The Widening News

A research infrastructure to advance the use of heavy ions in cancer therapy is ready to move forward. The EU now needs to put momentum behind the project, as part of a commitment to development of the Western Balkans and to bridge the east-west divide in science

The CE7 coalition of seven universities hopes a new partnership with the League European Research Universities will give them more influence in shaping EU policy to better suit their needs

Fund backed by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia sees supporting academic start-ups as an important first step in bridging the gap between academia and business in central and eastern Europe

Eleven universities from the EU and the Eastern Partnership countries have signed a new agreement to boost cooperation following the Russian invasion. Four members of the new cluster are in Ukraine

On joining the EU in 2004, the country had a vision of using EU structural funds to build R&D facilities that could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in Europe. Fifteen years later, Czech science is reaping the benefits

The European Commission is to set up a monitoring system to track attempts to level up R&D capacity across the EU. That should point the way to improving the performance of these funding schemes – with the aim of making them redundant

Polish academics are concerned that delays in receiving €35.4B from the pandemic recovery fund and money due from the EU cohesion fund could affect cooperation with industry, slow R&D and hinder international relations

Two funding experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology travelled to Ukraine in a personal capacity to learn about the needs of the research system. Targeted aid would have an immediate impact in getting institutions in the west of the country back on their feet, they say

The country is set to triple its participation in Horizon Europe but further upgrades to the research and innovation system are needed to boost its overall performance