EU countries

In this newsletter Thierry Van der Pyl, Director of "Excellence in Science" at DG CONNECT, summarises the achievements in FET for this first year in H2020, in parallel with EC policies development, and looks at the challenges ahead of us. We also report on FET related funding opportunities, conferenes & workshops, major results & achievements of FET projects & initiatives & reports.

Influenza outbreaks in several farms in different European countries at the end of 2014 were a reminder that the risk of flu viruses spreading to animals and humans is permanent. Fighting influenza requires sustained efforts in research and innovation. Around 25 experts meet in Parma for a two-day workshop organised by the European Commission and EFSA to discuss how to prioritize research activities on the matter.

Within the Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2014-2015, the FET Proactive call "Emerging themes and communities" had three initiatives: Global Systems Science (GSS); Knowing, doing and being: cognition beyond problem solving (KnowDoBe); and Quantum simulation (Q-SIM). The call closed end of March 2014 and 13 projects have been selected for funding.

Just imagine being able to surf through the brain and its 86 billion neurons - well now you can! Scientists have developed the first high-definition 3D model of a complete human brain - it is called Big Brain.

Understanding the brain and its various pathologies could benefit millions of people. At the same time, progress in neuroscience is increasingly dependent on advanced technologies. This kind of synergistic cross-disciplinarity is a hallmark of FET research.

Beginning October the Future was in Portugal ! To be exact, in Lisbon, in the Centre for the Unknown, of the Champalimaud Foundation. The Centre was hosting the high-level conference: "The Future of Europe is Science", marking the completion of the term of office of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso.
Read this blogpost written by Andrew Houghton.

15/10/2014

FLAG-ERA launches funding instruments in support of the Flagship initiatives on Graphene and Human Brain.
The FLAG-ERA Consortium launches a dedicated joint call for proposals worth 18.5 M EUR on 27 October 2014.
In parallel, FLAG-ERA announces the launch of Association Mechanisms for integration of nationally and regionally funded research into the Flagships work plans.

For policy-makers in Europe, scientific, engineering and technological innovations offer opportunities to improve life for European citizens and provide benefits for sustainable development worldwide.

The "STAC report" was presented to President Barroso in October 2014 at "The future of Europe is science" Conference in Portugal. This foresight report outlines some key opportunities for Europe that could be provided by science and technology, looking ahead to the year 2030.

Videomessage from Neelie Kroes,Vice-President, European Commission at "The future of Europe is science" Conference in Lisbon (PT)on October 7th,2014. Neelie Kroes explains open, digital science: a new trend helping scientists, citizens and society...........We are giving EU industry the global lead... like ground-breaking flagships for computers based on the human brain, and the new "wonder material" Graphene.

FET2020 Conference Conclusions
A number of items have been the topic of interactive discussions in a cycle of three conferences to shape tomorrow’s FET research of Europe innovation, outreach and strengthening participation.
This report is written & published by an EU funded project.

The Conference takes stock of the progress of the EU Cybersecurity strategy, in the first year after its adoption. It will provide information on the state of play of the implementation of the five main priorities of the Strategy and showcase highlights of the main actions in the Strategy.

Horizon 2020 is the main financial instrument implementing Innovation Union, one of the Europe 2020 flagship initiatives aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness. Building on the success of previous research framework programmes, this brochure presents a selection of results from EU funded projects that have shown great strides in innovation and will make a positive change to our daily lives.

This report presents the results of the ex ante impact assessments carried out as part of the Horizon 2020 policy formulation process. It explains the problems that the programme aims to tackle, why it is structured as it is, and what it is expected to achieve in terms of impact on Europe's economy and society.