Welcome to today’s Morning Brief. The Morning Brief  newsletter is available to INESC staff and affiliated researchers upon subscription, after creating an account in the Private Area of the HUB website, or those who wish to subscribe. To do so, click the log-in icon on the top-right corner of this website or go to the Morning Brief page and click the subscribe button.

 

Contact us:
Mariana Santos, INESC Brussels HUB Communications Officer
mariana.f.santos@inesctec.pt

In today's Morning Brief:

Key Takeaways

– This week, we bring you a list of all Horizon Europe open calls that are “health” related.

– The EC published the new Regional Competitiveness Index. We can see a return to convergence from the Portuguese regions, which is excellent news.

– During the previous framework programme (Horizon 2020), a new Commission study indicates that 5% of structural funds (or 17 billion euros) were invested in R&I infrastructures and related activities across Europe. This report brings forward many important messages; we highlight the following: “Collaborative R&D projects combined with infrastructure investments should improve the attractiveness of RTD institutions and lay the groundwork for science-industry collaborations”.

– The INESC Brussels HUB will host the Kick-off meeting of the EU project RITIFI – (Research Infrastructures and Technology Infrastructures for Impact). This project is coordinated by CEA – Centre d’Energie Atomique and includes Research Infrastructures and Technology Infrastructures across Europe. RITIFI is part of our strategic CSAs and our HUB Think Tank initiative to build intelligence and capacity to contribute to the EU R&I governance and agenda-setting processes actively. The KoM will occur on the 18th of April on our premises in Brussels.

– There will be plenty of events and workshops in the upcoming weeks. Our partner Science|Business is promoting a workshop on the topic “Scarce resources: How can the world of R&D fix its talent shortage?” on April 25. Find this and more upcoming events for the Science|Business Network on their website, and let us know if you wish to participate in-person or online in any of the events.

 

Horizon Europe

“Health” related open calls

Civil Security for Society

Culture, creativity and inclusive society (HORIZON)

Disaster-Resilient Societies (HORIZON)

Climate, Energy and Mobility

Energy Systems and Grids (HORIZON)

Digital, Industry and Space

Advanced Materials (HORIZON)

Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Health

Health Care Systems (HORIZON)

Infectious Diseases, including poverty-related and neglected diseases (HORIZON)

Non-Communicable and Rare Diseases (HORIZON)

Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area

Reforming and enhancing the European R&I System (HORIZON)

 

Research & Innovation

EU4Health Programme: Consultation on future priorities

The European Commission invites stakeholders to provide input on the future priorities of the EU4Health funding programme. A consultation is currently open to seek views on the current and future health priorities of the EU, to help shape strategic orientations and define health needs that should be tackled by EU4Health via its work programmes until 2027.

EU4Health focuses on public health and is managed by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Health and Food Safety. It operates via an annual Work Programme that offers funding opportunities to a range of actors, including universities and research organisations.

Stakeholders can contribute their views until 8 May 2023. Results of the consultation will be summarised in a report and presented at the EU4Health stakeholder conference on 9 June 2023. Read more

 

The European Commission published a new version of the Regional Competitiveness Index

Since 2010, the EU Regional Competitiveness Index (RCI) has been measuring the major factors of competitiveness for all the NUTS-2 level regions across the European Union. The Index measures the ability of a region to offer an attractive environment for firms and residents to live and work. The 2022 edition of the index builds on an updated methodology and therefore it is referred to as RCI 2.0. The publication of RCI 2.0 is accompanied by a set of interactive tools. More information

 

Evaluation of the Research and Technological Development (RTD) infrastructures and activities supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in the period 2007- 2013

In total, for the period 2007-2013 around EUR17 billion of ERDF resources (5% of the total allocation) were invested through 215 Operational Programmes in projects supporting RTD2 infrastructure, competence centres and activities in Member States and regions. Based on reporting by Managing Authorities on categories of expenditure, around EUR11 billion of that sum went to support for infrastructure and around EUR6 billion to support for activities.

This evaluation focused on 53 Operational Programmes (OPs) selected by the European Commission out of the total of 215 OPs funded by the ERDF. These cover 18 of the 28 Member States involved, and a substantial amount of RTD investments (with EUR14.64 billion in funding, i.e. about 85% of the EU total funding for the relevant themes) under diverse contexts. Within the selected OPs, the evaluation study focused on two categories of ERDF expenditure (01 – RTD activities in research centres, and 02 – RTD infrastructure and centres of competence in a specific technology). Download the full report

 

Top performing universities in Horizon Europe so far

An article from World University News, including interviews to the Head of the Brussels Office of NTNU and several national delegates and contact points, puts together data about absolute amounts won by universities in Horizon Europe. The top performer was the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands with €93.6 million received, followed by KU Leuven in Belgium with €91.8 million, Danish universities have taken spots three, four and six on the list, according to the Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Research figures up to the end of February 2023. Read more

 

The UK alternative if Horizon Europe negotiations fail: the Pioneer programme

“The government is discussing association to Horizon Europe with the EU and hopes these negotiations will be successful. That is our preference. But association would need to be on the basis of a good deal for the UK’s researchers, businesses and taxpayers. If we are not able to secure association on fair and appropriate terms, we will implement Pioneer – our bold, ambitious alternative.” Read more

 

Foresight Report 2022 presented in EP ITRE Commission last week

Uncertain what might mean, but the report published in June 2022 that laid the ground for the digital and green transitions to be solidly ingrained into the “EC-speak” for the foreseeable future was presented again by Commissioner Sefcovic in the ITRE European Parliament Commission. Read the 2022 Strategic Foresight Report

 

Future of industries – Case studies: Textile and non-ferrous metals industries

Two new JRC reports were published on the future of the industry, specifically in these two sectors:

 

Blockchain4EU: Blockchain for Industrial Transformations

The JRC republished its 2018 report, probably signalling increased attention to the issue in recent EC interactions, which the HUB also noted in bilateral conversations with EC officers. Download the report

 

Commission Declaration on ‘EU Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) 2030

Nuclear energy research is in the order of the day, and a new declaration just confirmed it. Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, said: “We are committed to continue supporting research and innovation in nuclear safety through the Euratom Research and Training Programme, to ensure EU’s leadership in the energy and medical fields. EU technological sovereignty will require joint efforts in education, training, research, and innovation, to properly manage radioactive waste and spent fuel and develop the technologies of tomorrow”. Read more

 

News from INESC institutes

INESC Brussels HUB will host the Kick-off meeting of the EU project RITIFI

(Research Infrastructures and Technology Infrastructures for Impact)
This project is coordinated by CEA – Centre d’Energie Atomique and includes Research Infrastructures and Technology Infrastructures across Europe. RITIFI is part of our set of strategic CSAs and our HUB Think Tank initiative to build intelligence and capacity to actively contribute to the EU R&I governance and agenda-setting processes. The KoM will take place on the 18th of April on our premises in Brussels, Rue du Luxembourg 3.

 

Smart Factories: INESC TEC support the digital transition of the automotive components industry

INESC TEC is part of the of the project Hi-rEV – Recovery of the Automotive Components Sector, funded within the scope of the PRR mobilising agendas for entrepreneurial innovation. PALBIT, S.A. is the leading entity of this initiative, which features over 20 partners to support the digitalisation of the automotive components industry while contributing to the sector’s adaptation to the changes associated with the energy transition. Read more

 

Driving Towards Sustainability: The Power of Energy-Efficient Software

An article by Rui António Rua, Research Assistant at the High-Assurance Software Laboratory (HASLab) Read the article

 

Carolina Carreira was awarded a Huawei scholarship

An Early Stage Researcher (ESR) in the Automated Reasoning and Software Reliability (ARSR) Research Area, Carolina Carreira is developing her PhD research on usable security under the CMU Portugal program supervised by João Ferreiraat INESC-ID, Alexandra Mendes at INESC-TEC and Nicolas Christin at Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on users’ motivations and concerns when using security software. Read more

 

“Microfluidic Detection of Adenylate Kinase as a Cell Damage Biomarker” in Chemosensors Journal 

“Microfluidic Detection of Adenylate Kinase as a Cell Damage Biomarker”, by Cristiana Domingues, Pedro Mendes Fontes, Pedro G. M. Condelipes, Vanda Marques, Marta B. Afonso, Virginia Chu, Cecília M. P. Rodrigues and João Pedro Conde is now available here.

 

Job Opportunities

  • INESC TEC has 24 vacancies in different work areas, such as Robotics, Power Systems-Microgrids operation and planning, Computer Science and more. Find more at the INESCTEC website and via LinkedIn
  • INESC TEC will award 2 postdoctoral grants in the areas of Informatics, Computer Sciences and Applied Mathematics aimed at foreign researchers. Applications and more info. Deadline: 30 April 2023
  • INESC ID has 8 Fellowship positions. More info
  • INESC MN is hiring a Junior Characterization Engineer and a Clean Room Process Engineer More info
  • INOV is hiring a Systems and Network Engineer and a Software Engineer (Full stack). More info

 

Events & Training workshops

  • STI systems in transitions: Effective approaches to address skills and capabilities needs
    This is an hybrid workshop organized by the OECD-DSIT. 18-19 April 2023, London. It will be hosted by Digital Catapult, EARTO Member. Registrations & Agenda
  • EIC Innovation Discovery Training: Online seminar
    This free online event for researchers from EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition is organised by the EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS) and is part of EIC Tech to Market Entrepreneurship Programme. The aim is to prepare the researchers for their own deep-tech pitch and to offer them feedback from experts and other participants in a joint coaching session. 24 & 28 April 2023 (half-days in the morning). Deadline for Registration: 17 April 2023
  • Scarce resources: How can the world of R&D fix its talent shortage?
    A private Science|Business Network hybrid workshop. 25 April 2023 (14:00 – 16:45 CET). More information
  • EU Knowledge Valorisation Week
    This is the European forum to exchange experiences and discover novel approaches of creating value from scientific findings and inventions. 25 – 28 April 2023. Register here
  • EARTO Webinar on Security & Defence
    26 April 2023. 11.00-12.00 (CET). Register here
  • Webinar: Implementation of co-funded European Partnerships
    27 April 2023. DG Research & Innovation, in collaboration with ERA-LEARN will offer a webinar to focus on the use of in-kind contribution or the involvement of Research Performing Organisations (RPOs). The webinar is targeted to coordinators and beneficiaries of co-funded European Partnerships. More info
  • Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” in Palermo
    30-31 May 2023. Register here
  • EARTO Webinar on Healthcare R&I Position Paper
    EARTO Working Group Emerging Technologies for Healthcare Core Team. 4 May 2023. 10:00-11:00 (CET). Register here
  • Teaming for success: How to capitalise on centres of excellence in Widening countries?
    A hybrid Science|Business Widening roundtable. 16 May 2023 (9:00 -14:00 CET). By invitation only for in-person attendance. Public online attendance. More info and applications
  • Financial and Business Opportunities beyond Horizon Europe
    An information event in Brussels organised by DG Research & Innovation to support the market uptake of new technologies and systems. 23 May 2023. More info
  • Advanced course on biomedical imaging organised by the the UT Austin Portugal Program and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Coimbra
    27 April – 2 June 2023. Register by 21 April. More info
  • What makes co-creation work for transitions?
    The METI and the OECD organise a Joint Workshop. 24-26 May 2023, Paris. Registration and Agenda
  • 8th World Conference on Research Integrity
    2-5 June 2024, at Megaron Athens International Conference Centre (MAICC), Athens. Travel Grant applications open on 26 June 2023. More info
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