Public Science|Business Annual Network Conference (12:00 – 18:00 CET)
Since Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took office in 2019, she has continuously highlighted research and innovation (R&I) as a critical driver of Europe’s green and digital transformations, and central to its global competitiveness. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven home the value to society of scientific excellence and cooperation – even if member states appeared at times to overlook that during negotiations over the next EU budget and recovery plan.
Now that the key numbers have finally been agreed, Horizon Europe – the next R&I Framework Programme – is gearing up to launch, supported by €95.5 billion in funding. Yet as it does, important questions remain as to how great an impact Horizon will ultimately have, as a bridge between crisis and recovery and as a foundation for rebuilding Europe’s societies and economies. Can the Commission establish genuine synergies between Horizon and other flagship programmes? Will member states and associated countries align their own resources and programmes with Europe’s R&I ambitions? And in the global context, can Europe realistically expect to achieve its strategic goals – in domains such as climate and AI – without China and the US on board?
By extension, Europe’s R&I communities keenly await news of how Horizon will be implemented. Will the programme ensure that stronger pathways are laid between fundamental science and market competitiveness, a compelling value proposition defined for industry, and citizens actively engaged? How will the European Green Deal be embedded across every aspect of Horizon’s structure and activities? Will mission-oriented approaches inspire deep change in science and technology development? And, of equal importance, how will success and impact be determined for the future recipients of Horizon funding?
On February 22 and 23, Science|Business will convene leading figures from across its own Network and the international R&I spectrum to address these issues in more depth.
PRELIMINARY AGENDA
DAY ONE – FEBRUARY 22 – AFTERNOON (12:00 – 18:00 CET)
12:00 Science|Business FP Working Group event – Horizon Europe: Implementing the strategic plan
Participation for Science|Business Network members only, with:
- Julien Guerrier – Director, Policy and Programming Centre, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
13:00 Lunch break
13:30 Opening Session – Great expectations: Is European R&I prepared for the next decade?
Live Q&A with:
- Mariya Gabriel – Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
Followed by an interactive panel debate with:
- Karen Maex – Rector Magnificus, University of Amsterdam
- Mathias Rauch – Director, Research Strategy and Policy, Fraunhofer
14:30 Break
14:45 Horizon Parallel Workshops: Session I
A series of parallel, interactive, expert-led sessions to explore how various cross-cutting themes can best be addressed and integrated into Horizon Europe ahead of its formal launch.
1. Clean environment: Embedding the Green Deal across pillars, partnerships and projects
- Hagit Schwimmer – Director, Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials, Israel-Europe Research & Innovation Directorate (ISERD)
- Jakub Drnec – Beamline Scientist, League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) & European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
- Hideki Takamatsu – General Manager, Toyota Motors Europe
- Louis Fradette, Chairman, Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal
2. Research & technology infrastructures: How to build closer ties between excellence, industry and society?
- Pearl Dykstra – Professor of Empirical Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Max Dumoulin – Vice-President, Institutional Offerings, Elsevier
- Tor Grande – Pro-Rector for Research, NTNU
- Mikael Östling – Deputy President, KTH Stockholm
3. What a kick: Empowering Europe’s creative and cultural industries and sectors (supported by EIT)
- Martin Kern, Director, European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
- Christian Ehler, Member, European Parliament
- Ana Valtonen, Vice President, Art and Creative Practices & Professor, Strategic Design, Aalto University
4. Breakthroughs 101: How to train Europe’s next generation of deeptech entrepreneurs (supported by ATTRACT)
- Speakers TBC
16:15 Break
16:30 Horizon Parallel Workshops: Session II
5. Basic vs. applied: Getting the balance right between early-and late-stage R&D in Horizon
- Valeria Nicolosi – Professor of Nanomaterials & Microscopy, Trinity College Dublin
- Paola Inverardi – Vice Chair, Technology Policy Committee, ACM Europe
- Hannu Kemppainen – Executive Director, Strategic Performance Management, Business Finland
- Walter Weigel – Vice President, European Research Institute, Huawei
6. World in motion: Managing research talent mobility in an age of pandemics
- Klaas Wieringa – Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, GEANT
- Séan Hand – Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, Europe, Warwick University
- Jukka Mönkkönen, Rector, University of Eastern Finland
- Yuko Harayama, Executive Director, Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (RIKEN)
7. Life support: Delivering the data, access and structures for health R&D to flourish in Horizon
- Alfonso Valencia, Director, Life Sciences Department & ICREA Professor, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
- Speakers TBC
8. Evidence-based policy making: Delivering trustworthy science communication in a world of misinformation (supported by TRESCA)
18:00 Workshops close – End of Day 1 proceedings
DAY TWO – FEBRUARY 23 – AFTERNOON (13:30 – 18:00 CET)
13:30 Opening Session – Building back better: Will R&I be the catalyst for a brave new world?
Opening remarks from:
- Margrethe Vestager – Executive Vice President (for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age), European Commission
Followed by a live panel debate with:
- Manuel Heitor – Minister for Research and Higher Education, Government of Portugal
- Simona Kustec Lipicer – Minister for Education, Science and Sport, Government of Slovenia
14:30 Helicopter view – Energy conversion: How can the sustainable transition be achieved?
Live interview with:
- Ernest Moniz – Emeritus Professor and Special Advisor to the President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology & Chief Executive Officer, Nuclear Threat Initiative
14:45 Plenary I – Global challenges: Will competition or cooperation define the future of science and technology?
Live panel debate featuring:
- Maria Spyraki – Member, ITRE Committee & Vice Chair, EU-China Delegation, European Parliament
- Huiyao (Henry) Wang – Founder and President, Center for China and Globalization
- Martin Vetterli – President, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
- Jean Chambaz - President, Sorbonne University
15:30 Plenary II – Talent show-down: Do we have the innovators we need to solve global problems? (supported by ATTRACT)
- Ilkka Niemelä - President, Aalto University
- More speakers TBC
15:30 Science for Society: Reflections from Nobel laureates
Interviews with:
- Edvard Moser – 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology / Medicine and Director, Kavli Centre for Systems Neuroscience, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
- Michael Houghton – 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology / Medicine and Li Ka Shing Professor of Virology, University of Alberta
16:30 Plenary III – Joining forces: How COVID-19 has given Europe a new blueprint for health R&I policy (supported by Sanofi)
Opening remarks by:
- Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, European Commission (TBC)
Followed by a panel discussion featuring:
- Olivier Charmeil – Executive Vice President, General Medicines, Sanofi
- Other speakers TBC
17:15 Closing Session – One for all: Can Horizon deliver on its promises?
Live panel discussion featuring:
- Patrick Child, Deputy Director-General, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
- Kimmo Koski, Chief Executive Officer, CSC – IT Center for Science
- Jean Chambaz – President, Sorbonne University
18:00 – End of Event
For more information on this event, please contact Janni Ekrem at [email protected]
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