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Software apps have risen from nowhere to support 1.8 million jobs and deliver revenues of €17.5 B in 2013. But more could be done to support this vibrant sector, with skills shortages being a particular worry, says John Breslin, project director at Eurapp

Matthias Kaiserswerth, head of the European research headquarters of the IT company IBM, reflects on some ways Europe could improve its approach to innovation and calls for the creation of a single set of rules for research

Venture capitalists should be in charge of picking technology winners, not civil servants, says Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman and interim CEO of Nokia

Too great a focus on short-term innovation could damage the long-term ability to grow. New policies are needed to encourage longer cycle innovation and local production, says Hiram Samel of Oxford University’s Saїd Business School

Telecoms specialist Carlos Salema has been involved in EU science for more than 25 years. In this Q&A he reflects on the advances fostered by previous research and highlights challenges of the €70B Horizon 2020 programme

Horizon 2020 contains some important fixes, but does not allow enough flexibility to change the course of research if the unexpected happens, says Juha Ylä-Jääski, President and CEO of Technology Academy Finland

Amendments to the European Data Protection regulation proposed in response to revelations of blanket electronic eavesdropping by the US must be dropped. If not, major international research projects in cancer, obesity and Alzheimer’s disease will come to a stop, say R&D funding bodies

Technology alone will not fix global problems such as climate change, food and water shortages, soil erosion or the rising tide of chronic disease. What’s needed is more dialogue and interchange between the natural and the social sciences

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology is, “the university that built Norway”. Upholding this tradition calls for cooperation with institutions worldwide, links with industry, and home-based facilities that are centres of gravity for international researchers, says the Rector Gunnar Bovim

To date, citizen science has focused on top-down science communication. But as the exemplar of astronomy highlights, amateur enthusiasts can make significant contributions. It’s time to capture this potential, to expand the scope and excellence of research, says Fermin Serrano