HORIZON BLOG: European R&D policy newsbytes

EU member states and countries associated to Horizon Europe have joined forces to launch the new European Partnership on Rare Diseases (ERDERA).

The partnership aims to boost rare disease research across the continent and deliver significant health benefits to over 30 million people in Europe who suffer from rare diseases through improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

"The new ERDERA partnership can harness the unique potential of Horizon Europe in changing people’s lives for the better," said EU research Commissioner Iliana Ivanova. 

More details are available here. 

On Wednesday, Chi Onwura was elected as the new chair of the UK Parliament’s Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, securing 377 votes out of 560 in a secret ballot.

“This is a period of huge change in science and technology; it has the potential to drive economic growth and transform everyone's lives for the better. The Committee’s work is vital to ensuring that this potential can be unlocked,” said Onwura MP following the election result. “I intend to use my expertise to ensure the Government enacts robust science and technology policies in the public interest.”

Onwura, a chartered engineer, previously worked in industry and served as the shadow minister for science, research, and innovation.

More here.

The European Commission launched a €2 billion call for proposals for setting up AI Factories whcih will be built using EU’s top-tier high-performance computers.

“Europe is already leading the way with the EU AI Act, ensuring AI is safer and more trustworthy,” president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said. “AI Factories will help secure our position at the forefront of this transformative technology.”

Candidates will have time until December 31, 2025, to apply to this rolling call. The first deadline is November 4, 2024, and subsequent cut-off dates are going to be set every three months for as long as funds are available.

The total budget available for this call is close to €1 billion from the Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe, and an equal amount of funding will come from EU member states.

More details here.

The European Commission has launched a new online portal for its Strategic Technology Platform for Europe (STEP), offering a single access point for project promoters, investors, and national authorities to explore EU funding opportunities.

The online portal focuses on three critical technologies: digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies, and biotechnology, with projects ranging from AI development to green tech support for SMEs.

By mobilising resources from 11 EU investment programmes, STEP aims to enhance Europe's competitiveness and reduce strategic dependencies, with a list of funded projects set to be published soon.

More here.

The European Commission has announced the Health Policy Dialogue, a joint plan by the EU and Canada to advance cooperation on antimicrobial resistance, health security, and non-communicable diseases like cancer and mental health.

EU health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and Canada’s Health Minister Mark Holland agreed to organise knowledge exchanges to address these challenges by sharing expertise and best practices.  

“Global cooperation is key when it comes to responding to pandemics, tackling AMR and improving cancer and mental health care,” said Kyriakides. Read the full announcement here.

EARTO, an association of Europe's leading research and technology organisations, urges the EU to  better articulate the links between research, development and innovation, and industrial policy.

According to the group, to strengthen the EU's leadership in technology and innovation, it’s important to also take steps that help EU companies turn these technologies into real-world industrial applications.

EARTO published today a list of 6 recommendations on how the EU can boost its competitiveness

Read the full EARTO policy recommendations here.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has picked 45 groundbreaking projects under the 2024 EIC Pathfinder Open call, for which it has set aside up to €138 million in funding.

Chosen from 1,110 submissions, the projects come from 25 countries, with Italy, Germany, Spain, and France leading the pack.

In addition to grants, participants from higher education institutions, research organisations, and SMEs will benefit from personalized coaching through the EIC Business Acceleration Services.

More details about the winners are available here.

On Wednesday, the European University Association (EUA) launched its Digital Transformation Map, a new online tool designed to help universities navigate digital change.

The map compiles diverse initiatives from EUA members and the broader academic community, offering valuable examples and guidance on issues like digital sovereignty, AI, and cybersecurity for universities.

Created in response to growing demand for digitalisation guidance in the higher education sector, the map will evolve as institutions contribute further insights and best practices.

More details here.

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced the award of 494 starting grants to young scientists and scholars across Europe, 50 of which will go to researchers based in the UK. 

ERC President Maria Leptin said she is pleased to welcome UK researchers back to the ERC. “They have been sorely missed over the past years. With fifty grants awarded to researchers based in the UK, this influx is good for the research community overall.”

The funding - totalling nearly €780 million - will go to cutting-edge research in a wide range of fields, from life sciences and physics to social sciences and humanities.

A social scientist in the Czech Republic plans to analyse the role of public opinion in military alliances; a biochemist in the UK will look into how viruses change to infect cells; a researcher in Germany plans to explore how robots can learn to perform human-like tasks; and a psychologist in the Netherlands investigates how disinformation reaches teenagers.

More details about the projects are available here. 

According to a paper published by the Sweden Ministry of Education and Research, the EU should focus on enhanced interaction and synergies between pillars, and improved coordination to prevent overlaps and promote interdisciplinary collaboration in FP10.

Also, the Swedish government advocates for evaluating and refining the focus of instruments like EU missions and partnerships, ensuring long-term budget stability, and harmonising regulations and promoting collaboration across sectors.

Overall, the document presents a strategy to boost the next EU framework programme divided in three main points: ensure that excellence is the foundation of the framework programme, review the structure of the framework programme, and increase the efficiency of the next framework programme.

Read the Swedish paper here.