Although not officially over yet, with the last deadlines still ahead and many selected projects still in the starting blocks, the recent launch of the first Horizon 2020 calls on 11.12.13 was the excellent occasion to look back on FP7, which was and still will be a big success for KU Leuven. The EU-team by coincidence selected this same magic date to celebrate all KU Leuven FP7 project coordinators and to put the spotlight on a fine selection of KU Leuven projects with striking outcome, as well as on the 500th project.
Outstanding examples of KU Leuven FP7 projects
During a soiree on December 11, all KU Leuven FP7 coordinators were recognized for their efforts in making KU Leuven one of the top institutes of higher education in the 7th Framework Programme. Robert-Jan Smits, director-general of the DG Research joined the celebration. Out of the many first-rate projects, 25 projects were selected as outstanding examples of KU Leuven excellence in FP7, based on their striking outcome (at the level of scientific and/or relevance for society), and collaboration with social and/or economical actors. This well-balanced selection is a sampling of FP7 research in different disciplines, types of projects, types of dissemination etc.
The Marie Curie ITN Mid-frequency coordinated by prof. Wim Desmet and IOF manager Bert Pluymers (Department of Mechanical Engineering) trained 23 scientists specialised in the previously unexplored domain of mid-frequent vibro-acoustic simulation. The SSH cooperation project RELIGARE led by prof. Marie-Claire Foblets (Faculty of Law) was widely applouded, not the least by the president of the European Commission, José Barroso and Herman van rompuy, president of the European Council. It made policy recommendations for legal rules concerning the experiences of religious or other belief-based communities in Europe. In Viralphylogeography, awarded with an ERC Starting Grant, prof. Philippe Lemey (Department of Microbiology and Immunology) showed through interdisciplinary research that his models for viral spread can also be used to determine the origin of the Indo-European language family. Finally, in the ICT cooperation project RADHAR, coordinated by prof. Joris De Schutter (Department of Mechanical Engineering) through close collaboration with Windekind and the Nationaal Multiple Sclerose Centrum, a wheelchair driving assistance system was developped that seamlessly fuses uncertain environment perception with uncertain driver perception and makes navigation decisions based on these uncertain sources.
Check out the movies of the four outstanding examples:
- MID-FREQENCY (Wim Desmet and Bert Pluymers)
- RELIGARE (Marie-Claire Foblets and Katayoun Alidadi)
- Viralphylogeography (Phillip Lemey)
- RADHAR (Joris De Schutter, Eric Demeester, Emmanuel Van der Poorten and Alexander Hüntemann)
The other 21 exemplary projects were show-cased as posters during the FP7 celebration and the KU Leuven Horizon 2020 launch event on the 12th of December.
Vice-rector Liliane Schoofs finally honoured the 500th FP7 project for KU Leuven: TRANSMANGO (derived from the Esperanto: transiro (transition) and mangô (food)), coordinated by prof. Erik Mattijs and dr. Tessa Avermaete (Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences). This recently started project, involving also KHLeuven, will provide a comprehensive picture of the effects of the global drivers of change on European and global food demand and on raw material production (and, consequently, on food flows).
KU Leuven in FP7: the figures
With 543 accepted projects to date and the counter still running (the last deadlines of FP7 are still to come), it is obvious that KU Leuven, thanks to its dedicated researchers can look back on a very successful FP7 campaign.
European Research Council
KU Leuven takes up the 8th place of European institutions hosting ERC grants (as first legal signatories of the grant agreement). To date, the 69 ERC Grantees (including affiliates with VIB and IMEC) in our midst confirm that KU Leuven is a breeding ground (49 Starting Grants) and attractive destination for the world’s best researchers.
Marie Curie Actions
The success in the FP7 Marie Curie Actions is a manifestation of the three pillars of KU Leuven: research, education and service to society. In our 136 Actions, of which 53 Initial Training Networks, hundreds of young researchers have been trained through research and have acquired the necessary skills to transfer their knowledge into the world outside academia.
Cooperation
International collaboration is the driving force behind our success in FP7. 308 Cooperation projects (contracts on November 2013), of which 38 as coordinator, show that KU Leuven is an esteemed partner in Europe. ICT (95 projects) and Health (82 projects) are the showpieces of our university.
Statistics lovers will find more numbers (including our top partners and partner countries) on this page.
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