CORDIS focus

European Commission Directorate-General For Enterprise And Industry

Description

Issue number 232, 3 November 2003
Scientific and technical research
Target audience: Specialised/Technical

Sujets

• Periodical publication
• RE/Search
• Research and development
• Sciences et techniques

Informations

• Publié par: EUROPEAN-COMMISSION-DIRECTORATE-GENERAL-FOR-ENTERPRISE-AND-INDUSTRY
• Nombre de lectures: 29
• Langue: English

Extrait

B a s e d o n i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m

C O R D I S N e w s a v a i l a b l e o n t h e W e b a t

ISSN 1022-6559

h t t p : / / w w w . c o r d i s. l u / n e w s

IN TH IS ISSUE Europe’s leading research organisations pledge to FP6 heralds a new era of co- operation in nuclear reactor safety research 3 N ovem ber 2003 - I SSU E N U M BER 232 community (EURATO M) programme, the strengthen ERA Through its Europeanatomic energy Commission has for many years promoted the benefits of collaborative Seven of Europe’s top research organisations have signed a statement of intent, along with the research efforts in the field of nuclear Commission, outlining their commitment to developing the European Research Area (ERA). reactor safety page 2 Protecting knowledge and results - Th e seven o r gan i sat i o n s, w h i ch j o i n t l y co n - Th e seven EI RO f o r u m m em b er s ar e: t h e Eu - the IPR H elpdesk shows you how The protection of intellectual property st i t u t e EI RO f o r u m (Eu r o p ean i n t er go ver n - r o p ean o r gan i sat i o n f o r n u cl ear r esear ch rights (IPR) is essential not only for m en t al r esear ch o r gan i - (CERN ); t h e Eu r o p ean f u - researchers to work willingly together on innovative research, but also in order to sat i o n s f o r u m ), p l ed ge, si o n d evel o p m en t agr ee- bring the fruits of this collaboration to w i t h t h e Co m m i ssi o n , t o m en t (EFD A); t h e Eu r o - the market page 4 exp l o r e syn er gi es an d p ean m o l ecu l ar b i o l o gy Industry sets out minimum requirements for defence research co n d u ct j o i n t act i vi t i es, laboratory (EM BL); the Eu- agency f aci l i t at e exch an ges an d r o p e an sp ac e ag e n c y ‘Industry is looking for a structure able to provide added value to the whole EU seco n d m en t o f p er so n - ( ESA ) ; t h e Eu r o p e an Community through more effectively nel, and build on this col- so u t h e r n o b se r v at o r y managed research, development and acquisition programmes,’ concludes a laboration by concluding (ESO ); t h e Eu r o p ean syn - position paper on the proposed European armaments, research and f u r t h er b i l at er al chrotron radiation facility agr ee- military capability agency from m en t s. (ESRF); an d t h e I n st i t u t organisations representing Europe’s vice defence industry page 5 Laue-Langevin. EU Re se ar c h C o m m i s- EU project improves technical si o n er, Ph i l i p p e Bu sq u i n , Th e go al o f EI RO f o r u m i s transfer between SMEs Given that small and medium sized an act i ve t o p l ay r o l e i n t h e D i r ect o r s- al o n g w i t h enterprises (SMEs) represent 99.8% of all G e n e r al o f t h e promoting the quality and EU enterprises and two-thirds of all jobs, it is no surprise that regional policy- EI RO f o r u m o r g an i sa- i m p act o f Eu r o p ean r e- makers and stakeholders alike are Philippe Busquin t i o n s, si gn ed t h e st at e- sear ch , an d t o act as t h e concerned with helping these businesses © European Communities survive and grow page 11 m en t o f i n t en t d u r i n g a b asi s f o r ef f ect i ve, h i gh European research institutes pledge cer em o n y i n Br u ssel s o n l evel co -o p er at i o n . I t w i l l “T hisstatement of intent support for ‘open access’ to 27 O ct o b er. m o b i l i se i t s su b st an t i al scientific knowledge Representatives of some of Europe’s combined expertise in ba- ‘Th i s st at em en t o f i n t en t marksa new step towards leading research institutes signed a si c r esear ch an d i n t h e declaration on 22 O ctober, pledging to marks a new step towards promote greater dissemination of the creation of the m an agem en t o f l ar ge i n - t h e cr eat i o n o f t h e Eu r o - scientific knowledge and human reflection t e r n at i o n al i n f r ast r u c - via the Internet page 17 pean Resear ch Area,’ sai d European ResearchArea” t u r es, f aci l i t i es an d p r o - M r Bu sq u i n . ‘ W i t h Eu - H ighlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 - Philippe Busquin gr am m es. Innovation: Policy and Pr actice . . . 7 b e st r o p e ’s sc i e n t i st s Pr ogr amme Implementation . . . . . . 8 w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r i n Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 For fur please consult t he followi t her infor mat ion, ng w o r l d cl ass r esear ch i n f r ast r u ct u r es [ …] W eb address: Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 EI RO f o r u m o r gan i sat i o n s, i n co l l ab o r at i o n C alls and Tender s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 ht t p:/ / www.eirofor um.or g/ G eneral Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 with the European Commission, will play a de- Based on I P/ 03/ 1453 Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 6 ci si ve r o l e i n p r o m o t i n g t h e q u al i t y an d co n - RCN 21113 M iscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 si st en cy o f Eu r o p ean r esear ch .’ Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5 O ther Items O nline . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 7 CO RD IS Com m unit y Research and D evelopm ent Inform at ion Ser C O RD IS on the W eb . . . . . . . . . . 2 8

PUBLISHED BY THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION  INNOVATION

Highlight s

2

FP6 heralds a new era of co-operation in nuclear reactor safety research

Through itsEuropean atomic energy community (EURATOM ) programme, the Commission hasfor many yearspromoted the benefitsof collaborative research effortsin the field of nuclear reactor safety.

With the introduction of the Sixth Frame- work Programme (FP6) and the establish- ment of the European Research Area (ERA), researchers and other stakeholders are be- ing urged to forge ever closer links. This offersthe possibility of anew eraof collabo- ration in nuclear reactor safety research, but also presentsanumber of major challenges.

As Europe’s nuclear safety community pre- pares to gather in Luxembourg on 10 No- vember for the biennial FISA conference, CO RDIS News spoke to the Commission’s co-ordinator for nuclear reactor safety re- search, Georges Van Goethem, to find out how FP6 is changing the definition of col- laboration, and to assess the challenges ahead.

published by:

EU RO PEAN CO MMISSIO N

Ent erprise D irect orat e-General C ommunication and Awareness U nit L-2920 Luxembour g Fax: + 352- 4301- 32084 E-mail: cordis-focus@ cec.eu.int

CO RD IS focus : is also available at ht t p://www.cordis.lu/focus/en/

Based on inform at ion fr om CO RD IS N ews available on the W eb at:

 ht t p://www.cordis.lu/news

CO RD IS focus wopublished every t  is weeks by t he Communicat ion and Awareness U nit of t he Ent erprise D irect orat e-General as part of t he European Com munit y’s Sixt h Research Fram ework Program m e, and present s t he lat est news on European U nion research and innovat ion and relat ed pr ogr am m es and policies.

CORDI S FOCUS - NUMBER 232

Georges Van Goethem © CO RDISNews

‘The major difference between FP6and pre- viousFramework Programmesisthat it aims to establish a process of integration rather than simply produce scientific products,’ be- gan M r Van Goethem.‘Unless people show awillingnessto merge laboratoriesand com- bine their efforts, they will no longer receive financial support from the Commission.’

The ideaisthat some research organisations and universitieswill abandon areasof inves- tigation that are already being performed to a higher standard in other parts of Europe, creating what M r Van Goethem calls ‘irre- versible links’ that will remain in place long after the FP6 contract end date.

In realising this goal, however, some signifi- cant challengesmust first be overcome.‘We are fighting anumber of barriers. First, there isthe lack of aculture of co-operation, where people are more used to doing their own thing. Practical considerations such as dif- ferent languages and national rulesmust be overcome,’ M r Van Goethem explained. An additional barrier to co-operation is the fact that some research is of potential commer- cial value, and the instinct can be to withhold the knowledge.

In order to overcome these hurdles, M r Van Goethem argues that while Community funding certainly acts as an incentive for or- ganisationsto open up and share their know- ledge, the most compelling arguments are those that led to calls for the establishment of the ERA in the first place.‘We simply try to convince them that it istheir intereststo col- laborate. Not only does it avoid fragmenta- tion and duplication of effort, but ultimately it is the key to Europe’s global competitive- ness in this field,’ he said.

To give an idea of the scale of integration currently being undertaken, in the priority area of plant life management alone, what was a cluster of 33 projects under the Fifth Framework Programme (FP5) will soon be- come one, or a maximum of two, Networks of Excellence or Integrated Projects under FP6. In all, 75 individual projects in the area of nuclear reactor safety research under FP5 will be replaced by no more than six projects.

M r Van Goethem accepts that there is a genuine concern among smaller institutions and those based in accession countries that they will simply become lost within thislarge- scale framework. In response, the Commis- sion is actively promoting the participation of smaller facilities in their specific areas of expertise, and may create a specific budget to encourage the participation of organisa- tions from the accession states.

The FISA 2003 conference will be a useful occasion for the Commission, as it repre- sents the first gathering of the wider Euro- pean nuclear safety research community since the introduction of FP6, explains M r Van Goethem:‘We hope to take a snapshot of progress as it stands in November 2003, assess the reaction of all parties to the aims and instrumentsof FP6, and find out whether all the necessary stakeholdersare on board.’

The event will also give the Commission an opportunity to hear about new avenues for research and, more importantly, examine which of these avenueshasthe required criti- cal massbehind it to begin to develop future initiatives.

M r Van Goethem is realistic about the scale of the challenge that the nuclear safety re- search community still faces: ‘This is a very risky and very ambitious undertaking. The most crucial factor, however, is that despite the risks, there is a clear consensus within the community that it should be attempted.’ For fur ther information on the EURATO M programme, please visit: http://www.cordis.lu/fp6-euratom/home.html To read more about the FISA-2003 event, please consult the following W eb address: http://www.cordis.lu/fp5-euratom/src/ev101103.htm Based on a CORDI S News interview with Georges Van Goethem RCN 21050

3 NOVEMBER 2003