Widening newsletter 18: Bulgaria’s Swiss-inspired research institute can be ‘world class’

The latest news

BOLD IDEAS PAY OFF: In just under a year and a half, “insane progress” has been made in developing the world class Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) in Bulgaria, an all-in-one institute running a computer science PhD programme, supporting basic research and acting as an incubator for start-ups.

Co-founder Martin Vechev says the institute has attracted public and private money to recruit leading scientists and attract promising PhD students. The €93 million bet quickly paid off thanks to a comprehensive bottom-up approach that Vechev favours over sluggish EU funding programmes. Thomas Brent has the story.

THE ECOSYSTEM: Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is good for central and eastern European founders, but it could do more to help them build connections, according to this report by Ian Mundell.

The EU-funded scheme gives start-up founders a chance to see how things are done in other ecosystems, but the experience of participants who struggled with high living costs suggests the programme is under-resourced. It could do more to help in building connections beyond the host company.

REFORMS IN THE BALTICS: Latvia is set to improve terms and conditions for PhD students and academics, two areas the government has flagged as major weaknesses in its research performance.

In new legislation to come in this autumn, PhD students will be given state salaries of at least €1,000 per month, replacing the former scholarship-based model.

UNIVERSITY MERGERS: Some university leaders in Romania have kicked off a debate on university mergers in Romania after falling out of Shanghai ranking of top universities around the globe.

Romania’s higher education and research sector is still working in the framework established by the Communists in 1948, when medical and technical departments in universities were split to form standalone institutions. Universities do not have the scale, or the resources to keep up with counterparts, particularly in Asia, which have swooped in and moved up international rankings.

Some rectors say the government could help fix these structural problems by encouraging universities and small research institutes to merge into larger regional organisations that have the scale to compete with the rest of the world. However, a significant number of academics are against the idea. The full story is here.

In other news

IVANOVA SHOWS HER METTLE IN PARLIAMENT HEARING: Iliana Ivanova, the Bulgarian nominee for the vacant post of research and innovation commissioner passed the Parliament test yesterday. Among other promises, she said the east-west R&D performance gap will sit high on her agenda. But she did not give precise details of how she plans to help poorer EU member states catch up with the rest of the bloc during her short mandate.

The EU research community expects her to review the different funding schemes under the Widening Participation programme in Horizon Europe. The programme is meant to close the R&I gap but critics doubt it can have the intended effect.

REGIONAL INNOVATION VALLEYS: The European Commission has today published a matchmaking map to highlight the regions that have expressed interest in becoming a ‘regional innovation valley’, a new EU nomenclature for a programme aimed at encouraging collaboration between more and less advanced EU regions.

To date, 64 eligible regions from 22 member states and countries associated to Horizon Europe have said they would like to apply for the designation. The applicants comprise seven innovation leaders, 16 strong innovators, 18 moderate innovators, and 19 emerging innovators, according to the latest European Innovation Scoreboard. 

The new map would help regional authorities to identify relevant partners.

ACADEMY FEARS BUDGET CUTS: The Romanian Academy, a behemoth overseeing more than 70 research centres and institutes which has not been reformed since the Communists came to power in the 1940s, laments government plans to cut its budget and merge some of its underperforming institutes.

In a statement published last month, the Academy says any budget cuts would further weaken Romania’s position in EU R&D league tables. Romania has consistently ranked last or second-to-last in the EU innovation scoreboard and this year it had no universities represented in the Shanghai ranking, which measures research performance.

The Academy acknowledged that the national research system needs to be “restructured” but concrete measures need to be taken with “professionalism, vision and responsibility”.  

TRANSATLANTIC DEAL: The Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology (CEITEC BUT), and the University of Waterloo, Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at boosting cooperation in nanotechnology research and promoting researcher mobility.

Czechia’s deputy minister for foreign affairs Jiri Kozak said government representatives in Ottawa and Toronto can help Czech researchers find matching Canadian research partners. “Today's signing of the memorandum shows that such cooperation is developing successfully and that Czech researchers and nanotechnologists are promising counterparts for Canada,” he said.

Mark your calendars 

9 SEPTEMBER, KOŠICE: The 5th edition of the largest technology conference in Slovakia will take place this year in Košice and will focus on artificial intelligence. Sign up here.

26 SEPTEMBER, PRAGUE: A Science|Business Widening conference in partnership with Charles University. We will gather R&D leaders in the public and private sectors from Brussels and across the EU, who are eager to discuss how bridge the east-west research and innovation gap in the next EU framework programme. Registration is open.

21-22 NOVEMBER, WARSAW: Horizon4Poland’23 is the country’s biggest matchmaking event for Horizon Europe applicants. It will bring together entrepreneurs and leading innovation institutions in Poland with counterparts from across Europe, with the aim of increasing cross-border cooperation in Horizon Europe competitions. More details here.

3 OCTOBER, PRAGUE: CZARMA Conference – the Czech association of research managers and administrators is organising its annual conference at Charles University in Prague. Registration is now open.

15 NOVEMBER, BRNO: The Velvet Innovation conference aims to “inspire and connect people dedicated to innovation without demolition”. This should be interesting. Get tickets here.

SCIENCE|BUSINESS CONFERNECE: Later this autumn, we will organise the annual Science|Business Widening conference. Location & date to be announced soon.  

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.