Date/Time
Date - 22/02/2021 - 23/02/2021
13:30 - 18:00
Since Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took office in 2019, she has continuously highlighted research and innovation (R&I) as a critical driver of Europe’s green and digital transformations, and central to its global competitiveness. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has driven home the value to society of scientific excellence and cooperation – even if member states appeared at times to overlook that during negotiations over the next EU budget and recovery plan.
Now that the key numbers have finally been agreed, Horizon Europe – the next R&I Framework Programme – is gearing up to launch, supported by €95.5 billion in funding. Yet as it does, important questions remain as to how great an impact Horizon will ultimately have, as a bridge between crisis and recovery and as a foundation for rebuilding Europe’s societies and economies. Can the Commission establish genuine synergies between Horizon and other flagship programmes? Will member states and associated countries align their own resources and programmes with Europe’s R&I ambitions? And in the global context, can Europe realistically expect to achieve its strategic goals – in domains such as climate and AI – without China and the US on board?
By extension, Europe’s R&I communities keenly await news of how Horizon will be implemented. Will the programme ensure that stronger pathways are laid between fundamental science and market competitiveness, a compelling value proposition defined for industry, and citizens actively engaged? How will the European Green Deal be embedded across every aspect of Horizon’s structure and activities? Will mission-oriented approaches inspire deep change in science and technology development? And, of equal importance, how will success and impact be determined for the future recipients of Horizon funding?
PRELIMINARY AGENDA
DAY ONE – FEBRUARY 22
13:30 Great expectations: Is European R&I prepared for the next decade?
Live Q&A with: Mariya Gabriel – Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth
Followed by an interactive panel debate with: Karen Maex – Rector Magnificus, University of Amsterdam and Mathias Rauch – Director, Research Strategy and Policy, Fraunhofer
14:45 Horizon Workshops: Session I
1. Clean environment: Embedding the Green Deal across pillars, partnerships and projects
- Hagit Schwimmer – Director, Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials, ISERD
- Jakub Drnec – Beamline Scientist, League of European Accelerator-based Photon Sources (LEAPS) & European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)
- Hideki Takamatsu – General Manager, Toyota Motors Europe
- Louis Fradette, Chairman, Department of Chemical Engineering, Polytechnique Montreal
2. Research & technology infrastructures: How to build closer ties between excellence, industry and society?
- Pearl Dykstra – Professor of Empirical Sociology, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- Max Dumoulin – Vice-President, Institutional Offerings, Elsevier
- Tor Grande – Pro-Rector for Research, NTNU
- Mikael Östling – Deputy President, KTH Stockholm
3. What a kick: Empowering Europe’s creative and cultural industries and sectors (supported by EIT)
- Martin Kern, Director, European Institute of Innovation and Technology
- Christian Ehler, Member, European Parliament
- Ana Valtonen, Professor, Strategic Design, Aalto University
4. Breakthroughs 101: How to train Europe’s next generation of deeptech entrepreneurs (supported by ATTRACT
16:30 Horizon Workshops: Session II
1. Basic vs. applied: Getting the balance right between early-and late-stage R&D in Horizon
- Valeria Nicolosi – Professor of Nanomaterials & Microscopy, Trinity College Dublin
- Paola Inverardi – Vice Chair, Technology Policy Committee, ACM Europe
- Hannu Kemppainen – Executive Director, Strategic Performance Management, Business Finland
- Walter Weigel – Vice President, European Research Institute, Huawei
2. World in motion: Managing research talent mobility in an age of pandemics
- Klaas Wieringa – Chief Innovation & Technology Officer, GEANT
- Séan Hand – Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor (Europe), Warwick University
- Jukka Mönkkönen, Rector, University of Eastern Finland
3. Life support: Delivering the data, access and structures for health R&D to flourish in Horizon
- Alfonso Valencia, ICREA Professor and Director, Life Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center
You can find full programme here.
You can register to the conference here.
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