Widening newsletter 13

The latest news

MAKING EXCELLENCE SUSTAINABLE: Almost ten years on, the EU-funded centres of excellence are strengthening research and innovation performance. Now the challenge is to ensure they are sustainable and can thrive on their own in the long term. Anna Rzhevkina has a report on this issue from a high-level roundtable in Warsaw last week co-organised by Science|Business.

BUDAPEST AGAINST BRUSSELS: Six Hungarian universities hit with an EU ban on accessing Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ funds could have a case, according to a leading expert on Hungarian constitutional law. The comments were made after the universities lodged appeals to the Court of Justice of the European Union, claiming blocking access to the funds is unreasonable, disproportionate and lacks solid factual basis.

Kim Lane Scheppele, professor of Sociology and International Affairs at Princeton University told Science|Business the EU Council would win if the appeals are heard, but the case is not without substance and could hinge on wording within the conditionality mechanism. Thomas Brent has the story.

PUTTING ROMANIAN HEALTH START-UPS ON THE MAP: Romania is working hard to build an ecosystem for health start-ups, taking advantage of the support offered by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the country’s abundance of IT talent. Next to peers in the EIT Health community, the country’s start-ups are showing signs of success.

A benchmarking survey published in April, which covered all of the Widening countries, found that Romanian participants in EIT Health programmes are performing above average in external grants received, in valuation, and in the percentage of market entry start-ups. Where they lag compared to peers, is in the amount of external funds raised. Ian Mundell has the story.

BULGARIAN POLITICS: Recently resigned EU research commissioner Mariya Gabriel is to become Bulgaria’s prime minister in nine months’ time, after first serving as deputy prime minister under Nikolay Denkov, a chemist and member of the country’s Academy of Sciences.

The combination puts Bulgaria in line for its most research-minded government to date, though more pressing issues, notably a tussle over judicial reform, are likely to take centre stage during the 18-month coalition rule. The full story is here.

In other news

CLOSING THE EAST-WEST GAP: Alliance4Life, a group of twelve leading life science institutions from eleven EU-13 countries has published a policy paper on the efficiency of Widening funding schemes in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. The group says the paper contributes to the strategic planning for the final three years of Horizon Europe, but also to a broader debate on Horizon Europe’s successor.

Among other things, the paper notes that the Commission should ensure that a greater proportion of funding under the “Widening participation and spreading excellence” programme should be directed towards research activities, instead of networking and administrative tasks.

FUNDING FOR DIASPORA: The Romanian government has announced €168 million funding aimed at luring Romanian researchers who work abroad but wish to return. Universities and research institutes in Romania can submit projects that tap into the expertise of the research diaspora. The funding scheme is part of a new R&I strategy the Romanian government unveiled last year, hoping to increase the capacity of its research system, to win more EU research grants, join international consortia and transfer results to the market.

REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS: The European Commission has launched two new calls under its Interregional Innovation Investment scheme aimed at tackling disparities in research and innovation performance across the EU. The calls have a budget of €62 million and target consortia working on bringing innovations to maturity. More details on eligibility are available in the call documents.

THE ROAD TO CERN: A CERN delegation is visiting Estonian research institutions and universities to evaluate the country’s readiness to become a full member. The delegation had a meeting with the leadership of Tartu University on Tuesday to evaluate the potential of the university to contribute to CERN’s research. “We are ready to bear the responsibility of a full member and participate in CERN’s top-level development work,” said rector Toomas Asser.

JOINT CALLS: Slovakia has announced two calls for applications for joint projects with researchers from Serbia and Poland. Details here and here.

Mark your calendars 

BRUSSELS, 25 MAY: Slovakia’s national security authority is organising a conference on cybersecurity research and innovation. The event will be organised in cooperation with the Slovak, Czech, Polish and Hungarian R&D liaison offices in Brussels. More details here.

KRAKOW, 29 MAY: The fifth central European biomedical congress will take place in Krakow at the end of the month. The agenda is available here.

GDANSK, 1 JUNE: The first edition of the Blue Economy Baltic Forum, organised by the Polish national centre for research and development NCBR,  will bring key stakeholders in the Baltic region with the aim to boost cooperation in marine research. More details here.

BRNO, 12 JUNE: Czech and Slovak academics, research managers and policy makers will participate in a meeting on research and innovation policy in the two neighbouring countries. Conference proceedings will be held in Czech and Slovak languages, but a white paper with policy recommendations for enhancing research and innovation in central and eastern Europe will be made available after the event. Details here.

The Widening newsletter is a roundup of news and analysis of research and innovation policy and investments in central and eastern Europe, delivered to your inbox twice a month. Sign up here.