22 May 2013
EU - SOUTH AFRICA COOPERATION
Innovation as a driving force in the EU R&I 2014-2020 Programming


WHO CAN PARTICIPATE
Tecnology Transfer officers, Policy makers, Entrepreneurs, Investors, Development practitioners, Regulators, international aid representatives, and innovation enthusiasts participating in the Global Innovation Forum or interested in cooperation between South Africa and Europe on Innovation..

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22 May 2013
The Atlantic: A Shared Resource 23-24 May 2013


The conference The Atlantic: A Shared Resource organised by the European Commission, together with the Marine Institute on behalf of the Irish Presidency, takes place in Galway, Ireland, on 23-24 May 2013. The objective of this event is to provide a vision for enhanced cooperation on ocean research, on both sides of the Atlantic and to agree a set of jointly agreed priority actions. Amongst the participants in this event are high level political representatives from the North Atlantic Coastal States, representatives of the European Commission, including Commissioners Máire Geoghegan-Quinn and Maria Damanaki, leading scientists, representatives from marine and oceanographic institutes, funding agencies, research performing organisations and industry. Mr Enda Kenny T.D., Taoiseach (Prime Minister of Ireland) will also be present.

A live stream of Day 2 of the event will be available from 8.30am, Friday 24th May 2013.

17 May 2013
Advancing the quality of the Euro-Mediterranean research area: your voice is needed


The MEDSPRING project, coordinated by CIHEAM (Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes) – IAMB (Istituto Agronomico Mediterraneo di Bari), is working to advance the quality of the Euro-Mediterranean research area. In order to address the societal challenges of high quality affordable food, scarcity of resources and renewable energies in the Mediterranean region, the project is launching an on-line Open Consultation.
We are looking for active citizens, researchers, entrepreneurs, policy-makers, members of civil society and everyone else who has a stake in food, water and energy in the Mediterranean region. All participants to this open consultation can help us to frame a better understanding of the societal challenges of the Mediterranean and build adequate instruments to address them.
All the opinions and views will be taken seriously and collected suggestions and comments will form part of recommendations and inputs for actions to research managers and policy makers, as well as the European Commission, contributing to frame and orient the Euro-Mediterranean research agenda.

Want to know more? Head to: http://agora.medspring.eu/en

To register and participate, head to: http://agora.medspring.eu/sites/default/files/uploads/oc_quick_help.pdf

To learn more about what is EMEG OPEN CONSULTATION and WHY PARTICIPATE click here

AgoraMedspring
agora@medspring.eu

2 May 2013
4th INCO Conference - last days to register


"Strengthening international cooperation in Research & Innovation: Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean, and Mediterranean Partner Countries"

The international Conference "Strengthening international cooperation in Research and Innovation: Experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC)" will be held on 18th June 2013 in Marseille, France.

The conference's aim is to discuss the future of international cooperation in Research and Innovation between Europe and third countries under Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation from 2014 to 2020, and other funding opportunities. This year, the regional focus emphasizes experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPC).

Who?
The main day of the conference (18/6) will be open to all stakeholders and experts interested in International Scientific Cooperation.
The conference is expected to host all the INCO NCPs (National Contact Points for International Cooperation) from Europe and Third countries, while more than 100 of experts working in the field of International research co-operation from all over the world are expected to participate.

When?
18 June 2013.

Where?
World Trade Centre, Marseille, France.

This event is part of the project "INCONTACT-One World" which is the official Network of National Contact Points (NCP) for International Scientific Cooperation Activities (INCO) funded in the 7th Framework Programme of the EU. Since the beginning of the project, three conferences were held in Athens, Johannesburg and Bonn. This year, Marseille has the pleasure to host the fourth INCO conference.

For further information:
Visit INCONTACT-One World website
Visit the conference website
Contact 2013 INCO conference team

18-19 April 2013
EU-Egypt Year of Science & Innovation Closing Event - Cairo, Egypt
On the occasion of the closure of the 2012 EU-Egypt Year of Science and Innovation, HE Ambassador, Mr. James Moran, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Egypt and HE Minister Dr. Nadia Zakhary, the Egyptian Minister of Scientific Research, with Research and Innovation community in Egypt, together with European Commission representatives of the International Cooperation Directorate of the DG Research and Innovation held a conference and a reception to celebrate the event, in cooperation with EU Member States. The successful events witnessed large participation of research centres, universities, scientific communities and enterprises. TV and media covered the events broadcasting them also on internet and social media channels in addition to an international press conference.


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16 April 2013
The latest Destination Europe event took place in Washington DC, on 11 April 2013, with a focus on health research
Participants representing the European Commission, Spain, Germany, Denmark, France, Poland, Austria, Marie Curie Actions, European Research Council, and EURAXESS presented information including personal testimonials about the rich variety of opportunities available in health research in Europe. A warm welcome was given by the Ambassador of the European Union to the United States, H.E. João Vale de Almeida and by the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland, H.E. Michael Collins, representing the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The event was organized by the European Commission together with the EU Member States. More information here


H.E. João Vale de Almeida (EU Ambassador to the U.S.A.), James Gavigan (EU Delegation to the U.S.A.), Joëlle Attinger (European Institute), H.E. Michael Collins (Ambassador of Ireland to the U.S.A.)

5 April 2013
New publication: "Research and Innovation in support of the European Neighbourhood Policy"
This booklet presents a selection of FP7 projects, which, among all those involving partners from the Mediterranean Partner Countries or the Eastern Partnership countries, directly contribute to the achievement of the Common Knowledge and Innovation Space. It is noteworthy that a majority of these projects are Activities of International Cooperation, a priority of the FP7 'Capacities' programme which supports international science and technology cooperation policies and reinforces scientific relations with third countries. Download the publication

4 April 2013
Research and Innovation and EU Delegation Providing Support to the Needs of People with Disabilities in Egypt
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) in Egypt organized the Second Annual Conference and Exhibition on Communications and Information Technologies for People with Disabilities (PWDs) on April 2-3, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. The conference was organized under the slogan “Integration, Empowerment, Participation". In line with its efforts to support human rights and rights of minorities in Egypt as well as promote research and innovation collaboration in different sectors, the EU co-sponsored and was part of the conference. The conference is the 2nd annual conference for ICT for people with disabilities, and the first one on the international level. With 15 million PWDs in Egypt alone, and 180 million in Africa and the Arab World, the development and spread of assistive technologies are one of the important objectives of the MCIT. The conference is an important step towards the real empowerment of people with disabilities in Egypt, where it aims to provide them with assistive technologies that are affordable and in their native language.



Representatives of more than 14 countries and international institutions, such as the United Nations, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and International Labor Organization attended the event. The conference was also attended by SMEs, NGOs, ICT researchers as well as main innovation stakeholders in Egypt. This conference also aims to build networks and open doors for more collaboration in ICT cooperation between the European and Egyptian scientists, researches entrepreneurs and organizations. The booth of the EU Delegation, at the event, showcased EU research and innovation funding programmes.

In his speech, H.E Ambassador James Moran emphasized that this conference is a great example of how science should be linked to society and how innovation should stem from societal needs. He added that the conference is an important initiative to support Egypt in meeting the commitments of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Ambassador James Moran highlighted that ICT is a field of high priority for research and innovation, both for the European Union and Egypt. Collaborative projects in ICT cover a variety of topics, including supporting policy dialogue, mapping of competencies, assessing the regional impact of ICT, fostering Arabic language and speech technology, as well developing different e-services.

21 March 2013
EU-Canada Cooperation
The EU and Canada have identified the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic as major new areas for Research and Innovation cooperation in the coming years. The cooperation will cover: Transatlantic Maritime Research ranging from ocean observation to seabed mapping and aquaculture, as well as sustainable climate observations; Arctic Research cooperation, where Canada and Europe have high research capacity and excellent infrastructures, and where joining forces will help to study the vastly unexplored Arctic in a more effective manner; Research Infrastructures, where a Symposium will take place in September 2013 in Italy, with the objective of identifying opportunities for collaboration in the development, management and use of Arctic and Marine research infrastructure. The decision was taken at the 11th Meeting of the EU-Canada Joint Science and Technology Coordination Committee (JSTCC), which took place in Brussels on 6 March 2013. The JSTCC meets regularly to review progress and provide new directions for cooperation under the EU-Canada "Agreement for Scientific and Technological Cooperation".


Participants at the meeting of the EU-Canada Joint S&T Coordination Committee

4 March 2013
High-level conference on 'Promoting Africa-EU Research Infrastructure Partnerships', 7-8 March, Brussels
This high-level conference will present the outcomes of the PAERIP (Promoting African European Research Infrastructures Partnerships) project, funded under the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme FP7. Over the past two years PAERIP undertook an extensive analysis of Africa-EU research infrastructure partnerships, including best practices which could be identified from current cooperation and the formulation of recommendations to enhance collaboration. In this context PAERIP considered cooperation activities such as how to enhance transnational access to research infrastructures for African and European researchers, and the promotion of networks integrating African and European research infrastructures.
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4 March 2013
Training Seminar in Egypt for FP Advisors and Information Multipliers
The FP7 project ShERACA in collaboration with the EU Delegation to Egypt and Ain Shams University, organised a training seminar at Ain Shams University in Cairo from the 19th-21st February, 2013. The seminar aimed to strengthen and deepen the level of understanding of FP advisors on legal, financial and administrative issues of FP7 while shedding some light on Horizon 2020, the EU's future funding programme for research and innovation. The training seminar addressed FP7 rules for participation, grant agreement and financial issues, as well as management of FP7 grants. The seminar also presented updated information on Horizon 2020 and the EU's Innovation Union flagship initiative. Members of the RDI network of institutional focal points at Egyptian universities and research institutes, as well as thematic national contact points attended the seminar.

27 February 2013
‘Destination Europe’ event in Cambridge, MA, USA promotes transatlantic brain circulation

An international group of scientists and technologists, representing a diverse group of disciplines, gathered last Friday, 22 February, in Cambridge, MA, to learn about the rich variety of opportunities for developing their careers in research and innovation in Europe. In total, about 200 people attended the "Destination Europe" event, the third in a series of meetings in the U.S. to showcase the vibrant research and innovation culture in Europe and the opportunities available to researchers from anywhere in the world.

European-wide programs were presented for the European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Curie Actions, both of which offer European research grants available to scientists regardless of their nationality. The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) outlined start-up and incubation possibilities in areas like climate change. Practical advice and resources for making the move to Europe and for networking were highlighted by EURAXESS Links USA. Specific schemes for researcher mobility and international collaboration were also presented by representatives from Austria, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

Launched by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, in January 2012, Destination Europe events have occurred in Cambridge, MA (20 January 2012 and 22 February 2013) and San Francisco (6-7December 2012).

Further events are being planned in Washington DC (11 April 2013) and elsewhere in the U.S, by the end of 2013.

Click here for more information on this event.


Tiziano Camporesi - Senior scientist at CERN, Geneva; Don Dingwell is the Secretary General of the European Research Council (ERC); Alejandro Martín Hobdey, ERC-EA

13 February 2013
EU-U.S. Joint Consultative Group Meeting on Science and Technology Cooperation
On 12 February, European Union and U.S. officials met in Washington to discuss ways to enhance science, technology and innovation cooperation. The discussions covered cooperation in transatlantic marine, maritime and Arctic research, transport research, health research and materials science. At the meeting, the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Transportation signed an agreement to boost cooperation in transport research.
Speech of Robert-Jan Smiths, Director General for Research and Innovation

Click here for more information on this event.


Robert-Jan Smiths, Director General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission and (Acting) Administrator Gregory Winfree, U.S. Department of Transportation


Robert-Jan Smits and Dr. Kerri-Ann Jones, Assistant Secretary for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State with the EU and US officials who participated in the Joint Consultative Group meeting