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EU waives Ukraine’s Horizon Europe contribution

The European Commission has waived Ukraine’s €20 million contribution to Horizon Europe and Euratom for 2021 and 2022, as the association agreement entered into force last week.

Ukrainian researchers and innovators can now fully participate in these programmes on equal terms with colleagues in EU member states. The Commission has also announced it has waived Ukraine’s financial contribution to the programme for 2021 and 2022.

“The EU’s strong commitment to nurturing Ukraine’s research and innovation talent is vital both for building broader collaboration under our association agreement as well as for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine,” said EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

The waiver complements other forms of financial help announced by the EU since the Russian invasion started. The Commission has rolled out ERA4Ukraine, Horizon4Ukraine and ERC4Ukraine initiatives, as well as MSCA4Ukraine, a dedicated fellowship scheme of €25 million under the Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions (MSCA) for displaced researchers of Ukraine

Ukrainian start-ups and deep tech SMEs will benefit from a targeted €20 million action led by the European Innovation Council (EIC).

Eastern Europe’s largest research infrastructure opens its first call for users

Applicants are invited to conduct experiments in the three locations of the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI), the world’s most advanced laser-based research infrastructure.

The three locations are in Hungary, Czech Republic and Romania. They provide access to high-power, high-repetition rate laser systems and secondary sources to enable research.

The Romanian facility, ELI Nuclear Physics in Măgurele, is yet to become an official member of the ELI-ERIC consortium due to unresolved diplomatic issues. The three facilities are able to work together under this call thanks to a Horizon 2020 grant.

Spain’s Research Council makes its first-ever ranking of leading women scientists

The National Research Council’s (CSIC) fist-ever ranking lists 5000 Spanish and Spain-based researchers, in a bid to bring awareness to their work.

The scientists are ranked according to their ratings on the Google Scholar search engine.

CSIC employs 633 of the women ranked on the list, followed by the Complutense University of Madrid with 292, and the University of Barcelona with 218. A total of 162 listed researchers are affiliated with institutions abroad.

“This work aims to increase the visibility of the work carried out by the researchers and is part of the policies of equality and diversity of the CSIC. It is a commitment to transparency and an effort to discover the contribution of our researchers,” said Isidro F. Aguillo, editor of this classification at CSIC.

Commission proposes €12.3 billion for next year's Horizon Europe budget

Horizon Europe’s budget for next year should round off to €12.3 billion for Horizon Europe, which will be topped up by an extra €1.8 billion in grants from the EU recovery fund, NextGenerationEU, according to European Commission’s latest proposal.

Under the proposal, around €2.1 billion would be invested in frontier research through the European Research Council, another €1.6 billion would go to start-ups and innovators funded by the European Innovation Council, and big collaborative projects in health, digital and climate clusters would have a budget of around €1 billion each.

In addition, the defence research fund, EDF, would get a budget of €626 million under the proposal. For learning and education mobility under Erasmus+ the Commission proposed a budget of €3.5 billion.

The budget proposal will now land in the hands of the member states and the European Parliament, which will negotiate the final numbers by the end of year.

Less than 30% of researchers are aware of Horizon Europe missions

Researchers are not aware of the Horizon Europe research missions, a new type of programme aiming to mobilise action to tackle pressing societal challenges, such as saving oceans and curing cancer, an event taking stock of the oceans mission heard today.

Responding to a short survey carried out by the European Commission to see how well researchers funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) mobility programme and working on ocean and water science know the EU missions and other EU policies in this area, more than 70% of said they had little knowledge of the initiatives.

“It turns out above 70% of those researchers said they were very little or not at all familiar with the mission on missions and water,” said Viviane Hoffmann, the Commission’s director general for education, youth, sport and culture. “On the other hand, almost the same number of researchers said the work is related to one or more of the mission objectives.”

The Commission-led event looked into how MSCA can contribute to the mission aiming to save Europe's waters as well as took stock of what needs to be achieved, the latest policy developments and how research results can feed into policy design.

Commission selects participants for Horizon Europe mission on climate adaptation

The research mission aiming to help EU adapt to climate change will involve 118 regions and local authorities, which will sign up to take part in the effort at the mission’s first forum today.

The regions will come up with strategies for climate adaptation with the help of tailor-made guidance, climate data and methodologies for risk assessment, delivered through a mission implementation platform, due to be up and running in early 2023.

The aim is to help 150 regions understand, prepare for and manage climate risks, such as heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and coastal erosion. More regions and communities are expected to join the mission at a later stage.

The current budget for the mission is €370 million but it is expected to increase after 2023, following an evaluation of the five Horizon Europe missions, ranging from climate adaptation to beating cancer.

“Change will only happen if it happens bottom up,” said European Commission vice presidency Frans Timmermans. The selected regions will be “true trailblazers, showing millions of Europeans that a green, clean, and healthy future is possible for everyone.”

Spain awards its most science and innovation friendly cities

The award will go to 20 cities and municipalities whose policies stand out in their commitment to fostering research and innovation.

Cities in Spain can share experience and collaborate on defining local policies through a specialised forum that currently brings together 83 cities. The network actively promotes public procurement of innovation, support for innovative SME and other policies. The awarded cities are all members of the association.

City innovation has recently entered centre stage in the EU research programme Horizon Europe through a dedicated ‘mission’ aiming to help 112 selected cities around Europe to move towards climate neutrality by 2030. The mission picked up steam last month when the Commission named the 112 that will receive support to achieve their net zero goals.

EIC Accelerator awards 74 companies in latest €382 million funding round

The companies will receive grants and equity investments worth up to €17.5 million from the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator, the EU’s €7 billion start-up fund.

The companies were selected from over 1000 applicants following the 23 March cut-off date for the call. They cover 18 countries, with 12% coming from countries that tend to underperform in the Horizon Europe research programme, in which the EIC is rooted.

Of the 71 companies, 61 have chosen part of the funding to come in the form of equity investments, a new type of funding introduced in 2018 that has been halted in recent months due to ongoing deliberations over the management of the EIC’s equity fund. The EIC has promised the issue will be resolved soon. “In most cases, the companies will receive the grant financing within the next two to three months, while the finalisation of the equity investment is expected during the autumn,” according to the press release.

The European Parliament is working on a report looking into governance issues plaguing the EIC.

Finland gives entrepreneurs fast track access to the country

Entrepreneurs, IT and other experts are now able to move to Finland in two weeks or less on a new type of permit, the D visa.

The processing of applications for a residence permit will take no longer than two weeks, following which the applicants can immediately come to Finland.

Earlier this year, the country also introduced easier entry requirements for foreign students.

“The fast track service is an important signal of the Finnish society’s willingness to welcome international experts,” said Elina Immonen, acting director general at the Finnish Immigration Service.

EU, US and others to sign ocean research declaration

The European Union, plus including the United States, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa and Cabo Verde will next month create an All-Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance, set up to advance maritime scientific collaboration.

This week, ocean scientists are convening in Brasilia to hammer out objectives and activities for the alliance, before ministers officially sign up to a declaration in mid-July in an event held in Washington DC.

“The signing of the declaration will reinvigorate collaboration between existing initiatives and prompt discussion about the best path forward,” according to the alliance.

Swiss science foundation joins open access advocacy group

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) has become the latest member of cOAlition S, a group of research funders advocating for free, unrestricted access to scientific publications since 2018.

As a member, the SNSF will task its researchers with making their article freely available starting next year. Until now, SNSF researchers’ publications were only made accessible in open repositories after six months.

"We don't just want to achieve 100% open access. Publications must first and foremost advance research," says Matthias Egger. "Content quality and good peer review are also critical. We want to work together on these kinds of issues in cOAlition S as well."

Academic exchanges continue among geopolitical uncertainty

Germany saw a big post-pandemic jump in academic mobility but must now bear the impact of the war in Ukraine, according to a new report by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Last year, DADD, the world’s largest academic exchange support organisation, funded around 135,000 researchers and students going on exchanges. This is a 22% increase compared to 2020, when the pandemic halted travel and exchanges around the world.

Joybrato Mukherjee, president of DAAD, said crisis management shaped the work of the organisation over the past year. The Hilde Domin programme, for one, was expanded to support at-risk Afghan academics following the Taliban offensive. Now, the focus has shifted to Ukraine.

ERC grantees awarded prestigious Kavli Award for Astrophysics

The European Research Council’s (ERC) grantees Conny Aerts from KU Leuven and Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard from Aarhus University, alongside Roger Ulrich from UCLA, have won a $1 million Kavli Prize for Astrophysics.

The scientists’ work has been contributing to the understanding of stellar evolution. Aerts has received two grants from the EU’s frontier research fund, one for researching massive stars in 2008 and a second one for exploring asteroseismology in 2015. Christensen-Dalsgaard won an ERC grant in 2010 to carry out research on asteroseismology.

The prize is awarded to by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters scientists for breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. Six ERC grantees have won the award since 2008.

European academies opens fund for displaced Ukrainian scientists

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities' (ALLEA) fund for Ukrainian scientists fleeing war is now accepting applications.

Applications can be submitted by universities, academies and other research-performing organisations that plan to host researchers displaced by the war.

The grants will run for up to 12 months and amount up to €25,000 each. Each application can secure funding for one beneficiary, such as a postdoctoral researcher, assistant, associate and full professor affiliated with a Ukrainian institutions.

The grants will be given out in two rounds. The first round for applications is open until 1 July. The deadline for the second round is yet to be announced.

Germany’s research ministry names new parliamentary state secretary

Mario Brandenburg will serve as parliamentary state secretary, assisting Bettina Stark-Watzinger in running the research ministry, a role somewhat similar to deputy minister in other countries.

The minister welcomed Branderburg’s appointment in a press statement and highlighted his expertise in artificial intelligence. "Here he can set important impulses for the technological sovereignty of our country in the future,” said Stark-Watzinger.

Branderburg replaces Thomas Sattelberger, who resigned earlier in May due to health and personal reasons. Sattelberger played an important role in the ministry’s push to improve research translation, including the creation of the new German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI).

Commission hands out seven nuclear innovation prizes

Seven teams of researchers and engineers were each awarded between €20,000 and €50,000 for innovate ideas and proposed solutions in the area of nuclear fission.

The winners were picked from 28 candidates in two prize categories, safety of reactor systems and radioactive waste management.

Application system opens for UK Horizon backup grants

UK Research and Innovation, the country's main research funder, has opened a portal for winners of Horizon Europe grants to apply for the UK's guarantee scheme.

The Innovation Funding Service has now opened, UKRI announced yesterday, and allows researchers to submit proof that they have successfully won grants through Horizon Europe.

UK researchers are allowed to apply for Horizon Europe grants, but because association has not yet been confirmed, grant agreements cannot be signed, and so the UK government has said it will guarantee many winners' awards with an equivalent grant.

The European Commission has still not signed off on UK association, despite it being agreed in theory, due to ongoing disagreements between London and Brussels over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Faroe Islands joins Horizon Europe

Faroe Islands has signed off its association to the EU’s €95.5 billion Horizon Europe research programme, enabling its researchers to participate in projects on equal terms with their EU-based counterparts.

The country has been taking part in EU research programmes since 2010, with a focus on ocean science, aquaculture and environmental projects. Its researchers enjoyed an above-average 20% success rate under Horizon 2020, the previous seven-year EU research programme.

Faroe Islands is one of thirteen countries associated to Horizon Europe, another three – Albania, Tunisia and Ukraine – are expected to sign off their participation shortly.

New MSCA networking platform for future applicants

Researchers and organisations planning to apply for grants from the EU research mobility programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), can now meet potential cooperation partners and get help preparing projects on a new dedicated platform.

On the MSCA-NET platform, researchers and organisations can now find and offer mobility arrangements that could be funded under MSCA calls for postdoctoral fellowships, doctoral networks, staff exchanges and other programmes.

Laurence Moreau appointed head of the ERC executive agency

The European Commission has appointed Laurence Moreau to lead the European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA), the body that helps the European Research Council (ERC) manage and implement its research funding programmes.

The decision comes nearly six months after Moreau has been appointed acting director of the ERCEA. She took on the position after the previous director, Waldemar Kütt, retired in December 2021.

Moreau is a French national and holds a PhD in veterinary medicine. She has been working at ERCEA since 2016 as head of department. Prior to that she headed the legal affairs and internal control unit. Before joining ERCEA, Moreau worked as deputy head in the coal and steel, and materials units at the Commission’s directorate general for research and innovation (DG RTD).

ERC announces winners of Proof of Concept grants

The European Research Council (ERC) has announced today the winners of the latest round of its Proof of Concept competition.

The competition is open only to ERC grantees who wish to explore the commercial and societal potential of their frontier research projects. ERC evaluators picked 55 projects out of 96 proposals, and each grantee will receive €150,000.

The grants will go to researchers working in 16 countries, including 7 in the UK, a country which is not yet associated to Horizon Europe.

The ERC says the list of winners is provisional, as the UK grantees will be eligible for funding only when the UK’s association to Horizon Europe is completed. Until then, researchers working in UK host institutions can still receive ERC funding if they move to an institution in an eligible country inside the EU or an associated country.

ERC grantees can still apply for Proof of Concept grants in the third round of the call in 2022. The next deadline is on 29 September 2022.

Universities fear EIC rules for intellectual property impede knowledge transfer

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities is concerned the European Innovation Council’s intellectual property (IP) provisions undermine the role of universities in knowledge transfer.

The EU’s innovation fund introduced new IP rules for the Pathfinder and Transition programmes last March giving the researchers better access rights to their research outcomes in a bid to empower grantees to turn their ideas into products on the market. But universities say the new provisions underestimate their role in knowledge valorisation.

This, in turn, the Guild argues, weakens universities’ knowledge and technology transfer offices and at times contradicts institutional, national and regional rules.

The Guild’s statement comes as the European Commission prepares to adopt a European Innovation Agenda, a new plan on how to strengthen Europe’s innovation performance.

EU must define raw material needs in transition away from Russian energy, EIT summit hears

The EU must outline volume needs for raw materials as it accelerates its transition towards clean energy in mission to wean itself off Russian energy, says to Bernd Schäfer, CEO of EIT Raw Materials.

The necessary technologies, which include wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, fuel cells, solar panels, heat pumps, and batteries, will all require minerals and metals to drive the clean energy transition, Schäfer argued at the fourth summit of EIT Raw Materials, one of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology’s eight sector-specific innovator communities, funded by the EU.

In response, the EU Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič told listeners the European Commission is set to draft a legislative proposal on critical raw materials as part of the upcoming move towards clean energy.

Other speakers warned the supply of raw materials for key technologies, much of which comes from outside the EU, should not be taken for granted in the current geopolitical climate. “The supply of Titanium, Palladium, Nickel or Neon is a matter of concern. It seems that no significant short-term disruption of supply is anticipated in the current situation of sanctions or retro-sanctions. But the supply is hampered at least by huge logistics disruptions,” said Philippe Varin, head of French Governmental Mission on Critical Materials.

EU pledges more research cooperation with Gulf states

The EU has said it will step up research and innovation collaboration with Gulf countries as part of a wider strategy to better engage with the region.

In a communication released earlier this week, the Commission said it wanted to better support the inclusion of Gulf researchers in the EU's Marie Sklodowska-Curie actions, which offer doctoral training and postdoctoral fellowships.

The Commission said it would promote research and innovation "openness" with the Gulf, "balanced with greater levels of reciprocity, and will seek a level-playing field based on respect for fundamental principles such as academic freedom, gender equality, ethics, integrity and inclusiveness of research, open science and evidence-based policy-making."

The wider context is that the EU is seeking to diversify away from Russian gas in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, and has turned in part towards Gulf states to fill the gap.

Ireland announces 2030 research and innovation strategy

The goal of the strategy is to ensure Ireland’s R&I expenditure makes a difference in addressing societal challenges such as climate change and health emergences.

The strategy includes the creation of a new funding agency, merging the functions and activities of the Irish Research Council and Science Foundation Ireland, and a bigger focus on researchers and entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups, among other measures.

"We will create an inclusive research and innovation system delivering the solutions for Irish society and our economy, solving our common challenges through teamwork, and enhancing our reputation,” said Simon Harris, Ireland’s minister education, research, innovation and science.

Hydrogen R&I gets boost in new Commission plan to wean EU off Russian energy

Clean Hydrogen, a €2 billion industrial research partnerships under Horizon Europe, will get a top-up as part of the EU’s new plan to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.

The top-up will help the partnership, which brings together industry, researchers and the European Commission to jointly advance hydrogen R&I, double the number of Hydrogen Valleys it supports by 2025 and launch a large project to develop skills for the hydrogen economy.

The goal is to advance green hydrogen technology to boost production from 5.6 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes by 2030.

Research and innovation will also play a role in Europe’s plan to achieve energy independence by accelerating technology development for solar energy, energy savings, decarbonizing industry and speeding up renewable permitting.

Renewable energy industry says EU fund for clean tech is failing its mission

Nine renewable industry lobby groups say the EU’s Innovation Fund aimed at financing low-carbon technology demonstrators is failing to advance renewable energy technologies.

In a letter sent to EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton, the associations argue the award criteria for its calls "put renewable projects at a structural disadvantage.”

In the first €1 billion Innovation Fund call for large-scale, no money went to renewable energy generation projects and only one renewables manufacturing project won funding. In the second edition of the call this year, proposals for renewable energy projects plummeted, as the sector lost hope in securing funding. The letter suggests this undermines EU’s green energy objectives, which heavily rely on renewables.

To fix the issue, the associations calls on the European Commission to dedicate the third call for large-scale projects to renewable energy, adjust the award criteria, and create new calls for medium-sized projects, ranging between €7.5 to €60 million.

ITER director general Bernard Bigot has passed away

Bernard Bigot, who served as ITER’s director general for the last seven years, passed away due to an illness last weekend.

In a statement paying tribute to Bigot, the ITER organisation highlighted his contribution to the field of science and energy and praised work managing the world's biggest nuclear fusion project.

Bigot’s deputy Eisuke Tada will now lead the project while the ITER Council looks for a long-term successor.

Commission launches TalentON challenge for young academics

The European Commission and – Leiden European City of Science 2022 have launched a call for the EU TalentON competition for young academics who can contribute to the five research missions in Horizon Europe.

The event is organised jointly with entrepreneurs and representatives of universities and industry. Early career researchers will team up and pitch their ideas to address one of the five EU research missions: fighting cancer, adapting to climate change, protecting the ocean, seas and waters, living in greener cities and ensuring healthy soil and food.

The event is part of the Coommissions’s plan to get young researchers and ordinary citizens involved in delivering the research missions, which are one of the main novelties in Horizon Europe, the EU’s flagship research and innovation programme.

More information is available on the Commission’s website.

ERC president Maria Leptin elected fellow of Royal Society

Maria Leptin, the president of the prestigious EU fund for fundamental science, European Research Council (ERC), has joined the ranks of some of the world's most eminent scientists at the Royal Society.

“Her leadership in European science builds on her research contributions across fields from immunity to genetics,” tweeted the Royal Society, announcing Leptin’s fellowship.

The German biologist previously served as director at the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

EU boosts R&D funding in Finland with €523M in cohesion money

Finland is set to access €523 million in EU cohesion money to improve its R&D and innovation systems, the European Commission has announced today.

The funding is part of a broader €2 billion EU investment package for Finland and includes investments in digitalisation and support for small and medium-sized companies. The Finnish government is committed to invest 40% of this round of cohesion policy money from the EU in the green transition.

The R&D and innovation part of the money pot will be spent in line with Finland’s smart specialisation strategy, an investment plan introduced by the EU to help regions boost their innovation capacity by building on local industrial, educational and research assets.

The announcement adds more weight to plans by the Finnish government to raise its R&D expenditure over the next few years. Political parties in Finland have recently reached an agreement that could pave the way to raise public and private R&D spending to 4% of GDP by 2030.

MSCA: €857 million for researchers and organisations in 2022

The European Commission has announced a new round of funding under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme in Horizon Europe.

The Commission is planning to spend €857 million on MSCA grants this year. Nearly half of the budget (€427,3 million) will go to doctoral programmes that bring together organisations from different sectors to train highly skilled PhD candidates.

Another €257 million will go to postdoctoral fellowships, €77.5 million for MSCA staff exchanges, and €95 million to the MSCA COFUND programme.

More details about the calls and deadlines can be found here.

Nine case studies for a European strategy on technology infrastructures

The European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO) has published an in-depth look at a variety of technology infrastructures as it eyes a role in shaping the EU’s future strategy in the area.

EARTO believes technology infrastructures will play a vital role in enabling research, development and innovation to deliver the major building blocks for Europe’s green and digital transitions. A future strategy, eyed by the European Commission as part of the European Research Area policy agenda, is therefore necessary to facilitate their role.

The report can be found here.

Spain’s research budget was a third higher last year thanks to EU recovery money

The government invested €939 million more in research and innovation in 2021 than the previous year, bringing up the country's total public expenditure to €3 billion.

Of this, €382 million was disbursed through the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), another €761 million was committed through the State Research Agency.

In 2022, the budget is set to rise again, by almost 19% compared with last year, to €3.8 billion. It will the largest ever public research and innovation budget in the country.

Research and technology organisations outline ideas for new EU innovation policy

The European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (EARTO) has published a set of recommendations for boosting EU innovation capacity, as the European Commission gathers ideas to feed into the new innovation agenda.

The paper highlights the role of technology infrastructures in testing, piloting and scaling up innovations and stresses the need for an EU strategy governing them, among other measures.

The recommendations include ideas for helping companies scale-up, improving policy frameworks to benefit innovation, strengthening innovation ecosystems, bridging innovation gaps between different regions and developing skills.

EARTO expressed overall support for the new agenda, highlighting its role in ensuring EU’s strategic autonomy. “In the current geopolitical context where Europe find itself today, such a new EU Innovation Agenda has to be instrumental in ensuring EU open strategic autonomy in key advanced technologies necessary for the green and digital transitions,” the paper said.

Universities ponder long term support for Ukraine

The European University Association (EUA) is starting to map out mid- and long-term support for Ukraine’s university sector as it establishes a dedicated task force.

The task force will be chaired by Ivanka Popović, rector of the University of Belgrade, who participated in reconstruction efforts following the Balkan wars in the 1990s.

The EUA has also agreed on initial support measures for its potential and existing Ukrainian members, including a membership fee waiver and expediting new membership applications. It is also considering establishing a voluntary solidarity fund to finance Ukrainian universities’ participation in the association’s work.

Almost 2,000 researchers receive MSCA seal of excellence

The seal of excellence will help 1956 researchers whose funding-worthy project proposals failed to secure grants from the EU research mobility programme, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), to find alternative financing.

The seal of excellence is the European Commission’s way to offer support to researchers whose projects met the criteria for receiving EU financing but could not be funded due to limited budgets. It’s meant to indicate to national and regional governments that these projects are worth their time.

Twelve European countries offer alternative funding to seal of excellence holders.

Academia needs ‘significant changes’ to reach sustainability

Higher education and research institutions need a change in attitude towards their climate impact to move to reduce emissions, according to a new report by the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA).

The report, which looks the environmental impact of different types of research organisations, suggests significant changes must take place before the academic system can reach climate sustainability.

The biggest source of pollution in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is academics’ habit to travel to meetings and conferences by plan. To address the issue, the authors highlight the importance of virtual interactions.

Other sources of emissions include supercomputing, buildings, electricity, and supply-chain emissions, which in certain sectors are responsible for more pollution than air travel.

Universities welcome new health data regulation but urge EU to go further

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities says the EU can do more to make health data easily available to researchers, as it welcomes the proposal for the European Health Data Space.

Revealed by the European Commission yesterday, the proposed regulation seeks to enable cross-border health data sharing and re-use of anonymised data for research. Today, health data rarely travels due to EU ’stringent data regulations and their differing interpretations in member states.

One way the new health data rules could go a step further, the Guild suggests, is to enable patients to consent to have their data used for research purposes, including through choosing the degree of protection they desire. This could result in non-anonimysed data being made available, making the data even more valuable for science.

“European science, and the development of new treatments, is held back by a plethora of national rules as well as different interpretations of GDPR requirements. We strongly support the development of a European Health Data Space, but urge the EU to go further,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary general of The Guild.

Commission selects five €5 million demonstrators for New European Bauhaus

The five two-year projects will span 13 countries, showcasing how Europe can create sustainable, inclusive and aesthetic places around the bloc as it transitions towards a net-zero economy, as envisioned by the European Commission’s New European Bauhaus initiative.

“They will show how the future can look and bring the European Green Deal to our daily lives and living spaces. These projects should become the starting point for a European and worldwide network of New European Bauhaus projects,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who spearheaded the initiative back in 2020.

The projects will transform a historical building in Rotterdam into a hub for arts, research, learning and community; incorporate new Bauhaus principles into territorial transformation plans; prepare a neighborhood in Munich for a green future while tackling local issues; explore ways to transform territories while tackling climate challenges they face; and focus on support for the most vulnerable residents during cities’ green transformation.

Each project will receive €5 million each from the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme.

Commission appoints deputy director general for its digital policy department

Thomas Skordas is set to take up the deputy director general position at the European Commission’s directorate for communication networks, content and technology (DG CONNECT).

As second-in-command at DG CONNECT, Skordas will help lead the development and implementation of EU’s digital policies.

He was first appointed acting deputy director general at the department last year, but the College of Commissioners has now voted for Skordas to take up the position permanently. In this role, he has been in charge of directorates covering artificial intelligence, digital excellence, science infrastructures, digital society and cybersecurity, among others.

Skordas is a seasoned bureaucrat with 27 years of experience at the Commission’s directorates for research and technology. In recent years, he managed the Commission’s bid in various science infrastructure projects, such as the Human Brain Project and Graphene.

Conference on the Future of Europe proposals list demands for R&I and education

Research and education have made their way into the 49 proposals for reforming EU policy and institutions as part of the two-year Conference on the Future of Europe, set to culminate next week.

When it comes to the environment, the proposals encourage more research into ensuring food security, including through precision farming and sustainable production, as well as microplastics pollution and alternatives for unsustainable packaging.

On health, there are calls to invest in research into the impact of the use of antibiotics as well as hormonal substances and endocrine disruptors. The need for a mental health research roadmap is also highlighted.

In digital, research is noted as one of the key variables in strengthening EU’s autonomy in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, medical products, digital innovations, and agriculture, among others.

When it comes to education, one of the 49 objectives is to establish a European Education Area by 2025 to ensure equal access to quality education and life-long learning.

The 49 final proposals were agreed on over a plenary session in Strasbourg last weekend.

The Conference was the European Commission and European Parliament’s bid to overhaul the way the EU is run, by asking citizens what changes should be made to its policies and institutions. The Conference is set to end on 9 May, when the final report will be delivered to EU policymakers and the European Commission, leaving it to them to assess and potentially implement the demands.

German research leaders say no to harmonised research assessment

The Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany has taken a stance against harmonising research assessment across Europe.

In a statement published by this week, the alliance welcomed the European Commission’s push to reform research assessment across the EU as an opportunity to share best practices and deepen the common understanding of principles and values but fell short of endorsing the creation of a harmonised system.

“The Alliance’s vision for research assessment in a renewed [European Research Area] is to share best practice as to achieve functional interoperability of specific research assessment systems and a strengthened process of mutual learning, and not to create one general Europe-wide harmonised system,” the statement said.

The European Commission is pushing to make research evaluation more efficient, proposing to create a system based on qualitative judgement with peer-review, as opposed to the current one rewarding researchers for the number of papers published, citations and the prestige of the journals.

France, the current lead of the EU Council of member state, has endorsed the initiative, but German institutions have thus far been reluctant to embrace the plans. Two alliance members, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Helmholtz Association have now joined the panel advising the research assessment reform.

ERC grant success rates for experienced researchers are up

This year, the European Research Council (ERC) received 1,647 proposals from experienced researchers for its estimated 223 Advanced grants, marking a 13.5% success rate, up from recent years.

This is the second year in a row success rates for ERC Advanced grants are above the average 12%. Since the 2021 launch of the new €95.5 billion EU research programme Horizon Europe, which has a bigger budget for fundamental research than its predecessor, the ERC has been able to award more scientists. The 2021 awardees were announced last week, with 14.6% of applicants receiving grants.

In the last two years of the previous Horizon 2020 research programme, which ended in 2020, success rates were especially low, hovering around 8 to 10%, which caused fears many excellent scientists may not be able to get EU funding.

This year’s call closed last week, clocking a 5% decrease in proposals compared to the 2021 call, when 1,735 applications were submitted. However, with a smaller provisional budget for the grants this year, €555 million, fewer researchers will be awarded.

The winners of the estimated 223 grants for fundamental research in any field are set to be announced in April next year.

EU foresight report points to need for more collaboration on R&I policy

EU’s leadership in the green transformation and technology depends on member states boosting cooperation on R&I policy to deliver systematic changes, new European Commission-led foresight report suggests.

The future gazing report charts five speculative scenarios as it looks to scope out the change the COVID-19 pandemic may bring to the EU, and suggests R&I cooperation will be key to delivering positive change to the bloc in the next 20 years.

The report also stresses the scenarios show a growing need for R&I to target socioeconomic and environmental challenges.

“All scenarios suggest the need for stepping up collective capability and willingness to actively engage in open and collaborative R&I relationships, both within Europe and with the world beyond Europe,” the report says.

Commission sets May date for updated Horizon Europe missions info days

The online information days on the updated Horizon Europe missions programme, which outlines calls for research, their budgets and scope, will take place on 17-18 May 2022.

The five missions aim to mobilise European regions and R&I community to beat cancer, save the world’s oceans and soils, and lead cities to climate neutrality and adaptation.

The updated work programme with new calls under the five missions is set to be published ahead of the event.

Germany’s Helmholtz Institute opens new site for one health research

A new institute for interdisciplinary research at the interface of human health, animal health and the environment opened today in Greifswald, northeastern Germany.

The Helmholtz Institute for One Health, masterminded before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as a centre for molecular infection science, is set up in a purpose-built site at the University of Greifswald.

The new building cost the national and local governments €23 million to build, with another €35 million dedicated to the initial set up of the institute.

The site is a branch of the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), one of the 18 centres of Germany’s biggest research organisation, Helmholtz Institute.

Biotech industry calls for rule revamp to enable innovation and market take up

EU regulations should be better suited to accelerating new technologies to market, according to a report by EuropaBio, a biotech industry association.

The report maps out recommendations for speeding up innovation and new product take up in the healthcare market and other industries.

In the healthcare sector, industry urges policymakers to adapt regulations to modern innovation processes, improve patient access to novel therapies, and review and improve state aid instruments, among other recommendations.

In other industries, such as those supporting Europe’s green transition, EuropaBio’s recommendations include ensuring sustainable innovation scale-up and easier market access.

Spain to put €200 million in four strategic research programmes

Spain’s regions are set to invest €200 million, of which €116.5 million will be provided by the national government, in agri-food, astrophysics and high-energy physics, advanced materials and biodiversity research.

The funding is part of a new type of initiative supported by EU recovery funds that sees money flowing to strategic research areas. Last year, the first such projects saw investments in renewable energy and hydrogen, marine sciences, quantum communication and biotechnology. The total budget for the eight research areas is €444.8 million until 2025.

More than 200 research centres and universities will take part in the programme, with 1,000 new research and support staff expected to be hired to deliver the projects.

China denies claims its researchers paused cooperation with Russian Academy of Sciences

China’s foreign ministry has denied claims the country’s research organisations have paused cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

On Thursday, Alexander Sergeev, president of RAS, said cooperation with Chinese partners had come to a standstill about a month ago, the Russian news agency, Tass, reported.

"If we talk about the southern or eastern directions, unfortunately, I can say directly that our Chinese scientific colleagues have also pressed the pause [button], and over the past month we have not been able to enter into serious discussions, despite the fact that we had excellent cooperation along with regular communication," Sergeev said during a conference in Moscow.

China’s foreign ministry has since denied the claim. "As far as we know, China and Russia continue to develop regular cooperation in the scientific field, this is an important component of Sino-Russian cooperation," a spokesman said in a press briefing on Friday, per Tass.

Commission opens consultation on new innovation agenda

The European Commission is asking citizens for their opinions on shaping a new European Innovation Agenda aiming to tackle EU’s scale-up problem.

The Commission’s upcoming document is set to propose ways to help more European start-ups grow into scale-ups. It will aim to provide impetus to innovation-friendly regulation, attempts to connect innovation ecosystems around the bloc, initiatives reducing the gap between most and least innovative European regions, and measures for developing and attracting talent.

The online consultation is open until 10 May.

ESA halts cooperation with Russia on three lunar missions

The European Space Agency is withdrawing from Luna-25, -26 and -27 missions as it piles on a new set of sanctions on Russia in reaction to the war in Ukraine.

The three missions led by the Russian space agency Roscosmos planned to use and test ESA equipment, but the space agency is already looking for alternative partners to test the technology. For one, the PROSPECT lunar drill and volatile analysis package, planned for Luna-27, will now go aboard a NASA-led mission. ESA is also looking to test its PILOT-D navigation camera, planned for Luna-25, with the help of a commercial service provider.

Last month, ESA halted cooperation with Roscosmos over the ExoMars mission, which was set to begin its search for signs of past life on Mars this year. The launch has been delayed but a study led by the company Thales Alenia Space is currently assessing how the mission can move forward.

European Innovation Council seeks partners for training and financing innovators

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is looking to partner up with start-up accelerators, incubators, and research and technology institutions that can provide their services to EIC-funded start-ups and innovators.

In exchange, the partners will gain access to 6000 researchers and start-ups and 430 research teams, and have opportunities for deals with these up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

The EIC provides its own business support but is looking to expand its current offer with more specialised, sector-focused services, including access to laboratory equipment and research infrastructures, training opportunities, co-creation and business modelling solution, and start-up incubation and acceleration services.

Organisations can apply to partner up with the EIC until 31 May.

Patent system must be attuned to open science principles, academies say

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) is advocating for the removal of barriers in the current patent system to ensure harmony with open science.

The academies find that there is “no fundamental opposition” between the principles of open science and current intellectual property rules but recognise operational barriers to open science remain in the way the patent system is structured.

To modernise the patent system, ALLEA proposes introducing a grace period of at least one year in patent applications to allow open publication prior to obtaining protection, among other measures.

“A reformed patent system is essential to the widespread adoption of open science, and could even incentivise it,” said Luke Drury, chair of the ALLEA Open Science Task Force.

EIT to fund 20 companies in New European Bauhaus drive

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has announced the winners of its funding scheme which provides grants and services to companies aligned with the EU’s green goals.

Each awarded start-up and scale-up will receive €50,000 in grants and business services, to deliver innovations such as sustainable urban farms that use 90% less water, using soil microbes to generate light and energy, and transforming building facades to grow and protect biodiversity in public spaces. All the innovations are seen as drivers for the New European Bauhaus, the European Commission’s initiative putting a label on the EU’s net-zero ambitions.

The EIT has a €5 million budget for New European Bauhaus in 2021 and 2022. In this latest call, it received 1,029 from start-ups in 37 countries.

EU sets out plan for developing and scaling up low carbon technologies

The European Commission has published a list of key low-carbon technologies and detailed how research and innovation investments can be used to make them available for use energy-intensive industries, in latest attempt to provide a stimulus for decarbonisation in the EU.

The roadmap comes as Russia’s war in Ukraine prompts the Commission to further push for a green energy transition to stop reliance on energy imports from the aggressor. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has strengthened the case to accelerate the green transition and become more resource efficient,” said EU research and innovation commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

The Commission’s assessment maps the locations and greenhouse gas emissions of industries such as chemicals, iron, steel, and cement, and proposes actions for accelerating their decarbonization.

The Commission proposals include a potential creation of a platform for collaboration with energy-intensive industries, facilitation of national strategies and programmes, and establishing a community of practice to simplify the authorization for first-of-a-kind installations of low-carbon technologies. The actions seek to encourage public and private investments in member states. “EU instruments are available but cannot replace national and private investments,” said Gabriel.

The roadmap compliments the new Industrial Emissions Directive proposed by the Commission which introduces a revised framework for preventing and controlling industrial pollutants emissions from large industrial installations.

UK institutions win £15 million government bid to develop software for world’s largest radio telescope

Six UK-based universities and research centres have been selected to deliver the UK’s software contribution to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO).

The software system will play a critical role in the observatory, guiding telescopes where to look and when, diagnosing issues and translating telescope signal into useable data for researchers. The UK has already developed software for the telescopes during the design phase and is now set to lead as the telescopes are constructed.

After 30 years in the making, and with 14 countries involved, the construction of the world’s largest radio telescope began in South Africa and Australia last year. Once complete, likely by the end of the decade, the two-telescope system will enable scientists to study objects that give off radio waves far away in space, producing enormous amounts of data on the universe, and help explore the evolution of the early universe.

Finland appoints experts to hash out long-term R&I investment plan

The government working group will draw up a plan for research, development and innovation funding beyond the current budget as the country eyes spending 4% of its GDP on R&D&I by 2030.

It will build on the work of a previous working group which committed to the target of increasing R&D expenditure to 4% of GDP by 2030, proposing to pass a government act to ensure this.

The working group, whose term ends on 31 March 2023, is made up by representatives of all of Finland’s elected parliamentary parties.

Universities call for long-term, flexible EU support for scholars at risk

As the war in Ukraine continues, the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities is urging the EU to provide flexible support for scholars at risk through dedicated funds and adapted existing systems.

“The need for support differs between universities, and evolves quickly within and across countries. We urgently need appropriate and flexible support tools at the European level to assist threatened scholars and students,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild.

This week, EU member states showed their support for more EU and national aid for students, researchers and academics at risk. The Guild welcomed the move but now asks the EU to go one step further and set up permanent support schemes for scholars at risk.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the European Commission has allowed more flexible use of Erasmus+ funds to help students and staff from Ukraine and set up a €25 million fellowship scheme to support researchers fleeing the country.

EIC awards €145 million in challenge-drive call for research projects

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is awarding €145 million to 39 cutting edge research projects on five strategic technologies.

The projects will be grouped under portfolios on self-aware AI, tools to measure and stimulating activity in brain tissue, cell and gene therapy, hydrogen production, and engineered living materials.

The portfolios will be managed by the new EIC programme managers to increase impact. They were also for the first time involved in selecting the projects. “With the new mechanisms under the EIC, we have the means to support the whole value chain and to transform these innovative technologies into successful companies in Europe,” said EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

Each project will receive up to €4 million to develop their early-stage technologies up to proof of concept level. Programme managers may increase this funding for testing the potential of their innovations.

The next call EIC Pathfinder top-down call is set to open on 16 June, with challenges in cardiogenomics, DNA-based digital data storage, CO2 and nitrogen management and valorisation, quantum, energy storage, and healthcare.

EU space agency calls on space innovators to aid humanitarian efforts in Ukraine

The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) has launched a database listing applications use EU satellite data and can support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

The listed applications use data from the EU’s global navigation and earth observation programmes Galileo and Copernicus to aid non-governmental organisations, for example, by supporting drone deliveries of medical goods and helping integrate people fleeing the war in EU countries.

The page also offers NGOs and other organisations matchmaking opportunities with innovators and start-ups. To be added to the list, innovators can send [email protected]">EUSPA an application describing their project. More information will be shared in a webinar on 12 April.

EU science hub gives update on alternatives to animal testing

The report from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) lists the latest developments non-animal approaches to testing chemicals and biomedical research as well as its new education efforts within field.

The report complements the European Commission’s latest response to the European Parliament’s calls for a step-by-step phase out of animal alternatives.

European Innovation Council hires four new programme managers

The EU’s newest start-up funding will now have experts managing its project portfolios in space, quantum technology and electronics, construction and artificial intelligence, and food and agri-tech.

The move doubles the number of programme managers working with the European Innovation Council (EIC) to develop strategies for funding breakthrough technologies in their respective fields.

For the next four years, Franc Mouwen will be responsible for construction and AI, Samira Nik for quantum and electronics projects, Ivan Stefanic for food and agri-tech, and Stela Tkatchova for space.

MSCA awards €405 million in EU grants for doctoral programmes

The European Commission awarded 144 doctoral programmes €405 million in the first doctoral networks call under Horizon Europe’s the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).

The selected programmes, both in academia and industry, will train over 1500 doctoral candidates. Almost a third will train students in ICT and engineering, 24% in life sciences and 13% in chemistry, followed by other fields.

The 18 industrial doctorates will support candidates in areas such as development of fast-charging stations for electric mobility, AI for microelectronics and 6G technologies. Ten joint doctoral programmes will receive funding to investigate the treatment of Alzheimer’s and glaucoma among other topics.

The next call for MSCA’s doctoral networks funding is set to open on 12 May.

EIT Health’s fund for tech talent in healthcare seeks industry sponsors

The WorkInHealth Foundation is looking to raise €2 million for campaigns seeking to attract and upskill tech workers in the healthcare sector.

EIT Health, the EU-supported network of health innovators, launched the foundation in November in response to an increasing demand for tech talent in healthcare. It hopes to create an AI platform that matches workers with employers across Europe.

The network will look for sponsors among its partners, which includes French healthcare company Sanofi and tech giant Atos, as well as big US-based tech companies Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft.

“It’s clear that there is an urgent need for the industry to attract and retain different forms of talent as well as accelerating, upskilling, and reskilling,” said Celine Carrera, chairwoman of the WorkInHealth Foundation. “It’s going to take a collective effort to develop flexible and exciting career paths and find the best talent to fill them.”

Commission invites master’s students to observe Horizon Europe evaluations

Master level students from any university in the EU can now apply to observe the evaluation of proposals submitted under the EU research programme Horizon Europe.

The initiative is part of the European Year of Youth which sees the European Commission running various programmes seeking to provide young citizens with opportunities to boost personal and professional skills, including in the research sector.

European Innovation Fund puts €1.1 billion in seven green transition innovations

The seven projects will deploy innovative low-carbon technologies on an industrial scale, aiming to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 76 million tonnes during the next decade.

The projects will cover technologies in hydrogen, steel, chemicals, cement, solar energy, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage sectors.

The European Innovation Fund behind the €1.1 billion investment pools money from the proceeds of the EU emission allowances trading system. Its second call for proposals launched yesterday.

Ukraine and Georgia join COST

The general assembly of the COST Association has unanimously agreed to welcome Ukraine and Georgia as its latest members.

The decision was taken in Paris today, rounding up the number of COST member states to 40.

“The admission of Georgia and Ukraine as COST Full Members underpins the key role of COST in facilitating integration to the European research and innovation landscape," said Alain Beretz, President of the COST Association.

"COST aims to foster open and inclusive networks of excellence in all scientific fields, and through their membership Georgian and Ukrainian researchers will be able to take a proactive role in proposals for future COST Actions," said Beretz.

Science academies get $1.5M to support Ukrainian researchers

The European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) will use the funds to support scientists fleeing the war and help Ukrainian universities, academies and research institutes continue their work and rebuild scientific facilities.

The funds will be made available through a Europe-wide call this spring. It will offer finance for new and existing positions for postdoctoral researchers and associate or full professors affiliated with Ukrainian institutions.

The $1.5 million donation is provided by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, the organisation behind the Breakthrough Prize which recognises the world’s top scientists, known as the Oscars of science. It is part of a continuing collaboration between the foundation and European science academies.

German Research Foundations put €38 million in nine new research teams

The projects will run up to eight years, allowing researchers to delve into pressing issues such as treatment of multiple injuries to the body occurring at the same time and novel approaches to self-healing materials.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) also agreed to extend the grants for seven existing research teams. In total, it is currently funding 174 such research units, 14 centres tailored for humanities and social sciences, and 14 clinical research units.

Commission finally signs off on Tunisia Horizon association

Brussels has ratified Tunisia's Horizon Europe association, bringing the North African country closer to full participation after the sign off was delayed amid concerns over a drift away from democracy.

On 29 March the Commission confirmed that Tunisia and the EU had signed the association agreement. The only hurdles left are ratification by the Tunisian side, and an exchange of diplomatic notes.

"I welcome Tunisia to our Horizon Europe programme," said research commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

Tunisia had been one of the very last countries to have negotiated a Horizon deal, but not completed it. Some MEPs have voiced concerns about allowing the country to join after an apparent coup last summer.

Swiss Horizon Europe backstop fund awards €54 million to 24 start-ups

The 24 start-ups selected for funding by the EU innovation fund, the European Innovation Council (EIC), last year will receive alternative funding from the Swiss government.

Despite winning the competition, the companies are no longer entitled to EU funding after Switzerland’s participation in the Horizon Europe research programme was taken hostage by wider political disagreements. The start-ups will receive grant funding from the government to replace the grant and equity funding they were set to receive from EU funds.

No more companies are allowed to participate in EIC competitions but earlier this month Switzerland announced it is setting up its own fund to replace the EU programme. The first calls of the Swiss Accelerator are expected to open on 1 April.

German Research Foundation extends mandate for pandemic research expert group

The Commission for Pandemic Research had been set up to run for two years but will now continue its work until the end of 2023, with a new focus on long-term challenges, as the COVID-19 pandemic persists.

In 18 sessions over the last two years, the group surveyed the international pandemic research landscape, identified research gaps and supported evidence-based research, including through a dedicated funding programme which emerged from its work. Now, it will shift focus to longer-term effects of the pandemic and pandemic preparedness.

“After all, the pandemic has far-reaching implications beyond the immediate consequences for health – areas in which research will be required for a long time to come,” said Katja Becker, president of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

ERC sees drop in applications from mid-career researchers

The European Research Council’s (ERC) Consolidator grants call this year closed with 2,222 proposals for fundamental research projects from mid-career researchers, recording a 16.2% decrease in applications compared with last year.

The researchers are competing for 388 grants to be financed by this year’s €776 million Consolidator grant fund. This means around 17% of applicants will likely receive funding, marking a higher than usual success rate for ERC grants.

Of the 2,222 proposals, 937 were in physical sciences and engineering, 676 in social sciences and humanities and 609 in life sciences. A little more than a third were submitted by women.

HERA looks to form two new expert groups

Civil society and industry representatives are invited to join two new expert groups that will be part of the advisory forum of the new European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).

The two new expert groups, the Civil Society Forum and the Joint Industrial Cooperation Forum, are expected to provide scientific and technical advice.

HERA, modelled on the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, is the EU’s new health body which will coordinate EU-wide clinical trial networks during health emergencies. It was conceived following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to launch this year with a dedicated budget of €6 billion up to 2027. Of this, €1.7 billion represents Horizon Europe’s contribution to research into health emergencies, which has raised concerns from the European Parliament that the European Commission is taking money from the EU’s limited research fund without consulting the policymakers.

EU to mobilise extra €500 million for blue economy equity fund

The European Investment Bank’s fundf the maritime economy is getting a four year extension and an additional €500 million.

The Blue Invest Fund will now run until 2026 and mobilise a total of €1.5 billion to fund investment banks, mutual and pension funds that are investing in innovative blue economy start-ups and SMEs.

“The first phase of the platform acted as an accelerator to foster innovation and investment in sustainable technologies for the blue economy. To deepen and scale up these activities, we are now launching the second stage of BlueInvest,” said Virginijus Sinkevičius, commissioner for environment, oceans and fisheries.

Mexico approves funding for researchers involved in successful Horizon Europe projects

The National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) has announced Puerta Horizonte Europa, a new scheme which will provide funding to Mexican researchers and institutes in successful Horizon Europe projects.

The government wants to encourage Mexican institutions to apply in Horizon Europe calls and to strengthen bilateral relations between the EU and Mexico in science, technology and innovation.

The mechanism is expected to be published by Mexico on 25 April. Public and private Mexican institutions can apply in Horizon Europe calls.

More details can be found here.

EU launches innovation procurement awards

The European Commission has launched its 2022 competition for innovation procurement. Innovators can submit applications until 22 June.

The award is backed by the European Innovation Council (EIC), the Commission’s own scale-up fund and has been designed to recognise public and private buyers, natural persons and legal entities in their efforts to promote and stimulate innovation procurement.

The contest will award six prizes in total for the three categories: innovation procurement strategy, facing societal challenges, and procurement leadership.

In each category the winner will be rewarded with €75 000 and one runner-up with €25 000.

Award criteria for winners and runners up can be found on the awards page.

Commission puts €242 million in postdoctoral fellowships

The first Horizon Europe call under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) research fellowship programme sees €242 million in grants going to 1,156 post-doctoral researchers.

The grantees will have the chance to carry out their own research projects at universities, research centres and private companies, while developing skills through training as well as international, interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral exchanges.

A total of 1,025 researchers will carry out their work in Horizon Europe countries, while 131 will go to other countries, such as US, China, Canada and Australia. There’s also an extra 50 fellowships awarded to researchers from Widening countries from which participation in Horizon Europe tends to be lower. Researchers in Portugal, Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia and Poland secured the largest numbers of the Widening grants.

Member states map out plans for green hydrogen R&I

As Europe looks to reduce its dependency on Russian energy, a German-led initiative has identified the most pressing research and innovation challenges to setting up a European green hydrogen economy.

The strategic agenda lists the challenges and priorities for areas such as production, transport and infrastructure, and market stimulation. It also calls for a joint platform where member states and the European Commission could coordinate initiatives.

The plan is a pilot initiative of the new European Research Area, announced back in 2020 during the German presidency of the EU Council of member states. It will feed into a conference on green hydrogen in May. “The Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda is to serve as a nucleus on the way towards a European Hydrogen Union,” said Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Germany’s research minister.

Europe has been touting green hydrogen as a key ingredient of its decarbonisation strategy in sectors such as heavy duty transport, aviation, and steelmaking.

Universities join call for coordinated EU support for Ukrainian students and researchers

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities wants EU member states and the European Commission to join efforts to enable comprehensive support across the bloc for students and researchers from Ukraine.

With a statement published today, the Guild joins Christian Ehler, member of the European Parliament’s and its Horizon Europe rapporteur, in urging the EU to set up new tools to effectively help Ukrainian researchers, students and support staff fleeing war.

The Guild has eight recommendations for the EU, including easing the rules for mobilising funds from the Erasmus+ education mobility programme and setting up a fund for researchers at risk.

“Member states have already shown great flexibility in enabling universities respond to the war in Ukraine effectively. But we need more,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild. “Now is the time for bold action, coordinated at a European level, bringing together European states in solidarity.”

Irish minister proposes using Erasmus+ to fund scholarships for Ukrainian students

The EU could set up a special scheme for Ukrainian students fleeing the war using the funds from the student mobility programme Erasmus+, Simon Harris, Ireland’s minister for higher education, suggested at an EU ministers’ meeting this week.

“I know that the [European] Commission are looking at its own programmes such as Erasmus to see how it can assist in the support of Ukrainian students,” said Harris. “However, I would urge that we take an additional step – let us use the Erasmus programme to fund a dedicated European Scholarship Scheme, which will remove any financial and regulatory barriers for students and researchers wishing to continue with their studies.”

Harris stressed the need for national systems to ensure a seamless and inclusive transition to education in the EU for Ukrainian pupils and students who arrive in the bloc and noted governments should not be reinventing the wheel but rethinking existing tools to help suit current needs.

France awards almost €46 million to 73 innovation projects

The seventh edition of the i-Nov competition run by the French government sees 73 start-up and SME-led projects winning €45.8 million in eight categories.

There were four ‘green’ topics, including renewable energy, sustainable mobility, tackling green transition issues in industry and agriculture, and water and biodiversity. Another four topics covered deep tech, digital transformation of the cultural and creative industries, health, and proteins and ferments of the future. The winning companies will get up to 45% of expenses covered by grants and recoverable advances.

The first six editions of the prize awarded 462 projects, including those carried out by leading French companies such as Treefrog Therapeutics, a leader in cellular therapies, Vitibot, maker of autonomous wine robots, Exotrail, which manufactures motors for small satellites, and Mascara, which develops industrial seawater desalination solutions.

Universities oppose ban on animal testing, call on EU to invest in alternatives instead

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities says the EU should invest in the development of new techniques for animal testing instead of banning the use of animals in research.

Last month, the European Commission rejected the European Parliament’s call for an action plan phasing out animal testing for research in the bloc. The Guild welcomed the Commission’s move and set out a list of recommendations for improving animal welfare in research instead.

The Guild calls for coherent implementation of regulations protecting the animals used for research and urges investments into alternatives improving animal welfare, reducing the number of animals used and refining the techniques, among other recommendations.

Ireland seeks to improve gender equality in higher education

The country’s education and science minister, Simon Harris, announced a second national review of gender equality in the higher education sector to assess improvements and produce recommendations.

The new edition will assess progress made since the first such review took place in 2016. The group of experts carrying it out are also expected to make five to ten recommendations on how universities could further enhance their equality policies and support.

Ireland’s push for gender equality in higher education is part of EU-wide efforts to balance the scales. In the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme, applicants now must prove their university or research institute has a gender equality plan in place to be eligible. In case of a tie in the evaluation process, Horizon evaluators could even use gender equality criteria to pick the winner.

MSCA postdoc fellowship results postponed

The results of the latest Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowships call have been postponed and are now expected to be announced by the end of March.

The fellowship grants allow researchers holding a PhD to carry out research abroad and are a flagship MSCA initiative. The results of the 2021 call will be communicated by the end of the month by the European Commission’s Research Executive Agency, which manages Horizon Europe grants.

The next call for postdoctoral fellowships will open this spring.

ERC Scientific Council is open for new members

The European Commission will be accepting nominations from the European research community for new members of the European Research Council’s (ERC) Scientific Council until 6 May.

The Scientific Council is the EU’s fundamental research funder’s governing body. Its members are appointed for four year terms, renewable once. In the next year, the Commission is looking to replace almost a quarter of the member as their mandates draw to a close.

Following the Commission’s last search, three new members were appointed last week. They are Chryssa Kouveliotou, professor at the George Washington University in Washington D.C., László Lovász, professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, and Giovanni Sartor, professor at the University of Bologna and at the European University Institute in Florence.

France to invest €1 billion in nuclear reactor R&I

France is looking to nuclear to level up its carbon neutrality ambitions as it launches a €1 billion programme to develop novel nuclear fission and fusion reactors and integrate better waste management.

The first €500 million call launched this week and looks to fund several projects at different stages of maturity.

The announcement follows President Emmanuel Macron’s reveal of a €2 billion strategy for developing disruptive renewable and nuclear energy technologies. It aims to bring France closer to the EU-wide goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and enable the country’s nuclear systems to compete with other global leaders, such as United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom, Canada and Japan.

While France bets on nuclear, not all EU countries agree that it is green and safe enough. After year-long discussions, Germany decided to shut down all of its nuclear power reactors by the end of 2022, prompted by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. It is unclear whether Berlin will try to revert that policy to protect its energy sector from the shock of a potential embargo on Russian gas.

MEP Ehler elected chair of Parliament’s science and technology think tank

The European Parliament’s Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA), which aids policymaking with the help of independent assessments of new technologies, has selected Christian Ehler to be its new chair.

Ehler was the Parliament’s rapporteur for the Horizon Europe research programme. He replaces fellow MEP Eva Kaili as the chair and is joined by two new vice-chairs, MEPs Ivo Hristov and Ivars Ijabs.

STOA is currently looking into issues such as Horizon Europe’s move towards more widespread lump sum funding, AI in healthcare, genome editing in humans and crops, privacy and security of 5G, green tech, data governance, digital tools in the workplace, among many others.

Commission expert group on gender equality and COVID-19 holds first meeting

The new expert group is looking into the negative impact the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing lockdowns may have had on women researchers’ careers and productivity.

The investigation will feed into policy recommendations aimed at mitigating the negative consequences, set to be released in the beginning of 2023.

Research organisations warn Commission of complexity in growing number of EU R&D programmes

The European Association of Research and Technology Organisations issued a warning that a proliferation of new EU R&D programmes could add unwanted complexity for grant recipients.

In the Commission’s latest seven-year budget plan, a range of new programmes and agencies were created that can fund R&D – and operate separately from, or in collaboration with, the EU’s flagship €95.5 billion Horizon Europe programme.

In a statement 8 Mach, the trade group for some of Europe’s biggest research organisations said “the multiplication of independent EU RD&I funding programmes having each a different set of rules of participation will bring challenges to both the EU institutions, member states as well as beneficiaries (i.e. Horizon Europe, Defence, Space, Health, Digital & Regional programmes). This will bring a new level of complexity for beneficiaries to manage the participation in each of these funds. We expect this will be a key challenge the European institutions, member states and the beneficiaries will have to face together.”

The Commission has been promising improved “synergies” between the different programmes, but EARTO isn’t the first group to question whether the new programmes – though welcomed by the research community – could add to the accounting complexities of dealing with EU programmes.

The EARTO statement also praised some of the Horizon Europe contractual provisions for simplifying grant paperwork – such as permitting big research organisations to use their own, usual method of accounting for personnel and certain other costs. But they also called for some further changes to simplify the way personnel costs are calculated.

Greenlight for €26.2 billion InvestEU fund

The EU today signed off the seven-year InvestEU programme, which will invest €26.2 billion in innovative projects bidding to attract at least €372 billion in additional public and private investment by 2027.

InvestEU is a major funder of private research, innovation and digitisation projects, with a €6.6 billion investment foreseen by 2027. There’s a big focus on SMEs; and all funded projects should address investments gaps and help meet EU policy objectives.

University guild proposes vocabulary for discussing gender equality in academia

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities has proposed definitions for seven key terms to be used when discussing gender equality, diversity and inclusion in its member universities.

The terms include bias, diversity, equity, gender mainstreaming, diversity mainstreaming, inclusion and intersectionality.

“To facilitate culture change towards gender equality and diversity, we need to have a common understanding of what we mean by key terms such as diversity, inclusion and intersectionality,” said Jan Palmowski, secretary-general of The Guild.

Improve research careers to raise gender equality in research, universities say

Rectors of nine universities in the Coimbra Group urged bigger efforts to improve research careers, making them more accessible and attractive to researchers of all genders.

“We need to make research careers attractive and compatible with a good work-life balance also for women; only in this way will we make it possible for everyone, regardless of gender and background, to fulfil their potential and contribute to the research and innovation we need to meet the societal challenges we all are facing,” said the rectors’ statement.

The call comes on 8 March, international women’s day.

Switzerland replacement scheme for Horizon Europe start-up funding to launch in April

Switzerland, which has been left out of the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme, is set to launch a funding scheme for its start-ups that do not have access to the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator programme.

The Accelerator is a €7 billion EU fund which offers promising tech start-ups grants and equity investments. It’s only available to companies in EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries, a title that the EU has withheld from Switzerland due to broader political disagreements.

The legislation for the new scheme will kick in on 15 April, after which the Swiss Innovation Agency will be able to open calls for proposals.

Western governments suspend meetings with Russia on Arctic Council

The seven Western governments in an international body coordinating management of the Arctic region announced they are suspending meetings with Russia, because of the Ukraine invasion. The announcement could affect collaborative Arctic research.

Russia currently holds the rotating chair of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental organisation started in 1996 by the eight countries with Arctic territories to coordinate use of the region. In a joint statement, the other seven countries on 3 March said that due to Russia’s “flagrant violation” of international law in Ukraine, their representatives will no longer travel to Russia and are “temporarily pausing participation in all meetings of the Council and its subsidiary bodies”.

The Council has no budget of its own, but the member-countries meet periodically to coordinate policies for search and rescue, habitat protection, indigenous peoples and environmental research and monitoring. In 2017 a special scientific protocol was added specifying how the countries are to grant access to each others’ territories and civilian labs for research. The seven western countries are the US, Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Universities and researchers decry war in Ukraine

University and research groups around Europe are coming out with statements denouncing Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine and debate whether the aggressor should be isolated scientifically.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Coimbra Group uniting 41 European universities highlighted the importance of helping students in Ukraine to continue their studies in Europe or their home country, in the case of international students that were studying in Ukraine.

CESAER universities’ association issued a statement today underlining the role science and technology plays in building bridges across conflicts.

In the same vein, the EuroScience association of scientists active in more than 70 countries, including Ukraine and Russia, called on policymakers to not intertwine science and military action.

“Despite the necessary institutional and governmental sanctions required in the face of such blatant and hostile aggression, we remind all of the world’s leaders of the essential role that the scientific endeavour has played in the past, including in times of war, as a vector for international diplomatic relations,” the EuroScience statement said.

European Capital of Innovation awards open to applicants

The European Commission today launched the search for the 2022 European Capital of Innovation, inviting cities with at least 50,000 inhabitants in Horizon Europe countries to apply.

There’s a €1.8 million prize fund that will award six prizes across two categories: capital of innovation and most innovative city. Last year’s winner of the competition aiming to highlight the role cities play in promoting innovation was the German city of Dortmund.

EU innovation consultants update summary of EU recovery plans

The European Association of Innovation Consultants has updated its July report summing up how EU member states plan to spend the €723.8 NextGeneration EU pandemic recovery fund.

The report explains how the funds are governed and implemented in each country, summarises opened and planned calls, and runs through how the fund will contribute to Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs), which allow member states to jointly fund cross-border innovation projects addressing market failures.

The recovery fund is a package of grants and loans, to be spent by 2023, and it sits on top of the EU‘s regular seven-year budget. It comes with its own layer of bureaucracy, which the group of innovation consultants attempt to decode.

The report can be found here.

Chief scientific advisers issue opinion to feed into EU fight against cancer

A new report by the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) details how the EU can strengthen and extend cancer screening programmes to improve early detection.

The advisers outline how to improve existing screening programmes on breast, colorectal and cervical cancer and call to extend them to lung and prostate cancer, while highlighting the importance of making screening more accessible.

The report will feed into the Commission’s upcoming proposal to update EU recommendations on cancer screening, as well as the Horizon Europe research mission on cancer which aims to improve the lives of more than 3 million people affected by cancer by 2030.

Commission appoints three new members of ERC Scientific Council

The European Commission has appointed three new members of the European Research Council’s (ERC) governing body, the Scientific Council.

They are appointed for an initial period of four years and will take office on 2 March.

The three new members are:

Professor Chryssa Kouveliotou, professor at the George Washington University, Washington D.C., United States;
Professor László Lovász, professor emeritus at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary;
Professor Giovanni Sartor, professor at the University of Bologna and at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

“This addition will ensure that the independent ERC Scientific Council with its leading researchers from all disciplines continues to represent the scientific community in Europe across the full breadth of research domains,” said ERC president Maria Leptin.

Commission announces first recipients of Women TechEU grants

The European Commission has announced today the first 50 women-led companies to receive €75,000 grants each.

The money would help companies working on deep-tech innovations to get started. The Women TechEU programme is funded through Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation fund.

“We will assist these 50 women-led companies with funding, mentoring and networking opportunities and we will scale up this programme in 2022,” said Mariya Gabriel, EU commissioner for research and innovation.

Projects will start in spring 2022 and are expected to run for 6 to 12 months. The winners will be given tailored coaching and mentoring in the European Innovation Council’s women’s leadership programme.

EIC opens €1.7B funding round

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has launched today three calls worth a total of €1.7 billion to select innovative companies for scale-up funding.

The calls cover multi-disciplinary research teams working on potential technology breakthroughs in any field and to turn research results into innovation opportunities.

Some of the money will be routed to mature technologies based on proof of concept projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC).

About €60 million will go to projects on “green digital devices for the future” and a clean energy technologies.

The Guild warns EU data act does not ensure fair access to research data

University associations warn Brussels the new Data Act does not provide enough means to ensure a fair access to privately held data for research purposes.

In a statement published on Monday, the Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities said the European Council and Parliament should “recognise that research is an activity conducted in the public interest and that research is crucial to ‘respond to a public emergency’, ‘prevent a public emergency’, and ‘assist the recovery from a public emergency’.”

The full statement is available here.

Parliament research committee visits EU space agency

The European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) visited the Prague headquarters on Wednesday to discuss synergies, security and Europe’s use of satellite communications under the GOVSATCOM programme.

The European Union Agency for the Space Programme is responsible for implementing the seven-year €14.8 billion EU space programme, which the Parliament approved together with EU member states last year. This was the Parliament’s first visit since the start of the new programme.

“As custodians of the EU space policy, it’s crucial that the ITRE Committee continues to foster a strong partnership and collaboration with EUSPA’s team, who enable the policy to excel both here on earth and in space,” said Cristian Bușoi, chair of ITRE.

Commission opens €292 million call for digital technologies and cybersecurity

The EU’s new fund for digitalisation, Digital Europe, has opened its second call for proposals looking to fund data, blockchain, AI and cybersecurity projects.

There is €249 million for projects on data spaces, blockchain infrastructures, training courses for advanced digital skills, digital public services, piloting AI to fight crime and AI testing facilities.

In the field of cybersecurity, there’s a €43 million in grants for the health sector and the deployment of a network of centres helping governments implement EU cybersecurity-related legislation.

The calls are open until 17 May to are open to companies, organisations and public administrations from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and organisations from countries associated with the programme.

EIT opens database on its work

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has launched a website where it upload policy, good practice and learning documents produced by its seven knowledge and innovation communities.

The reports will, for example, cover topics such as artificial intelligence in health innovation, the strategic importance of raw materials mining, and research on how to build consumer trust in the food system. The database will also store documents presenting the EIT operational model.

UK Horizon winners can now apply for safety net funding

The UK has formally opened up applications to its backup funding scheme designed to replace Horizon Europe grants if the country fails to association to the programme in time.

In updated guidance released today, UK-based winners of European Innovation Council Pathfinder and Transition calls can register their winning grants. Universities had previously raised concerns that the backup scheme had no way for researchers to apply.

However, only winners of two types of calls can apply so far. UK Research and Innovation, which is running the safety net funding scheme, says that other winners, for example those of European Research Council Starting Grants, will only be able to apply "once it is clear that UK association to Horizon Europe will not occur before you have to formalise your EU Grant Agreement".

And the updated guidance does not appear to widen the number of calls covered. There are concerns that the UK's safety net is too limited, and currently does not cover UK-based winners of certain grants including ERC Proof of Concept awards.

Horizon Europe €1.2 billion industrial partnership for rail R&I officially kicks off

The French Presidency today officially launched Europe’s Rail Joint Undertaking, the bloc’s largest rail research and innovation programme to date.

The partnership, like the other 40-odd partnerships under the Horizon Europe research programme, will run until 2027 funding rail-related R&I projects, with the first call for proposals launching in March. The EU is putting €600 million in the partnership, to be matched by industry.

The initiative builds on previous partnerships with the rail industry and aims to harmonise and green European rail systems using digitalisation and automation to reduce costs and increase the capacity, flexibility and reliability of Europe’s rails.

"If we truly want rail to be the backbone of a sustainable mobility, we need to deliver new technologies and solutions that will make rail more attractive, reliable, cost efficient and even more environmental-friendly," said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, chairman of the Union of European Railway Industries, which represents railway manufacturers in the partnership.

EU challenges China’s defiance of intellectual property rules

The EU today filed a case against China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for restricting EU companies from going to foreign court to protect and use their patents.

China is infamous for disrespecting IP rights, enabling illegal use of EU companies’ technologies by Chinese industry. If patent holders do go to court over malpractice outside the country, China often retaliates by fining them. All this puts patent holders under pressure to settle for sub-par licensing fees.

The EU argues such policy damages innovation and growth in Europe.

The first step in the dispute is settlement consultations. If they do not lead to a solution within 60 days, the EU can then request the WTO to set up a panel to rule on the matter.

EU and Africa welcome move to set new joint innovation agenda

The European Union and the African Union are working on developing a new Innovation Agenda which is set to put research and innovation at the centre of their cooperation.

The draft plan has four objectives: translate knowledge into innovation; strengthen innovation ecosystems; develop higher education and R&I partnerships; and scale up existing tools.

With the plan, “the EU and AU Heads of States reconfirm the central role of research and innovation and Horizon Europe in the overall cooperation between the EU and Africa," said EU Research Commissioner Mariya Gabriel.

The latest version of the plan came out on 14 February, but the document is still being finalised. For those wishing to contribute, a public consultation is open online.

Defense and space industries join calls to speed up UK association to Horizon Europe

The AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe (ASD) is urging the EU to unblock the UK’s association to the Horizon Europe research programme, joining the ranks of other research and industry organisations calling for a swift resolution.

ASD is worried the stalemate is blocking EU-UK cooperation in two Horizon Europe industrial partnerships for aviation research, the Clean Aviation Partnership and SESAR partnership for air traffic management.

The European Commission and UK agreed the latter will join Horizon Europe on equal terms with EU member states back in 2020 but the EU has since made association conditional on the resolution of post-Brexit trade disagreements.

European and African universities welcome proposed AU-EU Innovation Agenda

The EU and African Union (AU) has proposed a plan for turning ‘brain drain’ into ‘brain gain’ ahead of this week’s African Union and European Union summit, which was met with praise by universities on both continents.

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities and the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) welcome the plan’s focus on strengthening existing R&I funding programmes, the establishment of new ones to strengthen higher education, and a strong focus on boosting universities’ research capacity. These goals place universities at the centre of EU-AU cooperation, giving them a key role in “the development of knowledge economies throughout Africa for sustainable development and transformation,” said Ernest Aryeetey, secretary general of ARUA.

Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild, said the proposals were significant “for universities in themselves, but for what they will enable universities to achieve for the transformation of African societies, and for relations between the AU and the EU.”

Switzerland seeks to join EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme

The government has told the ministry responsible for communications to start technical talks with the EU on potential cooperation.

Switzerland is a founding member of the European Space Agency which is responsible for developing satellites for Copernicus, while the EU manages its data and services.

If associated, Switzerland could have a say in shaping the programme, ensure its access to Copernicus data and enable its companies to participate in public procurement.

The country’s potential association to the EU research programme Horizon Europe, which is tightly linked to Copernicus, fell through last year following political disputes between Switzerland and the EU.

EU ministers to discuss Commission’s defence R&D roadmap at Paris conference

The plan, to be presented in an informal meeting of defence ministers in Paris, maps out how the EU can boost its research, innovation, development and technology to reduce EU’s dependencies in security and defence.

This includes identifying critical technologies, ensuring civilian research programmes explore defence-related projects, increasing EU-wide cooperation, and better coordinating with the US and other NATO members.

The roadmap is EU’s bid to get member states to invest in defence technologies developed inside the EU, allowing the bloc to rely less on foreign powers for its defence needs.

Last year, the EU launched its first €7.9 billion European Defence Fund (EDF) aiming to reduce EU dependence on technologies from outside the bloc. By the end of the year, it is set to have invested €1.9 billion in research.

But EU member states are still reluctant to work together on joint defence research projects. French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed frustration with this and has vowed to push to get all member states on board with reinforcing the EU defence industry.

Slovenian science counsellor elected co-chair of ERA Forum

Sergej Možina, Slovenia’s science diplomat in Brussels, has been elected co-chair of the new ERA Forum, the body that will establish the policy agenda of the European Research Area (ERA) and decide on actions needed to foster a single market for research

Each of the 27 member states will have one representative in the forum, while the Commission will have one representative.

This setup will allow university, research and business associations to join the Commission and member states in shaping specific policy actions in ERA.

EU announces €6 billion plan for its own broadband constellation

The European Commission today revealed a €6 billion plan for developing an EU broadband mega constellation in space to support edge computing, Internet of Things and autonomous driving.

The Commission hopes to start a new public-private partnership with industry and member states to make the project a reality, proposing a €2.4 billion EU investment, including €430 million from the Horizon Europe research programme.

The system would provide government and commercial services, enabling quantum-secured internet connection all around Europe and Africa. It’s a move towards securing the EU’s strategic autonomy, as Starlink in the US and OneWeb in the UK continue expanding their broadband mega constellations.

“It represents what we need to be doing as a continent that is increasingly aware of its geo-political responsibilities and conscious of the need for technological sovereignty, dual infrastructure and also the need for shared or common infrastructure that will enable us to progress together,” said EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton.

The plan foresees development starting next year, with initial services opening as early as the end of 2024. If everything goes according to plan, the broadband should be fully operational from mid-2027.

European universities joint appeal for more support for African universities

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities is joining calls on the African Union (AU) to develop excellence and infrastructures for research in African universities ahead of February’s EU-AU summit.

Joining sixteen leading African universities, the Guild argues public universities are the biggest research players in the continent but receive too little funding to fulfil their potential, leading to brain drain and overreliance on research partners from outside the continent.

Jan Palmowski, secretary general of the Guild, said strengthening African universities “must now become a central pillar of the new AU-EU strategic partnership.”

Horizon Europe now fully open to Western Balkans

Researchers and innovators in the entire Western Balkan region can now participate in Horizon Europe on an equal footing with their EU counterparts after Albania became the last country in the region to sign up to the €95.5 billion EU research programme.

In the previous Horizon 2020 research programme, researchers and innovators from around 1000 organisations in the Western Balkans received €170 million in direct EU contribution.

HERA: €1.3 billion plan for first year of new pandemic preparedness programme is out

The European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) will invest €1.3 billion in preventing, preparing for and responding to cross-border health emergencies in its first year as a full-fledged programme.

In its first year of running, HERA, modelled after the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) in the US, will contribute to the EU’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and reinforce preparedness for potential future health threats.

EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said HERA will be “the EU's health security watchtower for future health threats, as well as a key player for health crisis preparedness at global level.”

US and EU to discuss expanded R&D collaboration in upcoming meeting

US and EU officials are preparing for a meeting before summer to discuss ways to expand cooperation in research and innovation – with topics to include collaboration on climate, cleantech, digital, ocean and health.

During the annual Science|Business conference, two senior officials said agendas are being drafted now for the meeting of the so-called Joint Consultative Group meeting.

“We are trying to have it (the meeting) before summer,” said Maria Cristina Russo, director for global approach and international cooperation in the Commission’s research directorate-general. “We haven’t had this kind of group meeting since 2017. We would like to discuss the framework conditions of our cooperation.”

Reece Smyth, director for science and technology cooperation in the US State Department, confirmed that planning for the meeting is under way. “The Biden-Harris Administration wants to revitalise our relationship with the EU. We’re formulating the agenda right now; we’re open to discussing all topics.” He said joint priorities are expanded cooperation on R&I in oceans, climate change, health and what he called “shared values of democracy.”

Both officials also said they are expecting increased participation by US researchers in the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, due to a revision by the EU in its Model Grant Agreement that sets the terms for programme participation. Russo said the change makes it clear that US researchers who aren’t taking EU funding can join a Horizon project without signing the complex agreement – previously viewed as an obstacle by most US public universities. Smyth said the US government welcomes the change, and also expects to see increased US participation as a result.

Experts are optimistic about healthcare’s tech revolution

Speaking at the February Science|Business conference, Douglas Gregory, senior director, EU Government Affairs Strategy & Excellence, Bristol Myers Squibb said “we should be very optimistic about the future thanks to advancements in medical, data and regulatory sciences.”

However, other panelists warned regulation and ethics must keep up with technology development. “Technology development is progressing at a speed that is increasing almost by the day,” said Ole Petter Ottersen, president, Karolinska Institutet. “If we are able to harness this explosion in new technologies, we have to be proactive when it comes to regulatory and ethical issues.”

ERC president calls on member states to boost national research funding

Maria Leptin, the president of the European Research Council (ERC) said EU member states should strive to achieve the 3% of GDP spending target for research, to ease the pressure on the ERC budget.

“If that [target] was achieved, then the ERC would be under less pressure from the overwhelming number of applications,” said Leptin.

ETH vice president: Association delay might have long term negative impact on Swiss research

Detlef Günther, the vice president for research at ETH Zurich said Swiss researchers apply to EU programmes to measure themselves against the European standard. In case of long term exclusion from Horizon Europe “we don't know how our young talents will behave,” he said.

“You see already some offers are made from other universities and that's not what I see as a spirit of Europe in general,” Günther added.

EIC chief highlights newest additions to the programme

Starting this year, the European Innovation Council (EIC) will make equity investments bigger than €15 million in promising start ups, support more women-led companies and significantly increase its budget for top-down ‘challenge” calls, EIC chief Jean-David Malo told the February Science|Business conference.

The EIC today released its 2022 work programme detailing the calls, the budgets and scope for this year’s calls, revealing the newest features of the EU’s innovation fund.

Commission to issue guidance on lump sum funding ahead of next set of calls

EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel says the European Commission is preparing guidance on lump sum funding for applicants ahead of 2022 calls.

“The transition to lump sum requires clear guidance, good communication to remove any uncertainties among applicants, and that’s why the necessary guidance to this end is in the pipeline and will be released in time before the first lump sum calls open in 2022,” Gabriel said in a video interview at the Science|Business annual conference on 9 February.

The Commission announced plans to extend the lump sum pilot in the Horizon Europe research programme last year, but the announcement was met with skepticism by the research community which called the move ‘premature’.

Gabriel assured listeners that lump sum funding would not be applied ‘overnight’ but rather progressively to reduce bureaucracy and make the programme more attractive to newcomers and small companies that struggle with the current paperwork-heavy reporting requirements.

France to advocate for ‘effective’ European Innovation Area

The establishment of an European Innovation Area is one of the main political priorities on France’s agenda for its presidency of the Council of the EU.

Speaking at the Horizon Europe conference organised by Science|Business, French research minister Frédérique Vidal said France “will support the construction of an effective innovation area.”

The EU has launched the European Innovation Council (EIC) to help companies across the bloc scale up faster. According to Vidal, an innovation area would ensure that the EIC is synchronized with similar national schemes. “The EIC will only bear fruit if it is linked to national European mechanisms that allow the most innovative companies to scale up,” she said.

University degrees to remain national, says Vidal

French research minister Frédérique Vidal said the Council of the EU is working on conclusions to strengthen transnational cooperation between universities, including the idea to offer joint European degrees.

However, Vidal said the joint degrees will have an European added value, but they will remain national. “Degrees will of course remain national, but the added value of the joint programmes will be highlighted,” she said.

The French presidency will put forward Council conclusions which member states will have to vote on in the coming weeks. “This conclusion will be presented to the Council regarding the degrees and the first question is what can we already achieve with today’s instruments and tools,” said Vidal.

Excluding UK and Switzerland from Horizon Europe is ‘sadomasochistic’

Antoine Petit, chair and chief executive of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said the EU is not punishing the UK and Switzerland by denying them access to Horizon Europe. Instead, the EU is hurting itself. “It’s a punishment for all of us, it’s a punishment for Europe,” said Petit. “If I dare, I could say that it’s a sadomasochistic decision.”

Helga Nowotny, former president of the European Research Council, who is also backing the Stick to Science call, said Europe is caught between China and the US and should prove to the world that it can remain united in Horizon Europe. “We are between two dominant political actors, China and the US, and unless Europe is able to prove to the world and to its citizens that it can act as a continent – and research is the driving force behind it – [we] will fail,” said Nowotny.

Stick to Science: Call for Switzerland and UK to be included in Horizon Europe

Research stakeholders across the EU have issued a joint call for Switzerland and the UK to be included in EU’s €95.5 billion research and innovation programme.

Signatories presented the call at the Science|Business conference today, urging the EU and the Swiss and UK governments to move past political differences and allow researchers to work together in Horizon Europe.

“The whole research and innovation sector is currently alarmed for the future of science in Europe as one year after the start of Horizon Europe, the full association of both the UK and Switzerland are still blocked because of political disagreements,” said Michael Hengartner, president of the board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH). “This situation is extremely unfortunate as advancements in research and innovation is best achieve when all actors can work together across geographical regions.”

France and Germany announce €3.5 billion for late-stage venture capital funds

The new fund will aim to increase the size of European venture capital funds to enable them to scale up more promising technology companies.

France and Germany intend to commit €1 billion each to the fund in the hopes to reduce European tech companies’ on foreign investments. “Innovative #ventures should be able to choose between EU and non-EU investors,” Germany’s finance ministry tweeted.

The fund was announced at the conference for the Scale-Up Europe initiative initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, which brings together over 150 tech founders, investors, researchers, corporate CEOs and government to find ways to secure Europe’s digital sovereignty. By 2030, Scale-Up Europe, hopes to help grow 10 technology companies each valued at more than €100 billion.

Science advice lacking at local level, warns chief scientist

More scientists need to advise cities and local authorities, the chief scientist of Quebec has argued, and not just focus on federal or regional governments.

Rémi Quirion, speaking today at Science|Business’s annual conference, told the audience that this type of role was often very different from the strategic policy advice given at the national level.

If a city floods, “you can’t write a PhD thesis about flooding”, he said – local authorities need advice immediately.

“We don’t have much capacity in terms of the type of advice you need to give a local government,” he warned.

“We have to have experts in every department of government,” he told the conference.

Senior science advisor questions whether Eric Lander’s successor should be Cabinet-level in Washington

Following the surprise resignation Monday of President Biden’s chief science advisor, a senior international science advisor questioned whether a Cabinet-level position is appropriate for such a job. At a Science|Business conference 8 February, Rémi Quirion, chief scientist of Quebec and president of the International Network for Government Science Advice, was asked about Lander’s title:

“Is it a good thing to be (a scientist and) at the same time a kind of Cabinet level? I would say no. My own bias would be that you need to be close to the elected official, but also at some distance. You need to be transparent with government and the public.” As an example, he noted that in Quebec he is cautious about on which occasions scientists appear with a government minister in a press conference. “Always to be together is too close,” he said.

The White House has not yet said who would be named to succeed Lander as director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy, or whether that person would retain Lander’s Cabinet-level status.

UK and Switzerland to intensify research cooperation amid struggles to associate to Horizon Europe

Swiss Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin and UK Research Minister George Freeman on Monday discussed strengthening research cooperation between the two countries currently excluded from the EU's Horizon Europe research programme.

The policymakers discussed cooperation on international research infrastructures, the space sector, and between research and innovation promotion agencies. Following the European Commission move to exclude non-EU organisations from most space and quantum calls, the two countries are also exploring potential collaborations in quantum physics, space and nuclear fusion.

“Various possibilities for intensifying cooperation in research and innovation were discussed during the talks. Both parties are seeking a Memorandum of Understanding as part of this strengthening process,” the press release stated.

Career incentives needed to offer scientific advice, says head of EU advice group

The chair of the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors has said far more needs to be done to give scientists career incentives to provide their expertise to policymakers.

Speaking at Science|Business’s annual conference today, Nicole Grobert said that offering advice often conflicted with the other day-to-day duties scientists have.

“From a career perspective, it’s sometimes quite hard for scientists to embark on scientific advice,” she said, when researchers also had to write up their research papers and apply for funding.

Instead, there needed to be a “systematic approach” to increase the rewards for offering scientific advice.

“We need to create an environment where science becomes a strong component of culture,” she said.

But not every scientist should be expected to give advice. “Not everyone is good at it,” said Professor Grobert, a materials scientist at the University of Oxford.

Trust in science is up following pandemic, Science|Business conference hears

Swedish research shows that trust in research has improved following the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from Vetenskap & Allmänhet, Swedish association promoting dialogue between citizens and researchers.

“We saw that healthcare professionals and researchers, there’s a lot of confidence among ordinary people towards those professional groups,” said Cissi Askwall, secretary general of Vetenskap & Allmänhet, speaking at the Science|Business annual conference.

Askwall added similar trust is observed in other countries. At the same time, she noted, trust in journalists and politicians is down.

To further foster this trust in science, Askwall advised researchers to be transparent about the research process and highlighted the importance of the way research is communicated.

ERC awards €25 million to projects bringing research closer to the market

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded 166 researchers in the latest round of proof of concept grants for bringing the results of fundamental research projects to early stages of commercialisation.

The grants can be used to verify the practical viability of scientific concepts, explore business opportunities, or prepare patent applications. Today’s grantees will explore a biopsychosocial model to uncover and understand causal pathways to harmful adolescent behaviours; using the power of bubbles to achieve more sustainable wastewater treatment; and a process to help medical practitioners read and analyse DNA in real time, among other projects.

The grants, worth €150,000 each, are available to researchers in any field who have previously received one of the ERC’s grants for fundamental research projects. Once the grant is complete, researchers can further apply for the European Innovation Council’s transition grants which fund proof of concept grantees wishing to further mature and validate their innovations or develop a business case and model.

EIC 2022 work programme to be released on 9 February

The European Innovation Council’s (EIC) work programme detailing the calls, their budgets and scope for this year will be out on 9 February following delays.

The new work programme is expected to set the first cut-off date for EIC Accelerator call for start-ups and SMEs on 23 March. Meanwhile, the first deadline for the EIC Pathfinder call for early-stage research on breakthrough technologies is to be set sometime in early May. The details will be confirmed once the work programme is out and clarified during the applicants’ day on 22 February.

The release of the 2022 work programme was delayed after the future of the European Commission-run EIC Equity Fund got caught in political infighting over its management. The dispute also blocked off equity financing for companies selected for funding last year as Commission officials argued over the terms on which the fund should be run. Last week, EU member states broke the policy deadlock after deciding the EIC should stick to the old management rules for this year while the policymakers look for a solution.

With the original rules extended, the move has unlocked equity financing for the 102 companies chosen for funding in 2021, with investment decisions expected to be concluded in spring and summer 2022. The same equity rules will also apply to the companies selected for funding in the first cut-offs of this year.

EUA puts advocacy and recommendations at the top of its open science agenda

The European University Association (EUA) has set out a three-year plan for helping its members transition towards open science practices. The EUA Open Science Agenda will prioritise evidence-based advocacy, good practice recommendations, dialogue with stakeholders and information sharing.

The new agenda builds on more than a decade of EUA’s support for universities as they transition to open science. The transition promises to enable universities to better address global challenges, enhance higher education performance and create a more level playing field in the sector.

Finnish biologist Marja Makarow named Academia Europaea’s first female president

Academia Europaea, an association of leading researchers, has elected Marja Makarow as its first female president, set to lead the association in its mission to advise EU policymaking through its role in the European Commission’s Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA).

A biologist, Makarow is a former vice-president for research at the University of Helsinki and has held various high-ranking positions in Finland’s public research sector. She is also a board member of the European Innovation Council, the EU’s newest innovation fund.

Makarow named five priorities for her new role: better opportunities for researchers in the EU's Widening countries, promoting multi-disciplinary research collaboration, supporting young researchers, translating research findings into benefits for society, and fostering closer collaboration with the European Commission.

Makarow highlighted the importance of supporting fundamental research in delivering on these goals. “These priorities have a common denominator; they cannot be realised without the Principal Investigator and their publicly-funded research. The balance in Horizon Europe is tilted towards programmes and innovation, and therefore long-term investment in Principal Investigator-driven research at national levels is as vital as ever,” she said.

EU to pledge creating new platform for public-private green aviation

In a summit this week, EU member states are expected to adopt a declaration on the future sustainability and decarbonisation of aviation, which will aim to create a joint platform involving public and private actors from across the aviation sector.

The two-day Aviation Summit is part of the six-month French presidency of the EU council of member states. It’s held in Toulouse, which is also the site of the headquarters of the French aerospace giant Airbus.

In December, the European Commission launched an industrial partnership for greening the aviation sector under the EU’s seven year Horizon Europe research programme. The Clean Aviation partnership will inject around €4 billion, provided jointly by the EU and industry, into projects aiming to decarbonise planes.

Digital industry sets out laundry list for EU-US Trade and Technology Council

Digital Europe industry association has published 24 targets for the EU and US to strive for in their joint dialogue on technology, including launching for major semiconductor R&D projects by 2030.

The association set out the targets ahead of meeting in May, calling for a strong tech alliance in cybersecurity, cloud computing, semiconductors and other areas as well as alignment around competition policies.

The targets include developing joint rulebooks for cloud computing, AI and cybersecurity, promoting digital inclusion, developing common principles for a safer internet, establishing a green technology alliance, and launching four major co-funded semiconductor R&D projects by the end of the decade.

The European Commission proposed to set up the transatlantic technology alliance a year ago to enable the EU and the US to jointly address global innovation issues and set joint standards on technologies such as 5G mobile networks, artificial intelligence and data flows, areas in which China is the main global competitor.

Coimbra universities opens young researcher mobility scheme

The Coimbra group of universities is offering almost 80 mobility scholarships for young researchers and staff from universities in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the European Neighbourhood.

The scholarships finance short-term research visits to 20 participating European universities in a bid to help scholars from abroad establish academic and research contacts in Europe and make their research more international.

The deadline for submissions is 15 April 2022

German government appoints first representative for research transfer

The German research ministry’s Parliamentary State Secretary Thomas Sattelberger has a new role representing the state when it comes to research transfer into the market.

The position has been created by the country’s new coalition government to improve the way research is translated into innovation. Today, research results in Germany, and other parts of Europe, often go unused or are taken up very slowly compared to other parts of the world.

Sattelberger, whose official title is now Parliamentary State Secretary and Commissioner for Transfer and Spin-offs from Science, “will develop, coordinate and represent essential transfer and spin-off activities from science to application in the future,” the government’s press release said.

Germany's new traffic light coalition appointed Sattelberger to replace Christian democrat Thomas Rachel as parliamentary state secretary following its victory against the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) last year.

Visegrad countries to boost cooperation in hydrogen research

The Hungarian presidency of the Visegrad group is organising a meeting aimed at boosting regional cooperation in hydrogen technologies.

Hydrogen is expected to play a significant role in Europe’s transition to greener energy and countries in central Europe are putting the technology on their policy agenda.

According to the group, research and innovation in the field of hydrogen has become a as governments and research agencies are coming up with national strategies and encourage cross-border cooperation.

More details about the evens are available here.

Slovenian universities mount criticism against government appointments at the national research agency

Slovenian universities decry the government’s political interference in the appointment of a new director at the helm of the Slovenian Research Agency.

Mitja Lainščak was appointed by the board of the agency on Saturday, a few days after the government had replaced four members of the board. The universities said the appointment was not transparent and call on the government to not interfere in the work of the research agency.

Last week, members of the Slovenian Rectors’ Conference have called on the government to draw up a national development strategy for universities, which would contribute to transferring knowledge into the economy.

“We are aware that universities must respond to the needs of the labour market, but this requires strategic analysis and guidelines covering the whole country,” said Gregor Majdič, rector of the University of Ljubljana. “The young people we educate at our universities can use their potentials to create an economy for higher added value,” said Majdič.

Slovenia has just ended its stint at the helm of the Council of the EU, where science minister Simona Kustec helped negotiate a new governance and policy agenda for the Euroepan Research Area, a plan by the EU to boost R&D performance in member states and to create a single market for research.

Horizon Europe twinning call receives 391 proposals

Research institutions have submitted 391 proposals worth €555 million under Horizon Europe’s first call for twinning projects, aimed at establishing stronger research and innovation ties between richer and poorer countries in the EU.

Only 100 proposals will be funded, as the European Commission has allocated a budget of €149 million for this call.

Selected research institutions from the so-called widening countries, which are a group of member states with low levels of national R&D investments, are expected to work together with at least two research institutions from two different EU member states or countries associated to Horizon Europe.

The Commission will announce the results of the call by mid-May and expects the first grant agreements to be signed by the end of August.

Other calls for widening countries are available here.

Commission appoints members of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies

The European Commission has appointed 15 new members of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE).

The group was set up to give the Commission advice on policies and legislation where ethics and fundamental rights intersect advancements in science and technology.

“The expertise and wisdom of the 15 newly appointed members of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies will help us to put European values at the heart of the green and digital transition,” said Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth.

A full list of the members is available here.

EIB approves €50M financing for Estonian R&D

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has concluded a €50 million funding agreement with Starship Technologies, an Estonian autonomous delivery company.

The money will fund research and development, including the building of thousands more robots at Starship's engineering and innovation facility in Tallinn.

“The additional funding will benefit the development of the company's autonomous delivery services, thereby further improving services for consumers and contributing to Europe's ever-growing and vibrant research, technology and innovation ecosystem,” said Paolo Gentiloni, EU commissioner for the economy.

Romanian MEP re-elected to chair the Parliament’s research committee

The European Parliament’s industry, research and energy committee (ITRE) has re-elected Romanian MEP Cristian Bușoi as chair for the second half of the legislative term.

The committee is responsible for responsible for industrial policy, EU research and innovation policy, space policy, energy policy and the application of new technologies.

“During this second part of the legislature, the ITRE Committee will be very active in the work related to decarbonization and energy security, as well as in the digital transition. We will remain an involved and demanding partner alongside the Council and the Commission” Bușoi said.

MEPs also re-elected Zdzisław Krasnodębski , Morten Petersen, Patrizia Toia and Lina Gálvez Muñoz as ITRE vice-chairs.

Members states urged to convene for discussions on supporting young researchers

The Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE), which brings together European learned societies and research organisations, is calling on EU member states to support young researchers whose careers have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ISE hopes EU research ministers, who are convening in Paris this week, will respond to the call for a conference discussing the precarity faced by young researchers during the pandemic, an idea that was first floated around by the former European Research Council President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon in November.

The precariousness of research careers is a growing issue in Europe, with young researchers complaining of being low salaries, lack of permanent contracts and job security, which can lead talent to leave academia or seek science careers in other parts of the world.

Universities call for support adapting to new Erasmus+ programme

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities is urging the European Commission and national agencies to help universities meet the expectations of the new EU student mobility programme, Erasmus+.

The new seven-year framework for Erasmus+ provides new types of support for students such as top-up grants for environmentally-friendly ways of travelling, short-term and blended mobility, and grant top-ups for applicants with fewer opportunities. Universities are reportedly struggled to meet these new mobility expectations as Erasmus+ funding in 2021 remained at 2018 levels.

The Guild hopes universities can work with the Commission and national authorities to find long-term and immediate fixes to the arising problems, such as national co-funding, greater flexibility at reporting stage, and support mechanisms to reach the top-up targets.

German industry calls for Swiss Horizon Europe association

German companies have demanded that Switzerland be allowed to associate to Horizon Europe regardless of wider political disagreement between Bern and Brussels.

In a recent report, the Federation of German Industries said that "Switzerland should be able to participate on a par with other third countries (such as Israel, Turkey and EEA countries) irrespective of the overall relations between the EU and Switzerland."

Currently, talks are on ice, after the failure to strike a broader deal on the relationship between Brussels and Bern.

The Commission has explicitly tied Horizon association to progress on this wider picture.

Innovative Health Initiative seeks new advisory panel ahead of this week's launch

The Horizon Europe-supported industrial partnership for innovative medicines and health technologies is looking for science and health experts to join its new Science and Innovation Panel (SIP) that will set the initiative's priorities and design calls for proposals.

The SIP will bring together the organisations participating in the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) – the successor of Horizon 2020’s Innovation Medicines Initiative – such as the European Commission, health industries, national representatives and the scientific community. The call for 10 experts is open until 21 February 2022.

The IHI is set to formally launch its new seven-year framework for financing large-scale projects in a bid to advance health research and innovation in areas of unmet needs this Wednesday.

Stakeholders submit research and innovation manifesto to Conference on the Future of Europe

A group of 94 organisations have submitted a research and innovation manifesto for debate in the plenary of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

The manifesto is backed by over 600 universities, 400 resaerch institutes, 140 business associations and 15 regional and local bodies.

The signatories say the future of Europe will largely depend on its performance in science and technology. “In the coming years, research and innovation will be crucial to steer Europe’s recovery, preparedness and resilience, accelerate the twin green and digital transitions, and support the EU’s aspirations of open strategic autonom,” the manifesto says.

The conference plenary will take place on 21 and 22 to debate the first 90 recommendations adopted in the past weeks by the European citizens’ panels on European democracy and climate change and health.

The full text and the list of supporters are available at researchforeurope.eu.

EIC awards €99 million in first ever transition grants call

A total of 42 projects will be funded by the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) first transition grants call for turning EU funded research into commercially viable products.

Of the 42 projects, 29 were selected in a bottom-up call for projects, while another 13 answer the EIC’s challenge-driven calls for energy harvesting and storage technologies as well as medical technologies and devices.

Project examples include a new type of battery for long duration storage; an affordable, compact, multi-modal and high-throughput photonic-chip; and commercialising a code-free, gesture-controlled robot programming technology.

The money provided by the EU’s new innovation fund, the EIC, will go to projects that draw on the results of research previously funded by the EIC Pathfinder and the European Research Council’s proof of concept grants.

A total of 292 proposals were submitted in this first call which invited applications from single organisations, such as research teams, SMEs and spin outs, as well as consortia of up to five partners from different countries.

Finland to build testing platform for clean energy innovations

The country’s VTT Technical Research Centre is investing €18 million in a new centre for piloting carbon neutral innovations for transport and industry, to be completed in the city of Espoo in 2024.

The goal is to give companies a space to scale innovation to the market in hydrogen, clean and energy-efficient transport, industry and built environment sectors, facilitating the transition towards clean energy domestically and enabling exports.

“We will have people working on things like the interplay of traffic, households, industry and energy production in the energy system of the future, all under one roof,” said Jussi Manninen, executive vice president at VTT. “The development of winning solutions requires close cooperation between industry, start-ups and research actors, and the piloting centre will provide a good framework for that.”

Spain to consult citizens on research careers reform

The country is considering reforming laws governing science careers to improve stability, reduce administrative burdens and reinforce the transfer of knowledge, and asks citizens to have their say on how this should be done.

Proposed changes include reducing the age of entry for postdoctoral researchers, introducing a new type of indefinite work contracts and reducing the precarity faced by early-career researchers.

Spain’s reforms aim to boost the attractiveness of research careers as countries around the world enter ‘a war for talent’ trying to lure researchers through new academic recruitment programmes, visa schemes and open-door policies.

Commission opens contest for second edition of New European Bauhaus Prizes

Europeans are invited to submit existing sustainability, inclusiveness and aesthetics projects that reflect the goals of the EU’s green deal to this year’s New European Bauhaus (NEB) Prizes contest.

In this year’s competition, 18 winners will be selected to receive up to €30,000 across four categories: reconnecting with nature; regaining a sense of belonging; prioritising the places and people that need it most; and fostering long-term, lifecycle and integrated thinking in the industrial ecosystem.

The European Commission invites candidates of all nationalities and backgrounds to submit their examples of inspiring green transformations until 28 February.

The NEB is the Commission’s attempt to put a cultural twist on the EU’s green deal, and the prizes awarded in this competition celebrate existing projects that are in line with the NEB’s purpose.

Greek-led project wins €5 million in EU innovation contest for early warning of epidemics

The €5 million Horizon Prize for breakthrough early-warning technologies for epidemics was awarded to the EarlY WArning System for Mosquito-borne Diseases (EYWA) project.

EYWA helps fight mosquito-borne diseases by enhancing the surveillance and control of the mosquitoes’ abundance and pathogens’ transmission using entomological, epidemiological, Earth Observation, crowd and ancillary geospatial data. It has been deployed in thousands of villages where is has proven to help prevent the spread of diseases.

The €5 million prize was launched by the EU’s innovation fund, the European Innovation Council, in 2018 to find and award breakthrough innovations in early warning systems for vector-borne disease epidemics that affect over 1 billion people each year.

EU to spend €385 million on cultural and creative sectors in 2022

Creative Europe, the EU’s programme for cultural and creative sectors, is set to disburse €385 million to help the sectors recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, €100 million more than in 2021.

The money will be spent on calls for various cultural projects, the audio-visual value chain and cross-sectortal innovation projects, including those contributing to the New European Bauhaus, the European Commission’s programme seeking to give the EU’s green deal a cultural dimension.

Universities demand voice in EU-US Trade and Technology Council talks on export controls

The League of European Research Universities (LERU) says universities can provide expertise on export controls and input on challenges that would come up when implementing the Council’s guidelines in universities.

In a new statement, LERU argues research-intensive universities face unique challenges when it comes to “dual use export control regulations” as their work, which involves cutting edge technologies, relies on free, and often international, exchange of ideas.

The EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) launched in 2021 in a bid to improve cooperation on ten trade, competitiveness, and technology issues, including export controls.

Commission launches call for proposals for EU-Bill Gates joint climate tech fund

Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, the climate investment fund founded by Bill Gates, has published a call for proposals for large-scale deep green tech projects based in Europe.

The call is the first to be launched under the EU-Catalyst partnership, a €820 million joint initiative by the European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Bill Gates, aimed to speed up the scale-up of critical climate technologies developed in the EU and create markets for them.

The Commission is using money from Horizon Europe to back the partnership with Gates, but member states have openly criticised policymakers in Brussels for using the €95.5 billion EU research programme as a piggy bank for Commission’s pet projects.

Back in November, EU research ministers warned the Commission to make sure any new initiatives that involve taking money from Horizon Europe are first subject to political discussions within the EU’s formal decision-making process.

Read more details about the EU-Catalyst partnership here.

New €47 million fund to protect EU SME intellectual property

The new EU SME fund will offer vouchers for EU-based SMEs to help protect their IP for the next three years as they recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

At varying rates, the fund will reimburse the money companies spend on IP scan services, trademark and design registration, and getting international trade mark and design protection from the World Intellectual Property Organisations. In 2022, the fund will also reimburse 50% of the fees charged by national patent officer for registering patents. From 2023, more services will be added to the list.

SMEs can secure the funding by submitted a proposal through one of the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s calls, the first one of which launched today.

“New ideas and expertise are the main added value we have in the EU. With this fund, we want to support SMEs to face those peculiar times and remain strong and innovative through the decades to come,” said the European Commission’s Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager.

EU invests €45 million in Danish low carbon tech R&D

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is loaning Danish company Haldor Topsøe €45 million to prop up its research and development in carbon reduction technologies.

With the help of the funding from the EU’s fund for strategic plan, the company aims to develop new technologies and catalysts to help boost the use of renewable energy, including hydrogen.

“The additional funding will be devoted to research aimed at developing innovative hydrogen technologies and contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions,” said Commission executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis.

Universities question push for lump sump funding in Horizon Europe

The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities joins a chorus of organisations raising the alarm about the potential unintended effects of a broader introduction of lump sum funding in the EU research programme Horizon Europe, and calls on the European Commission to consult universities before making the move.

While the Guild supports cutting heavy paperwork associated with Horizon projects, it urges the Commission to first consult university grant and financial managers to determine whether lump sums “provide a simplification from a university management perspective and if they are suitable for all research types.”

The Commission announced plans to introduce widespread lump sum funding to Horizon Europe from 2023 after a recent pilot scheme concluded that the lump sum approach is fit for wider use. However, critics in the research community warn the plans are ‘premature.’

French presidency to back European Innovation Area plans

During its six-month presidency of the EU, which started this month, France promises “to back the building of a real European Innovation Area.”

Taking a concrete step towards the goal of establishing a single European market for innovation, the presidency will organise a conference on 11 May to discuss the plans.

While France takes the reigns of the Council of member states, the European Commission is gearing up to publish a new European strategy for innovation in the coming months, aiming to boost Europe’s global standing in breakthrough innovation.

France to hold EU presidency conference on international cooperation in R&I

The conference in Marseille on 8 and 9 March will promote balanced cooperation in research and innovation with countries outside the EU.

“It will underscore the need to uphold the EU’s values and interests, as well as the requirement for global standards, in particular for intellectual property, to assert the EU’s role as a driving force and initiator of these standards,” the French Council presidency’s plans say.

The EU’s openness to science cooperation with other countries has suffered several blows this year after Switzerland was denied access to the EU’s research programme Horizon Europe while the UK’s participation in the programme continues to hang in the air.

Ireland to reform higher education sector governance

The Irish government on Tuesday approved a bill which will seek to provide a new governance, performance and accountability framework for higher education institutions.

"This legislation will introduce a co-governance model. Institutions will remain autonomous but it will ensure the investment the government is making in the sector is safeguarded and there is accountability for that funding,” said minister Simon Harris.

While universities will remain in charge of their governance, the new rules will add new reporting requirements to protect the government’s investments and ensure accountability.

The legislation will also include reforms to the strategic planning for tertiary education, engagement with students, equity of access and participation in the higher education sector, lifelong learning and the collection of data for advice, planning and research.

Commission seeks new expert boards for Horizon missions

The European Commission today launched a call looking for experts to advise it on delivering the new Horizon Europe missions.

The selected experts, invited to apply by 2 February, will be asked to join the Mission Boards for each of the five research missions, where they will be tasked with raising awareness among citizens and give advice to the Commission. Each board will consist of up to 15 members from business, public administration, science, culture, citizen engagement and civil society organisations.

The missions are the newest addition to the EU’s Horizon Europe research programme that aim to mobilise EU-wide action to address five global challenges by 2030: adapting to climate change, tackling cancer, restoring oceans and waters, leading 100 cities to climate neutrality and caring for soil health. All five officially got off the ground in September with a budget of €1.9 billion following a year-long creation process within the Commission, advised by the first constellation of the mission boards.

Portugal aims to reach 3% ERA spending target by 2030

The Portuguese government has set out to boost research spending to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade, in line with the EU’s ambition to improve research funding across the bloc.

To reach the goal, over the next eight years, public and private research spending share will have to almost double, from 1.62% of GDP in 2020 to 3% in 2030.

EU member states renewed the ambition to increase EU research spending to 3% of GDP by the end of the decade last year as part of the plans to form a single market for research, the European Research Area.

Austria announces budget boost for universities

Austria’s universities will receive €12.3 billion in funding from the government over the next three years, €1.3 billion more than in the previous three-year period.

With the help of the budget boost the government hopes to hire more staff, attract more students and fund more research. Medical universities are set to secure the biggest boost, with 33% more funding.

“Despite the corona pandemic and all its follow-up costs, the budget for the universities, above all for the medical universities, was able to be increased significantly. This is an important step for Austria as a location for science and research and its excellent universities,” said Minister Martin Polaschek.

EU pharmaceutical strategy revamp should better support biotechnologies, association says

The European Association for Bioindustries is urging the European Commission to ensure its upcoming update to the EU pharmaceutical strategy reposition the EU as a global leader in cutting-edge health R&D.

The association argues streamlined, flexible and coherent regulations are needed to increase the EU’s attractiveness in the field and to solve issues stemming from different national pricing and reimbursement policies in member states.

“In the context of global challenges and accelerated science, the ambition of the pharmaceutical legislative revision should be to transform the EU’s strong research base into breakthrough innovation to better address the health needs of Europeans and to regain EU’s global leadership as a home for R&D and cutting-edge industry,” said Bernard J. Grimm, Healthcare Biotechnology Director.

UK universities renew calls for Horizon Europe association

The UK's top research universities have reiterated calls for London and Brussels to sign off the UK's association to Horizon Europe.

Although association was agreed in theory almost a year ago as part of a wider Brexit package, the European Commission has said it will not rubber stamp this deal until wider political issues, like a dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol, are resolved.

“Almost a year on that association has not been finalised, putting at risk all of the benefits being part of a major international collaboration brings for all of those involved," said Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group in a statement today.

"Now is the time for all parties to set aside wider disagreements and secure the UK’s association, which would be a win-win for the UK and our collaborators across Europe," he said.

Pan-European health organisations have also added their voices to the call. "Patients mustn’t become collateral damage in EU-UK relations," tweeted the European Health Stakeholder Group. "This is why we are calling for formal association of the UK to the Horizon Europe research programme."

Universities need more money for greening their campuses, EUA survey finds

Universities need additional funds to address the environmental sustainability of their operations, as they are faced with declining levels of public investments in higher education, a survey by the European University Association (EUA) has found.

Meaningful plans for reducing the carbon footprint of university campuses require upfront investments in major infrastructure changes. However, the report says “General underfunding and the lack of specific funding incentives were identified as the two main obstacles in addressing environmental sustainability.”

Many EU governments have not been able to return to pre-2008 investment levels in higher education, while the COVID-19 crisis has further increased the financial strain in the university sector. A total of 20% of the respondents to the EUA survey said they have fewer financial resources because of the pandemic, limiting their ability to plan for investments in greener campuses.

The report is available here.

Call to rethink IP exemption for EIC inventors

The League of European Research Intensive Universities (LERU) said an exception that gives EIC inventors “indefinite access rights for exploitation purposes at non-profit legal entities” could be counterproductive.

According to a statement by LERU, the 23 research universities in the lobby group agree that EIC inventors can help exploit research results. However, they fear the provisions “will be counterproductive and will lead to less rather than more valorisation, given the uncertainty they cause,” the research lobby group said in a statement.

The group warns that the scheme is problematic for most universities with well-established technology-transfer offices, as it may clash with internal IP rules. According to the statement, exemptions need to be considered on a case-by-case basis, as institutions hosting several EIC projects would have to deal with a considerable increase in paperwork.

“LERU is convinced that universities should be stimulated to exploit research results. “Potential income from those results can support investments and activities for which universities otherwise have little to no funding,” the research lobby group said.

The full statement is here.

EIC Accelerator disburses €627 million in largest funding round to date

The European Innovation Council is set to fund 99 companies with a total of €627 million in grants and equity investment in its biggest ever funding round to help bring innovative technologies to the market.

This is the first tranche of Accelerator funding for start-ups and SMEs to come out from the newest EU fund for innovation under Horizon Europe. It will fund companies in 21 companies developing technologies such as smart reusable packaging, a platform for data-driven drug discovery for cancer patients and glasses enabling the blind to understand the environment and give feedback using sound and impulses.

Out of the 99 funded companies, 65 asked for equity investment from the EIC, confirming widespread interest in the new form of financing which sees the Commission directly investing in the shares of promising start-ups and SMEs. But the EIC warns the companies face a lengthy wait for the equity investments as the Commission continues the process of re-establishing the EIC Equity Fund under Horizon Europe.

The EIC Accelerator call remains open for submissions, with the next cut-off date for applications expected sometime this year. It was initially planned for January but has been postponed due to the delay in the adoption of the EIC work programme detailing the calls and budgets for 2022.

Universities set out demands for next trio EU council presidency

The European University Association is urging the next trio presidency of the EU Council – France, Czech Republic and Sweden – to work towards a system transformation for research, education and innovation in the next year and a half.

The demands mirror the goals set in the new European Research Area (ERA) and include shaping a coherent and efficient governance structure for ERA, fostering transnational collaboration, reforming academic careers, protecting university values, ensuring sufficient and sustainable funding for research, education and innovation, facilitating global engagement and promoting university capacity in the digital transformation.

France will kick off the rotating trio presidency in January, but the programme detailing the changes the three countries want to bring to the EU during their one-and-a-half-year stint heading the Council of member states is yet to be unveiled. Just last week, French president Emmanuel Macron for the first time announced the main goals for the six months of the country’s Council presidency, including a conference that will convene the EU-supported 41 European university alliances in a bid to strengthen the role of universities in Europe.

Parliament votes through new rules for health technology assessments

The European Parliament has taken the final political step in introducing joint health technology assessments (HTA) in the EU to help speed up the uptake of new medicines.

Today, each country has its own HTA rules which leads national bodies and industry to duplicating their efforts. Starting in 2025, the new rules will allow countries to jointly assess new drugs and medical devices, determining their value for money and whether they should be prescribed to patients.

The new rules will especially benefit smaller countries that do not have the capacity to carry out their own HTA and rely on the findings of bigger countries.

“The new rules will secure inclusiveness and transparency in the assessment process and increase predictability for member states' authorities and for the industry,” said EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides. “Member states will be able to take more timely and evidence-based decisions on patient access to innovative technologies within their healthcare systems.

Horizon Europe missions info days to be held in January

The European Commission will host a two-day event on 18 and 19 January presenting the calls and topics that will be explored as part of the the five Horizon Europe missions in 2021.

The missions are a new part of the EU’s research programme aimed at mobilising action to tackle pressing societal challenges, such as restoring ocean and soil health, fighting cancer, adapting to climate change and moving cities towards climate neutrality. Until now, little has been known about how the missions will work in practice, and the event will aim to explain the specifics of the five missions to researchers, innovators and other stakeholders.

The work programme detailing the calls that will launch under the missions is due to be published in the lead up to the event.

The even page can be found here.

Unlink Swiss-EU row from participation in Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, universities urge

Switzerland’s participation in EU’s research and education programmes should not be contingent on a resolution of the political row between the wo sides, the European University Association (EUA) says.

The current standstill is hurting universities and research organisations both in Switzerland and the EU, and continued impasse could add up to losing billion of euros in research cooperation under Horizon Europe and students missing out on life-changing opportunities offered by Erasmus+, the association argued in a statement.

The relationship between Switzerland and Brussels went sour this year after the Swiss ended talks on a new overarching bilateral treaty. Now, the EU wants an agreement ensuring Switzerland’s alignment with EU law, a mechanism for settling future disputes and the country’s financial contributions to the EU cohesion budget before it allows the country to participate in its research and education programmes.

Until the issue is resolved, Swiss institutions can participate in Horizon projects, but no money can be dished out to Swiss researchers, a status quo that has left researchers and academics on both sides frustrated.

“It is time to fully value the opportunities that association provides the EU and its partners and safeguard these opportunities from becoming entwined in other political questions,” the EUA said in the statement.

Let UK join Horizon Europe now, say health organisations

A group of European health research organisations has urged the Europe Commission to finalise UK association to Horizon Europe, warning that the uncertainty now risks “jeopardising current and future research partnerships”.

UK association was agreed in theory in December 2020, but Brussels has delayed signing it off, maintaining that a wider dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol need to be resolved first.

“EU health research organisations have been working with UK partners on the understanding that they would shortly become full associate members,” said the European Health Stakeholder Group in a statement on 8 December.

“However, the absence of a clear timeframe for formalising UK association is now causing increasing concern,” said the organisation, which includes the Wellcome Trust, the European Brain Council, and the European Union of Medical Specialists.

“With the first Horizon Europe grant agreements nearing finalisation and new calls expected imminently, UK association must be formalised,” it says, and urges the European Commission to act “without further delay”.

Annual Erasmus+ grant budgets should be equally distributed, universities say

The European University Association (EUA) is raising concerns about the decision to up Erasmus+ budgets every year and is calling for even annual distribution of the seven-year budget for student mobility.

The Erasmus+ programme has seen a steep increase in funding for the next seven years, but this year’s €705 million budget for mobility grants remains lower than the €942 million spent in 2020. In the next seven years, the annual budget will keep increasing, with €971 million foreseen to be distributed in grants in 2022.

The EUA says a more predictable budget would ease the burden of national agencies and universities that welcome students and distribute the EU funds.

The call comes as organisations involved in the programme continue experiencing delayed payments from the EU budget, partly due to the delayed political decision on the funding and future of the €26.2 billion mobility programme.

Israel signs off Horizon Europe association deal

Researchers and innovators from Israel starting today can participate in the Horizon Europe research programme on the same terms as EU-based researchers.

The country completed association talks in June with a deal that enters into force today.

Israel has been part of EU research programmes since 1996 and was ranked third in terms of participation among non-EU countries in Horizon 2020.

Five Western Balkan countries join Horizon Europe

The European Commission today signed Horizon Europe association agreements with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.

Researchers from the five countries will now be able to participate in the EU’s €95.5 billion research programme on equal terms with their counterparts from EU member states.

All five countries were associated to the previous programme Horizon 2020, receiving a total of €170 million in funding for research and innovation projects.

Georgia joins Horizon Europe

The European Commission has signed the agreement granting Georgia association status to Horizon Europe, the EU’s €95.5 billion research and innovation programme.

"This association does not only benefit Georgian research, education and innovation organisations but also the EU and other associated countries, who are willing to cooperate with a dynamic and resourceful partner country,” said Mariya Gabriel, EU commissioner for innovation and research.

The agreement was signed today in Brussels by Gabriel and Mikhail Chkhenkeli, Georgia’s science minister.

ESA launches new Galileo satellites to strengthen EU navigation service

The two satellites, which were launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on Sunday from French Guiana, will strengthen the EU-supported global navigation service used by more than 2.3 billion devices worldwide.

“This launch reinforces the current constellation and secures Europe’s strong position in the field of global navigation satellites and services,” said Thierry Breton, EU commissioner for the internal market.

Five years after Galileo started up, there are now 28 satellites orbiting the globe to support navigation services for uses in mobile phones, mobility, synchronisation of energy grids, and distress location services.

Research to be part of EU rival to China’s Belt and Road initiative

The EU’s €300 billion Global Gateway initiative, designed to rival Chinese infrastructure investment, will include a role for research and innovation – although it is unclear whether the announcement amounts to any new research funding.

Brussels wants to fund projects in partner countries that will improve their digital connectivity, renewable energy, transport systems, healthcare, and research and education. The move is an explicit attempt to counter Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative.

Responding to the trillions of dollars Beijing has poured into global infrastructure over the past decade, “the EU will work with partner countries to strengthen cooperation on research and innovation”, a communication from EU institutions said on December 1.

The communication references existing programmes and their global research. The Erasmus+ mobility programme “has a strong international dimension,” it says. Horizon Europe, the EU’s new research framework, “offers researchers and innovators outside Europe the opportunity to participate in EU-funded collaborative research and innovation actions,” it adds.

LERU calls for clarity on how EU data policy affects universities

Universities should play a bigger role in shaping EU’s data policy, the League of European Research Universities (LERU) said in a statement published today.

The EU is now working on major changes to its digital laws and LERU says the impact on universities is not being taken into consideration.

According to LERU, the current approach to data policy puts too much focus on private companies, allowing them to define and steer universities’ digital architectures through hardware and software technologies. "A lack of clarity in relevant (EU) data legislation further complicates the picture," said Kurt Deketelaere, secretary-general of LERU. "The current position is untenable and drastic action needs to be taken, both practically and in legislation, to restore universities’ independence of action and to help them deliver on their goals in support of knowledge creation for the benefit of society.”

The statement calls on stakeholders to draft measures that would ensure:

Public storage and access to research data organised by universities and public infrastructures.
Freely accessible university research publications, all underlying data, algorithms, metadata and software tools, with no embargo.
University input and control over digital learning and research tools, such as productivity tools, learning environments, video conferencing.

The full statement is available here.

Finland sets up its first quantum computer

The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland this week launched the country’s first quantum computer in a bid to learn and develop expertise in next-generation computing.

Built together with the quantum computing hardware startup IQM, the new 5 quantum-bit supercomputer is the first step towards the partners’ ambition to produce scalable and easier to manufacture quantum computers. By 2024, VTT and IQM aim to build a much more powerful 50-qubit quantum computer to secure Finland’s expertise in the field.

While Finland ups ambition, the EU has been playing catch up with China and the US by boosting investments in quantum computing and setting up a €7 billion public-private supercomputing partnership under the Horizon Europe research programme.

Commission appoints director general for new HERA directorate

Pierre Delsaux is set to serve as director general of the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), a new body within the European Commission which will coordinate EU response to health emergencies.

HERA, modelled on the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, will aim to improve Europe’s capacity to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to cross-border health emergencies. The authority is due to launch next year with a budget of €6 billion for the first six years, including a €1.7 billion contribution from Horizon Europe for research into health emergencies.

Pierre Delsaux is currently deputy director general in DG SANTE, the Commission’s directorate for health and food safety, where he led the work on reinforcing the EU’s health agencies and contributed to the creation of the HERA incubator. Delsaux has also held deputy director general positions in the directorate for defence industry and space (DG DEFIS) as well as the directorate for internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW).

Commission announces €272M for European Universities alliances

The European Commission has announced a new Erasmus+ call for proposals to boost the the European Universities initiative.

With a total budget of €272 million, the 2022 Erasmus+ call on European Universities will close on 22 March 2022. The money is set to help higher education institutions to boost their performance and international competitiveness.

The European Universities initiatives kicked off with two pilot calls in 2019 and 2020. It helped set up a total of 41 transnational alliances involving 280 universities in the EU and Iceland, Norway, Serbia, Turkey and the UK.

The 2022 will help existing alliances boost their cooperation efforts, but higher education institutions can team up to create new European Universities.

Success rate in ERC’s latest synergy grants call to drop under 10%

There’s €297 million in the budget of the 2022 call for small teams of researchers working together on fundamental research projects, but only 33 projects out of 358 submitted will be able to secure funding from the EU’s fundamental research agency.

Low success rates have been haunting the ERC for several years now and were a central argument for more funding to be allocated to the agency during the fight for a bigger budget for the Horizon Europe research programme. The agency’s president at the time Jean-Pierre Bourguignon warned low chances of success may deter excellent researchers from spending their time applying for the grants, which will in turn hurt fundamental research in Europe. In the end, the ERC managed to secure a budget of €16 billion until 2027 but the programme still risks becoming oversubscribed.

This year, the call also received attention from researchers based in the UK despite remaining uncertainties of the country’s participation in Horizon Europe, with 147 principal investigators in submitted projects based in UK institutions.

UNESCO sets international open science standards

The first international framework on open science aims to boost cross-border cooperation and make science more equitable and inclusive.

The recommendations call on all 193 United Nations member states to invest in open science infrastructures, set up targeted regional and international funding schemes and ensure all publicly funded research respects open science principles.

Today, around 70% of scientific publications are hidden behind paywalls, making them inaccessible to many of the world’s scientists that could be building on the knowledge to speed up research and innovation. The UNESCO guidelines hope to initiate a stronger shift towards using open science as a tool to further scientific progress and reduce inequalities.

Commission opens Erasmus+ calls for 2022

Students and academics can now apply for the EU’s 2022 round of academic exchange programme worth €3.8 billion, the European Commission has announced.

The Erasmus+ programme will enable students and university staff to go abroad to study and learn new skills. “We want to give the opportunity to a greater number of people to take part and benefit from what Erasmus+ has to offer,” said Mariya Gabriel, EU commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth.

In addition to the general call, the 2022 Erasmus+ work programme also includes other actions to be launched separately, such as the European Universities initiative.

New rules for Important Projects of Common European Interest

New rules are set to apply starting next year to big cross-border innovation and infrastructure projects that aim to tackle European market failures.

Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) will now have to be more transparent and inclusive to all EU member states, encourage the participation of small and medium sized enterprises, and align their objectives with current EU priorities.

IPCEIs are funded and defined by member states and operate under their own state aid rules allowing government subsidies in key sectors such as microelectronics, batteries and hydrogen.