The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities’ Post

How can we boost science and innovation in Europe, Maria Cristina Russo? Maria Cristina Russo, Director Prosperity at the European Commission’s DG Research & Innovation, spoke at the #HamburgScienceSummit last week. 🎙 One of her main points: Europe should focus on its existing strengths and step up efforts to collaborate effectively across institutions, sectors and member states. #HamburgScienceSummit #Innovation #Science #Research #InnovationPolicy #Europe #EU #EuropeanScience

🧐 Before the summer break, The Guild released its vision for the next framework programme for #research and #innovation (#FP10) providing recommendations for the newly-elected European Parliament and the incoming European Commission ➡ https://lnkd.in/evmrXGwn Our paper is structured around 7 key principles: 🔹 Ring-fencing and increasing the budget to at least 200 billion euro 🔹 Build upon effective instruments (European Research Council (ERC) & Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions) 🔹 Leverage researchers' creativity in challenge-oriented projects 🔹 Embed innovation in scientific excellence - European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) 🔹 Safeguard research excellence through #AcademicFreedom and openness 🔹 Facilitate international cooperation - Stick To Science & Africa-Europe Clusters of Research Excellence 🔹 Strengthen research excellence and reduce the R&I gap #WideningCountries #EUResearchArea #research #EU #funding #ResearchMatters #universities

To all policymakers in my network, this might be of interest, especially if you work in science and research policies 🥽 👩💻 Last week, Science Europe published the concluding statement of the 2024 High Level Workshop on #ERA. See below and stay tuned for the full report, which will be published soon! A commitment to the following priorities is required: 🌍 Guarantee freedom of scientific enquiry across Member States as a cornerstone of excellence and innovation. 🌍 Secure autonomy of scientific and institutional governance within a clear framework of accountability, grounded in the principle of freedom of scientific inquiry. 🌍 Improve conditions for researcher mobility across Europe and beyond to attract and retain talent. 🌍 Increase both European and national funding (the latter to 3% of GDP) for R&I, as a primary means to further strengthen the competitiveness of Europe. 🌍 Make reciprocal conditions for collaboration a guiding method towards tackling global challenges. 🌍 Foster Open Science practices as the main way to accessing scientific knowledge equitably. See the full statement here: https://lnkd.in/eQ2GF_YT #R&I #innovation #ERA #competitiveness

Are you ready to shape the future? 😉🇪🇺💡 This is your moment! Join this year’s #futurEUCompetition and show us how you’d enhance the EU’s competitiveness! 🚀 💡 "Now or Never: Enhancing the Future of EU Competitiveness" is the theme—and we need bold ideas to drive innovation, sustainability, and growth in a fast-changing world. From crafting your proposal to presenting actionable policies, this competition empowers YOU to lead the way. 📝 Why wait? Register now for the futurEU competition! Open to all #SNSPA students and PhD researchers of the #CIVICAAlliance. 👉 Register with a team: https://lnkd.in/eivFhz_V 👉 Or register individually: https://lnkd.in/emTn-9EY Curious for more? Follow @futurEU initiative for updates and Q&A events. #futurEU #youngvoices #futureleaders #futurEUcompetition2025 #competitiveness

On 16 October 2024, the European Commission’s Expert Group on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe published the report ‘Align, Act, Accelerate: Research, Technology and Innovation to boost European Competitiveness’ (Heitor Expert Group report). 📅📊 https://bit.ly/3NGGerr The report highlights the significant added value that the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (R&I) provides for Europe and puts forward 12 recommendations to maximise its impact into the future. EUA welcomes this document, which echoes many recommendations from the Association’s own vision for #FP10. In its reaction to the report, EUA highlights the recommendations that are of crucial importance to universities and offers suggestions to further strengthen them. For instance, the proposal to split the current Pillar 2 into two Councils – an Industrial Competitiveness and Technology Council and a Societal Challenges Council – requires careful consideration. This division could create silos, potentially undermining the programme’s collaborative spirit, which is essential for addressing complex societal challenges and boosting Europe’s competitiveness. 🏛️⚖️ EUA especially welcomes the Expert Group’s calls to: - Increase the budget of the next EU R&I Framework Programme (FP10) to €220 billion. 💶🔬 - Ring-fence the FP10 budget. 🔒💼 - Increase national expenditure on R&I to meet the 3% GDP investment target. 📊💡 - Reinforce the structure, governance and budgets of the European Research Council (ERC), the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (#MSCA) and the European Innovation Council (#EIC). 🔬👩🔬 - Ensure the full independence, authority, and quality of the ERC Scientific Council and the EIC Board. ✅ - Recognise the role of Social Sciences and Humanities in providing solutions to societal challenges. 📚 - Foster an attractive and inclusive #Research & #Innovation ecosystem. 🏗️ - Ensure simplification for beneficiaries by reducing complexity, increasing agility and improving user orientation. 🔄 - Adopt a proactive, strategic approach to international cooperation. 🌐 #HorizonEU #HorizonEurope

📑 Because research, all disciplines included, has never been so important to address the global challenges we are confronted with… ‘𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐔𝐊 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐊 𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠?’ In this new paper published by UKCDR, we used our extensive database of case studies showcasing the impact of international development research to highlight: ✔ the value and impact of UK-funded international development research;  ✔ how science, innovative technologies, and ‘what works’ evidence are driving forces within international development; and  ✔ examples of the wide-reaching and shared benefits of tackling today’s global challenges. Have a read https://lnkd.in/e8bda3pX #research #internationaldevelopment

📢 Read our latest publication, 'Accelerating International Development through UK Science and Technology: What Difference is the UK Making?'. Here, we explore and evidence the value of UK-funded research in progressing the international development agenda and addressing global challenges 🌍. Read the post below or follow the link to find out more about this report: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e8bda3pX

Today, the Competitiveness Council under the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024 has adopted a series of Council conclusions and recommendations on crucial topics for #universities and stakeholders in R&I. From the work that YERUN - Young European Research Universities has done on these files, we highlighted below key 3 ones: 🌟 Research Security 🌟 Knowledge Valorisation 🌟 Ex-post evaluation of Horizon 2020 to pave the way to #FP10 Many things are to highlight but I personally retain the discussions on the ex-post evaluation of #Horizon2020 towards #FP10. 🔔 We need to foster a life-cycle approach to R&I, not a liner one, enabling this continuum with funding opportunities and acknowledging that innovation and research happen together. Bottom up collaborative research is essential. 🔔We need sustainable and ringfenced budget for FP10, ensuring appropriate investments are in place to foster our knowledge & human capital and give the right opportunities for our scientific careers. 🔔The focus on industrial competitiveness cannot unbalance the needs to focus on delivering on research and innovation priorities. We shall continue putting emphasis on valorisation of outputs and highlight even more our #SocialImpact. For those wanted to read the final texts, you can check the link below: https://lnkd.in/gYkqtq5C #ResearchMatters Council of the European Union European Commission Iliana Ivanova Theresia Feldmann, PhD

📣 YERUN Reflection: Much more than competitiveness 📣 Today, EU Ministers responsible for #research convene to adopt key policies during the Competitiveness Council. YERUN welcomes the set of conclusions on research but urges leaders to consider a broader perspective beyond #competitiveness. 🇧🇪 🇪🇺 Under the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024, the discussions under R&I focused on better #valorisation, #security in research and the future outlook of the EU R&I Framework Programme, here are YERUN reflections: 📌 Contributing to the discussion from the perspective of young research #universities and their needs, YERUN advocates for ensuring a balanced approach that allows universities to ensure #openness and security 📌 As already stated in our policy input in response to the call for evidence on boosting research security in the EU, YERUN emphasises the importance of maintaining openness in research collaboration while safeguarding against restrictions that could hinder Europe's competitiveness. Additionally, governments and the EU should provide support for institutional preparedness and action, while trusting the expertise and autonomy of universities to determine which research should be restricted or openly shared and valued 📌 YERUN advocates for a broader approach on #knowledgevalorisation beyond economic focus, empowering universities and engaging with diverse societal actors to maximise societal impact 📌 YERUN emphasises the importance of shaping the future #FP10 to be attractive, impactful, and inclusive. Stressing the interconnectedness and nonlinear progression of #research and #innovation, YERUN advocates for continued investment in research as a catalyst for both short-term innovation and long-term societal impact, essential for enhancing European competitiveness and fostering broader societal change R&I. As the recent Enrico Letta report states in ‘Much more than a market’, a fifth freedom is needed to reach the full potential of R&I in #European society. However, this should amount to ‘much more than competitiveness’. We call for European policymakers and stakeholders to seize this opportunity to embrace the full potential that forward-looking research universities can bring in tackling global challenges which require open international collaboration, foster broad societal impact and improve lives of citizens in Europe and beyond. Read our full reflection here 👇  https://lnkd.in/d4d6ymxH Iliana Ivanova European Commission Council of the European Union Anna Panagopoulou EU Science, Research and Innovation

A new report reveals key success factors of a nation’s research performance with a focus on the Netherlands: International collaboration trumps all other factors by far. #InternationalCollaboration #ElsevierTogether #ResearchPerformance