Basic HTML Version
i
32
K · È Ó Ô Ù Ô Ì › · , Œ Ú Â ˘ Ó · Î · È ∆  ¯ Ó Ô Ï Ô Á › ·
highlights
M A R C H - A P R I L 2 0 0 6
European Research Council:
basic, frontier research on the spotlight
A new mechanism that places excellence in the centre of
European research is introduced in the 7th Framework
Programme. It is the European Research Council (ERC), the
first pan-European funding agency for frontier research, which
will implement the programme "Ideas" of FP7.
The "Ideas" programme will enhance at European level the
competition of research teams, on the basis of excellence, for
funding of research areas of their interest, namely applied
engineering, human and social sciences, etc. ERC is
responsible for setting up the workprogramme, supervising its
implementation, defining the evaluation procedures and
ensuring the scientific quality. It consists of a Scientific
Council, composed of 22 eminent scientists from across
Europe and from many different disciplines. The President of
the Scientific Council is the Prof. Fotis Kafatos, from Greece.
The Scientific Council is supported by a Dedicated
Implementation Structure (DIS), responsible for all aspects of
administrative implementation and for carrying out the work
programme.
ERC has recently published a launch strategy for funding basic
research. The main parameters, which may be further
elaborated and modified upon the comments received,
concern a "bottom-up" approach for two funding streams: the
ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant Scheme and the
ERC Advanced Investigator Grant Scheme. The proposals will
be submitted electronically, following a two-step procedure,
and will be evaluated based on the potential of the
researchers and the excellence of the project. Approximately
15 panels of 10 members will be established for the evaluation
of the proposals. ERC Starting Independent Researcher
Grants will be offered at pre-set discrete levels, for example
between 100.000 and 400.000 euros per year (in increments
of 50.000 euros), for a period of up to 5 years. The first calls
for these Grants will be published as soon as FP7 is approved.
The ERC Advanced Grant Scheme will be implemented
shortly afterwards.
International Conference
on Euro-Mediterranean
cooperation in research
An international conference for the enhancement of the
Euro-Mediterranean cooperation in research and technology
took place on 22-23 March 2006, in Paris, as the closure
event for the Euro-MEDANet and Euro-MEDANet2 projects.
Both projects, coordinated by EKT, were co-funded by the
European Commission (INCO programme, FP6) to create
Information Points for European research programmes in
seven Mediterranean countries (Egypt, Algeria, Jordan,
Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia).
More than 120 participants from universities, research
centres and enterprises attended the event, which included
presentations on the projects’ results and on the main
achievements of the Euromediterranean cooperation in
research in the last decade, as well as suggestions for the
future, especially in view of the 7th Framework Programme.
European Research Council
http://erc.europa.eu
Future European Union research policy (europa)
http://ec.europa.eu/research/future/index_en.cfm
7th Framework Programme (CORDIS)
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7
"Research and Innovation" website (∂∫∆)
http://www.ekt.gr/research/en
i
Euro-MEDANet and Euro-MEDANet2 website
http://www.euromedanet.gr
Successful Brokerage Event
at CEBIT 2006
More than 500 organisations, active in the Information and
Telecommunications sector, participated in the international
brokerage event "IRC Future Match", organised by the IRC
Network, on 9-12 March 2006, in Hannover, Germany. The
event was realised within the framework of CeBIT 2006, the
most renowned IT exhibition worldwide. EKT participated in
the organisation of the brokerage event, as coordinator of the
IRC Hellenic.
During the brokerage event 12 Greek companies met with
potential partners in 48 business meetings to acquire or
promote innovative technologies. In total, 739 technological
profiles were promoted in more than 1.100 bilateral
meetings. Universities, research centres, and companies from
all over Europe presented their products and services and
examined the possibilities for further collaborations and
business agreements.
i
IRC Hellenic
http://www.hirc.gr
IRC Future Match
http://www.futurematch.cebit.de
CeBIT 2006
http://www.cebit.de
v