1st ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup

ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup

After the fully digital High-Level Launch of the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum that took place on 24 March 2022 to mark its formal establishment, it is now finally time to meet in person and set the Stakeholders Forum deliberation and co-design processes in full motion. The 1st ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup will take place on 15 September 2022 at the Royal Belgian Institute (Museum) of Natural Sciences, in Brussels, as a full day event with physical presence.

The agenda of the 1st ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup will touch upon four horizontal themes: health, climate, energy and partnerships. The event will begin with a general panel discussion and will continue with interactive parallel sessions that will report and feedback into the final forum plenary.  

The ESFRI Stakeholders Forum is a newly established platform, developed by ESFRI with the ambition to instigate an open dialogue among the different European research infrastructure stakeholders, in order to reinforce the position of Research Infrastructures (RIs) as an essential pillar of the European Research Area (ERA). 

As we move towards a renewed ERA the participatory element should be applied across the ERA, including ESFRI and RIs as to position them at the heart of the research and innovation ecosystem, and closely interlinking them with different actors, such as researchers, educators, policy makers, citizens, businesses and others. The Stakeholders Forum aims to engage these actors and facilitate regular discussion among them. 

The Stakeholders Forum initiative reflects ESFRI’s intention to look beyond the traditional RI communities. The platform aims to attract stakeholders, raising their awareness across the whole research and innovation ecosystem. These stakeholders include, amongst others, decision and policymakers, municipalities, citizens, socio-economic actors, research organisations and higher education institutions with scientific communities participating in ERA activities, which are potential users of RIs. 

Please note that participation is available by invitation only.

Science Europe Open Science Conference 2022

Science Europe

Brussels, Belgium/online, 18–19 October 2022.

Science Europe is organising this conference on Open Science at an important time: the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the value of open and collaborative research, and several recent publications have driven the implementation of Open Science policies and the need to discuss shared values, principles and standards. These include the final report of the Open Science Policy Platform (2020) and UNESCO’s ‘Recommendation on Open Science’ (2021). Earlier in 2022, the Open Science Conference organised under the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, took stock of the links between various aspects of Open Science.

At this 18 and 19 October Open Science conference, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the current policy initiatives, research assessment reforms, and financial measures that support the transition to Open Science, and look forward at new trends. Participants are invited to discuss the many facets related to the transition in a highly interactive event. We will specifically cover:

  • Open Science and society, including equity
  • Open Access to all types of research outputs
  • Evolving research assessment and evaluation practices
  • Access to and use of open research infrastructures
  • Open Science policies

The goal is to bring clarity to an increasingly complex transition and sprawling number of interlinked initiatives that affect the future of the research and innovation landscape. The plenary sessions will focus on strategy and direction, and set the stage for practical, action-oriented breakout discussions. The conference will be one of the first to establish and explore equity as a key consideration in its own right when discussing Open Science.

Practical Details

The Open Science Conference will be broadcasted as a partially hybrid event live from Brussels. Participants are invited to join the plenary and breakout sessions online. Connection details will be shared with registrants closer to the event.

Visit the Open Science website for more details.

1st European Innovation Area Summit

The 1st European Innovation Area Summit is taking place at the European Parliament in Brussels on 27–29 June 2022, with a presentation from speaker and LifeWatch ERIC Gender Equality Officer, Africa G. Zanella, on 28 June at 16:00 CEST.

The 1st European Innovation Area Summit, which is organised at the time of the publication of the Commission Innovation Communication, will be a great opportunity to discuss the role and contributions of the innovation stakeholders for the implementation of Europe’s future Innovation Agenda.

The 8 Focus Areas as described in the EIA Manifesto are cornerstones of the summit programme. They are along the lines of the upcoming Communication priorities that will guide the innovation policy activities of the European Commission and the European Parliament in the years to come.

Innovation and the development of new technologies are not objectives on their own. They must have a purpose. Besides their contribution to competitiveness and technology sovereignty, they must have an impact on climate change and help preventing the collapse of the planetary ecosystems. Green transformation is the ultimate solution for a sustainable future. Deep tech, green tech, digi tech and the talents behind need to be at the heart of future innovation policies.

You can find more information on the EIA website.

Get your invitation now by signing the EIA Manifesto.

Webinar – The Biodiversity Digital Twin: a new solution to support protection and restoration of ecosystems

Online, 13 July 2022.

Background

Understanding the forces shaping biodiversity is needed for rational management of natural resources and also to meet the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 to restore biodiversity in Europe. In particular, researchers need to be able to better predict global biodiversity dynamics and how species interact with their environment and with each other. This can be an extremely difficult task because the processes underlying biodiversity dynamics are complex. Innovative ways to combine data, models and interaction processes are required to predict these dynamics and offer solutions that promote a sustainable management of Earth’s biodiversity and its ecosystems.

In this context, the BioDT project aims to bring together a dynamic team of experts in biodiversity, High-Performance Computing, Artificial Intelligence, digital twinning and FAIR data to develop this Biodiversity Digital Twin prototype. This is going to be achieved through a cooperation between 22 partners that aim to push the current boundaries of predictive understanding of biodiversity dynamics by providing advanced modelling, simulation and prediction capabilities. By exploiting existing technologies and data from relevant research infrastructures in new ways, BioDT will be able to accurately and quantitatively model interactions between species and their environment.

About the webinar

The first BioDT webinar, taking place 10:00 – 11:00 on 13 July, presents the project’s objectives and goals, and its interaction with the LUMI Supercomputer, fundamental for building its modelling and simulation capabilities. The discussion will pave the way for the four BioDT use case groups and how their development can help scientists in predicting future trends in the biodiversity field. 

The event gives also the opportunity to meet the people behind the project and to interact with them during a poll session and a panel discussion, focussed on analysing the biodiversity role in the context of climate change and digital twin. 

Draft Agenda (all times CEST)

  • 10:00 – 10:15: BioDT: a Digital Twin for advanced simulation, modelling and simulation capabilities – Jesse Harrison, BioDT project manager & Senior Data Scientist at CSC
  • 10:15 – 10:25: High-Performance Computing as a mean to support the Digital Twin: the Lumi Supercomputer – Aleksi Kallio, BioDT Digital Twin Technical Platform Leader and Development Manager at CSC
  • 10:25 – 10:30: Interactive polls
  • 10:30 – 11:00: Panel discussion: Biodiversity in the context of climate change and digital twin: challenges and opportunities – Moderator Jeroen Broekhuijsen, BioDT Collaboration with strategic initiatives Leader and Team Lead Digital Twin at TNO (Panellists to be confirmed)
  • 11:00: Wrap-up and closure, Jesse Harrison, BioDT coordinator & Senior Data Scientist at CSC

>> Register for the webinar <<

DOORS General Assembly 2022

DOORS General Assembly

Burgas, Bulgaria, 7–9 June 2022.

After a very long year of working remotely on DOORS, we are all thrilled to be having our first major in-person General Assembly meeting, to be hosted by Burgas Free University on 7–9 June. For many of us, this is the first opportunity to meet colleagues face-to-face; something that is critical for a project like ours, in order to build those relationships and deliver real change for the Black Sea.

The meeting agenda will be available to download shortly.

“Black Sea doors and bridges” Event on June 10-11.

Following on from the General Assembly, DOORS is delighted to be participating in Burgas Free University’s International Scientific Conference, “Black Sea doors and bridges” event on June 10-11. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet with colleagues to discuss innovation and investment in the Black Sea region, linked to the marine environment.

Download the flyer here for more information about the event.

Register for the event here.

Assemble Plus Conference 2022 – Marine biological research at the frontier

Assemble Plus Conference

Online, 13–24 June 2022.

Participate in the Assemble Plus Conference 2022 – “Marine biological research at the frontier” which will take place online between 13 and 24 June 2022. The conference is organised by the Assemble Plus project partnered by a network of marine stations and institutes led by EMBRC ERIC – the European Marine Biological Resource Centre. 

The conference will include keynote speakers, invited lectures by Assemble Plus users, match making with industry, service/technology demonstrations and workshops.  

We strongly encourage you to follow the event and please feel free to spread the word among your circles. This is an opportunity for researchers, academia, industry and policymakers, to be connected and share experiences, knowledge and a chance to establish partnerships. 


“ASSEMBLE 2022 – Marine biological research at the frontier” will showcase recent developments in marine biology and ecology; state-of-the-art technologies available at marine stations and institutes; how to access biological resources and marine research infrastructure; how to improve services provided by marine stations; knowledge transfer to industry, and sustainability of research infrastructures.  

Registration is open until 6 June 2022.

ERIC Forum Policy Seminar on the Socio-Economic Impact of ERICs

ERIC Forum SEI

Online, 29 April 2022.

The ERIC Forum Policy Seminar on the Socio-Economic Impact (SEI) of ERICs will be held online on 29 April 2022. It will bring together the ERICs community with their national, European and International stakeholders and collaborators to pave the way towards evaluating Research Infrastructures’(RIs) full value and contribution to resilient knowledge-based economies.

The objectives of the ERIC Forum Policy Seminar are to:

  • Showcase the diversity of ERICs and their impact (both at an individual level as well as their contributions to tackling societal challenges through, for example: EU Missions, Green and Digital Transitions, ERA Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Present the findings from the ERIC Forum Survey on the SEI assessment practices of ERICs, followed by case studies of SEI assessment by ERICs belonging to different clusters during different phases of their lifecycle,
  • Engage with the relevant ERIC national and EU stakeholders as well as cross-sectoral user communities, taking into consideration their perspectives,
  • Propose joint recommendations on how capturing the diversity, value and impact of ERICs can be supported. 

All Research Infrastructures are invited to participate and share their views with the participating stakeholders including national, regional and EU funding bodies, policy-making entity(s), cross-sectoral users as well as relevant projects and entities working on RI SEI assessment methodologies.

This Seminar shall be held virtually from 09:00 – 13:00 CEST. 

► Register here. The draft agenda is available here.

Green Week 2022

EU Green Week

Brussels + online, 30 May–5 June 2022.

EU Green Week is an annual opportunity to debate European environmental policy with policymakers, leading environmentalists and stakeholders from Europe and beyond. This year’s edition focuses on the European Green Deal – the EU’s sustainable and transformative growth strategy for a resource-efficient and climate-neutral Europe by 2050.

EU Green Week 2022 will take place from 30 May to 5 June 2022. The main hybrid event on 31 May puts three important aspects of the transformation in the spotlight – circular economy, zero pollution, and biodiversity. Throughout the week, partner events will be taking place across Europe and beyond.

Green Week 2022 Session 3 – Biodiversity – Nature Restoration Targets

The Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 recognises that to halt climate change and to build a world resilient and fit for the future, it is essential that our living world is protected and restored. A key element of this plan is the proposal for an EU nature restoration law – setting for the first time a legal framework to restore degraded ecosystems across the whole EU and across all key ecosystems on land and at sea.

The session will explore the multiple benefits we gain from healthy ecosystems, and will look at how they can be realised through restoration actions. The main questions to the panellist will be: Can we afford not to take urgent action now at the national and international level? What is the cost of action versus cost of non-action? What are the sources of funding available?

  • biodiversity
  • 31 May 2022, 12:00 CEST – 31 May 2022, 13:00 CEST
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Live streaming available