policy Development and Coordination, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
- Alexander von Gabain, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Innovation and Commercial Alliances, Karolinska Institutet
- Walter Weigel, Vice-President, Huawei European Research Institute (ERI)
Moderator: Maryline Fiaschi, Managing Director, Sience|Business
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