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EU Called Out for Bureaucratic Obstacles to Cross-Border Researcher Mobility

EU Called Out for Bureaucratic Obstacles to Cross-Border Researcher Mobility

The lifting of pandemic restrictions on travel and increased requirements in EU research programmes for researchers to spend time abroad is drawing renewed attention to the way in which blanket EU rules for managing labour flows are getting in the way.

New Scheme Will Allow Thailand-based Researchers to Join European Research Council Teams

New Scheme Will Allow Thailand-based Researchers to Join European Research Council Teams

Thailand and the EU last week signed off a new scheme allowing researchers from Thailand to join European Research Council-funded projects. ERC already has a number of such arrangements with countries including Australia, Brazil, China, India and the US, but this is the first time it has cooperated with Thailand's National Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Policy Council.

The Conduct of Science in Times of War

The Conduct of Science in Times of War

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, allied governments rushed out a series of "science sanctions", as part of a broad campaign of penalties designed to deter Russia. What impact might they have on current or future science?

Experts Warn UK is Becoming Less Attractive for International Research Talent Post-Brexit

Experts Warn UK is Becoming Less Attractive for International Research Talent Post-Brexit

The UK government's plan to increase R&D spending requires a skilled workforce which its universities and research institutes will struggle to assemble, expert witnesses told the House of Lords' science and technology committee today. "The attractiveness of the UK as a destination for scientists might have decreased in recent years," said Maggie Dallman, vice president for international affairs and associate provost for academic partnerships at Imperial College London.

ETH Zurich Opens New Research Centre to Explore the Origins of Life

ETH Zurich Opens New Research Centre to Explore the Origins of Life

ETH Zurich is opening a new research and teaching centre with a focus on exploring the origin and prevalence of life on Earth and beyond. Under the leadership of Noble Laureate, Didier Queloz, more than 40 research groups from five departments will address the big questions posed by humankind.

European Universities Alliances Put Start-Ups on the Curriculum

European Universities Alliances Put Start-Ups on the Curriculum

The European Universities initiative was conceived to develop higher education across the EU, with a tight focus on students and teaching. Higher education institutions from different countries were invited to form alliances and bid for Erasmus + funds to develop joint curricula and boost mobility. But innovation and entrepreneurship increasingly appear in the alliance playbook, particularly when the partners are close to the market.

The Research and Innovation Stories to Follow This Autumn

The Research and Innovation Stories to Follow This Autumn

As everyone shifts back into gear after the summer break, we have put together a list of research and innovation topics coming up over the next weeks and months, to help you sift through the deluge of announcements due in September and beyond.

Viewpoint: Rooting out Fake Papers Takes a Patient Human Touch

Viewpoint: Rooting out Fake Papers Takes a Patient Human Touch

Artificial intelligence is making our lives easier, and for unscrupulous scientists, it could make work a lot easier too, by generating research papers.

UK Launches Legal Case Against EU over Horizon Europe Association

UK Launches Legal Case Against EU over Horizon Europe Association

The UK government, raising the political heat over Brexit, began legal proceedings against the European Union for blocking its membership in the €95.5 billion research programme, Horizon Europe.

Summer Reader: A Look Back at This Year's Main R&D Policy Stories

Summer Reader: A Look Back at This Year's Main R&D Policy Stories

It's August and most research and innovation policy wonks have left Brussels. But, if you have summer homework and you need to read up on this year's main developments in research and innovation, we've got you covered. In our view, there have been two main stories this year for EU R&I policy: international chaos, and Horizon.

Grant Success Rates Are Up Compared with Horizon 2020

Grant Success Rates Are Up Compared with Horizon 2020

Success rates for researchers applying for Horizon Europe grants stand at 15.8% according to preliminary data, an improvement on the 'unacceptably low' level of 12% in the previous EU research programme, Horizon 2020.

US Lawmakers Turn Attention to Plague of Fake Journal Papers

US Lawmakers Turn Attention to Plague of Fake Journal Papers

US lawmakers have warned that fake research papers risk compromising trust in the entire scientific system, as Artificial Intelligence makes it ever easier for so-called paper mills to fool journals into accepting made up articles.

As Horizon Europe Priorities Evolve, Universities Want More Transparency on Spending

As Horizon Europe Priorities Evolve, Universities Want More Transparency on Spending

Horizon Europe is a new type of beast. While building on previous EU research programmes, it is doubling down on making an impact on major societal and technological challenges facing the bloc. Research stakeholders fear this shift will take money away from laboratory bench research and are calling on the European Commission to ensure it is clear which parts of the Horizon Europe pot impact-driven funding is coming from.  

Four Countries Won More Than Half of ERC Projects in Horizon 2020

Four Countries Won More Than Half of ERC Projects in Horizon 2020

A new in-depth analysis of all research projects funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under Horizon 2020, reveals 55% of all grants combined went to the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands.

EU Research Chief Reflects on Successes and Acknowledges 'Unfinished Business' As He Bows out

EU Research Chief Reflects on Successes and Acknowledges 'Unfinished Business' As He Bows out

After four years at the helm of the European Commission's research directorate-general, Jean-Eric Paquet is now getting ready to become EU ambassador to Japan on 1 September. Paquet has been steering the directorate-general since three months before the Commission published its proposal for the Horizon Europe programme.

The Ecosystem: Innovation Agenda Puts Policy Impetus Behind Closing Europe's Innovation Gap

The Ecosystem: Innovation Agenda Puts Policy Impetus Behind Closing Europe's Innovation Gap

The Commission's Innovation Agenda, adopted last week, has been welcomed in central and eastern Europe for its high-profile acknowledgement of the innovation divide within Europe, and for nailing down the EU's most urgent innovation challenges.

How to Keep Science Open - but Also Secure? G7 Nations Work on an Answer

How to Keep Science Open - but Also Secure? G7 Nations Work on an Answer

In recent years, the world's leading industrialised nations have been moving to defend their science and technology from perceived threats from China, Russia and elsewhere. Now, they're trying to counter another risk: that their security measures could harm their own science.

The Ecosystem: European Patent Office Survey Shows Strict Novelty Requirement is Undermining High-potential Inventions in Europe

The Ecosystem: European Patent Office Survey Shows Strict Novelty Requirement is Undermining High-potential Inventions in Europe

Europe may be missing out on lucrative new products, start-ups, and even potential unicorns.

UK Grant Winners Tell of Anguish over European Research Council Ultimatum

UK Grant Winners Tell of Anguish over European Research Council Ultimatum

Academics forced to choose between staying in the UK and leaving for the EU say they were not given enough warning before having to make a crucial decision determining whether they keep life changing grants. Around 150 UK-based winners of European Research Council (ERC) grants have been put in a near impossible position because a wider rift between Brussels and London has stopped the UK from associating to Horizon Europe, the programme behind the ERC.

Ukrainian Researchers Want to Shift the Focus of International Support from Crisis Response Mode to Rebuilding the Science Ecosystem

Ukrainian Researchers Want to Shift the Focus of International Support from Crisis Response Mode to Rebuilding the Science Ecosystem

While the EU scrambles to help researchers at risk fleeing Russia's war, Ukrainians are urging decision makers to turn their eyes to the situation in the country and start thinking about long-term support.

Ukraine War Prompts EU to 'Speed Up' Work on Critical Technologies, Gabriel Says

Ukraine War Prompts EU to 'Speed Up' Work on Critical Technologies, Gabriel Says

Russia's invasion in Ukraine has upended long-held dogmas on international cooperation, including in science and technology. The European Commission is now using that momentum to speed up the development of innovation and promote self-sufficiency in critical areas, such as green energy, semiconductors and health, EU research and innovation commissioner told Science|Business.   

CERN to Cut Ties with Russia As Other Research Infrastructures Mull Links

CERN to Cut Ties with Russia As Other Research Infrastructures Mull Links

The European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) has said it will cut its ties with Russia when its agreement with the country expires at the end of 2024.

Horizon 2020 Widening Programme Not a 'Miracle Pill'

Horizon 2020 Widening Programme Not a 'Miracle Pill'

EU efforts to reduce the east-west gap in research and innovation should be backed by investment and reforms in member states, the EU auditor says in a report reviewing funding schemes set up by the European Commission to help bridge the divide.