Europe has forgotten to research Europe itself

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In a radio report released on 12 July 2014 by Radio Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), ALLEA President Günter Stock was interviewed regarding the inclusion of the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in the Horizon 2020 funding programme. In addition to Professor Stock, the report included interviews with German state secretary Georg Schütte (Federal Ministry for Education and Research), Jutta Allmendinger (president of the Social Science Research Center Berlin), and Anette Schade, an expert from the European Union office at the Technical University of Berlin.

The radio report focused on identifying the three pillars of Horizon 2020 and the lack of explicit consideration of SSH in these three areas, which include excellence in science, industrial leadership, and societal challenges. Professor Stock described the efforts of the European science academies to convince policymakers to give SSH more consideration within the Horizon 2020 programme. “We went to Brussels and … said to the ministers that one cannot simply shape the future with technology alone,” stated Stock, who continued to emphasize the social challenges facing Europe and the importance of SSH for addressing these challenges.

While Allmendinger noted the lack of opportunities for Horizon 2020 scientists to sufficiently prepare long-term SSH studies, Stock advised these SSH researchers to take notes from those scientists in the fields of medicine and physics, for example, who over the years have developed strategies for competing for funds on the European level.

As a closing remark of the RBB report, Stock warned that Europe could be on its way to losing its own citizens due to a lack of understanding of the mechanisms that drive Europe as a collective entity. “Since Europe, in terms of research funding, has been very oriented towards creating jobs in the technology sector, it has somewhat forgotten to research Europe itself. And that leads many Europeans to ask themselves: what is the purpose of this ‘Europe?’ That is not a technological question,” explained Stock, who continued on to note the first positive chances for SSH to be better represented in Horizon 2020 research funding, although these efforts would need to be substantially fostered by the programme.

To hear the full radio report in German language, please click here.

Academies issue recommendations on “Mastering Demographic Change in Europe”

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ALLEA supports the joint statement “Mastering Demographic Change in Europe” published by 8 European Academies of Science in order to address the policy challenges driven by significant demographic developments currently taking place in Europe. The statement offers research-based recommendations to encourage well-informed European Union policymaking grounded in an understanding of the causes and outcomes of demographic change.

As Europe’s population ages and lives longer lives, its fertility rate is falling. Europeans are increasingly migrating within the European Union, while a rising number of non-EU citizens are also immigrating to EU countries. These developments, combined with global changes such as climate change, natural resource shortages, as well as economic and social challenges, require careful planning on the part of EU policymakers in order to ensure a high quality of life for future generations.

Professor Günter Stock, President of the Federation of All European Academies (ALLEA), states: “European values on how to combine work and family life, how to use the individual potential throughout the longer lifespan, and how to best integrate and accommodate migrants vary significantly. From a scientific point of view, academies of science across Europe affirm that it is neither the number of children or of immigrants nor of life years per se, but the quality of living in sustainable conditions we need to improve. This is the direction of reconciling demographic change processes with economic, social and environmental conditions.”

The statement calls for a systematic, life-course approach towards understanding how longer working lives need policies that allow for more flexible movement between the spheres of education, career, and family. Moreover, the statement emphasizes that European citizens need the support of both EU and national policymakers for the successful management of longer working and post-retirement lives, the maintenance of productivity and quality of life levels beyond economic employment, and sustainable consumption.

Eight European Academies of Science have contributed their knowledge on demographic change and its causes and consequences to this statement. The full statement can be accessed here. For more information, please click here.

Complete Report Released – Academia-Industry Alliance: Joint Efforts in Science Education

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The Royal Irish Academy (RIA)-ALLEA Joint Efforts in Science Education Forum took place on 20 November, 2013. Since the initial release of the summary of the forum discussions, contributions have been added with further reports on the state of science education in numerous European countries.

The first part of the report focuses on the forum, which brought together industry and education partners to discuss existing and identify future potential collaborative efforts to enhance maths, science and technology education and student experiences in Ireland, with reference to existing and emerging European initiatives in this space. The second part of the report encompasses the contributions of numerous ALLEA Working Group Science Education members, who offer detailed reports on science education efforts and challenges in their respective countries. Now available as a complete document, the report provides a comprehensive look at the current challenges of adapting European school curricula to investigation-based teaching methods and the need to simultaneously build an academia-industry alliance to further the progress of science education in Europe.

Please click here to read the full report.

The open session on Academia-Industry Alliances also relates to previous activities of the ALLEA Working Group Science Education and follows up on a comprehensive report written upon request of the European Commission and entitled “A renewal of science education in Europe – views and actions of national academies”. In the report, the Working Group details the views and actions taken by European Academies to advance the renewal of science education and maintain the passion for science and technology among the youth. Building alliances with the business world is seen as an important step towards these objectives.

The Royal Irish Academy (Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann) was founded in 1785 and is Ireland’s academy for the sciences, humanities and social sciences. The Academy provides expert advice, manages research projects, publishes books and journals and sustains a library. Election to membership of the Academy is the highest academic honour in Ireland and the Academy has currently approximately 460 members.

ALLEA supports the statement “Protecting health and scientific research in the Data Protection Regulation”

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news bannerALLEA supports the statement “Protecting health and scientific research in the Data Protection Regulation,” prepared by Wellcome Trust, the international charitable foundation dedicated to funding biomedical research and supporting the medical humanities. Drafted in 2012, the Data Protection Regulation would take direct effect in all EU Member States. The European Parliament and Council are currently discussing and amending the Regulation, which could be adopted next year.

Since last year, the Civil Liberties and Home Affairs (LIBE) committee of the European Parliament has supported amendments to Articles 81 and 83 of the Regulation. While the original draft of the Regulation laid out a plan for protecting privacy without impeding research progress, the amendments would severely confine the types of patient data that can be used in scientific research by requiring specific consent in nearly every case. The heavily restricted use of personal data such as individual patient records would remove a critical resource from research for the benefit of society.

Although these amendments are meant to protect the people who give researchers the personal data they need to carry out their work, there is already a rigorous framework in place to protect the abuse of this data. This statement emphasizes the strict confidentiality controls already in place in both national and international law for researchers working with personal data. Furthermore, identifiable personal data may only be used when other options are not possible and only for studies with demonstrable potential to benefit society as a whole. “Sometimes researchers need details such as age, postcode and information on a health condition that together could disclose the identity of an individual, but the study would not be possible without it. In many studies that would be affected, individuals have voluntarily given broad consent for their data to be used in research to further our understanding of society, health and disease. Their contributions could be wasted if the amendments become law,” states the Wellcome Trust in its press release.

Along with over 100 other signatories including numerous Member Academies as well as EASAC, ALLEA recommends the original draft Regulation that provides for a proportionate mechanism to protect privacy without hindering meaningful scientific research. The statement can be accessed here.

ALLEA Board meets in Berlin at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities

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The ALLEA Board met in Berlin at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities on 9 July 2014, to discuss recent, current, and future ALLEA activities as well as administrative and budgetary matters. Special attention was given to outcomes of the ALLEA General Assembly 2014, which took place on 24/25 April in Oslo, on the premises of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

An activity report from the Presidency encompassed ALLEA President Günter Stock’s visit to the British Academy Dinner in London honouring Anne Glover, the Chief Scientific Advisor to the President of the European Commission. Other topics included the release of the publication on the “Facing the Future” conference on European SSH research infrastructures  and various proposals regarding how to bring further attention to SSH research on Europe as well as the broader contributions science and research can make to EU development. Further matters of discussion involved updates from the respective ALLEA Working Groups, the programme planning for the next GA to be held at the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon in Spring 2015, as well as the next award ceremony for the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values.

Moreover, the Board decided to endorse the statement “Protecting health and scientific research in the Data Protection Regulation” (drafted by Wellcome Trust), which has already been endorsed by numerous Member Academies and by EASAC. A second statement published by eight Member Academies will also be supported by ALLEA: “Mastering Demographic Change in Europe”. Both statements and additional information will soon be made available on the ALLEA website and further disseminated among the respective channels.

Rounding out the meeting were reports on various avenues of international cooperation, including the last meeting of the Presidents of ALLEA, Academia Europaea, and EASAC in May 2014 in Riga, where a potential dialogue forum with the European Commission was discussed. In closing this second meeting of 2014, the Board looks forward to the next meeting, which will take place on 16/17 September in Sofia, on the invitation of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The ALLEA Board consists of nine members, elected by the General Assembly, including the President who chairs the Board. It regularly convenes 3 – 4 times per year. Current members are the delegates of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the National Academy of the Lincei (Italy), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Swiss Academies for Arts and Sciences and the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Every two years, the General Assembly decides on the composition of the ALLEA Board for the subsequent two years period. More information on the ALLEA Board can be found here.

Publication released: Results of the European Research Infrastructure Conference “Facing the Future” – available online (Open Access)

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ALLEA in cooperation with the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the German Data Forum (Rat SWD) has released a publication summerising the results of the conference “Facing the Future – European Research Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences” organised by the four institutions in November last year.

Working Group member Gerhard Lauer

Working Group member Gerhard Lauer

On that occasion, more than 70 social science and humanities experts, representatives from research policy and funding, and research infrastructure coordinators from 19 European countries met in Berlin to discuss emerging research issues and infrastructure needs, and to outline a roadmap for strengthening European research infrastructures in the social sciences and humanities in the years to come. The ALLEA Working Group E Humanities significantly contributed to the conference. Working Group Chair Sandra Collins co-chaired the session “Digital Humanities” and Working Group member Gerhard Lauer (picture) provided a lecture on present issues of the digital humanities (read more)

A publication condensing the lectures and outcomes of the conference has now been released in printed and digital format (open access): DUSA, Adrian; NELLE, Dietrich; STOCK, Günter; WAGNER, Gert. G.: Facing the Future: European Research Infrastructures for the Humanities and Social Sciences. 1. Aufl. Berlin: Scivero Verlag, 2014.

In 20 articles the authors discuss current challenges and future advancements of European research infrastructures for the humanities and social sciences, particularly in view of the funding scheme Horizon 2020 and the ESRFI Roadmap update. Starting with an overview of SSH infrastructures it elaborates on four specific areas that increasingly demand a pan-European approach. Drawing from the SSH infrastructure projects´ experience, it then (re-) defines the requirements and potential for next generation infrastructure projects.

The conference was held as part of the pan-European “Survey and Analysis of Basic Research in the Social Sciences and Humanities” (SASSH) at the science academies, learned societies, and related research institutes of Europe that is currently being conducted by ALLEA in close cooperation with the Union of German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Running from August 2013 until April 2015 the project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Many of the ALLEA member academies have already contributed to the project by submitting information about their respective SSH research projects. The initial phase of collecting data has now been closed. With a total of more than 600 answers the survey provides a substantial database of which first analyses can be drawn.

More information about the ALLEA Working Group E Humanities can be found here.

International collaboration in Science Education: AEMASE conference in Rome

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On 19 and 20 May 2014 experts from academia and political representatives assemble at the National Academy of the Lincei in Rome for the international conference “African-European-Mediterranean Academies for Science Education” (AEMASE). The conference is an initiative of five prestigious institutions in Africa and Europe (Bibliotheca Alexandrina – Egypt, Académie des Sciences – France, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei – Italy, Académie Hassan II des Sciences et Techniques – Morocco, Académie Nationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal).

The chairs of the organising committee, Professor Odile Macchi (ALLEA working group on Science Education / Académie des Sciences) and Professor Giancarlo Vecchio (Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei) formulate as main aims of the conferences “to foster the concrete dialogue between developed and developing countries for renewing Science Education” and “to strengthen in each country the partnership between Science Academies and Ministries of Education for the benefit of the renewal of Science Education”.

The programme includes a variety of keynotes and discussion panels as well as poster presentations and side meetings of expert committees of the academy networks ALLEA and IAP (Inter Academy Panel). Participants will be welcomed, among others, by the Ministers of Education of Italy and Sudan. Furthermore, the Presidents of three academic federations – ALLEA, NASAC (Network of African Science Academies) and EMAN (Euro-Mediterranean Academic Network) – will address the audience in the opening session.

Examples of successful international collaboration in the field of science education will be discussed just as a large number of national projects: The scope is not limited to Africa or Europe; presentations will include examples from Argentina, Australia, Finland, France, Haiti, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Senegal, Sudan, Sweden, United Kingdom, USA.

The conference is endorsed and financially supported by ALLEA and forms part of the IAP funded AEMASE project which aims to “(i) foster cooperation and bilateral twinnings on Inquiry Based Science Education and informal Science Education and pool resources for Teacher Professional Development; and (ii) raise awareness of Education Ministries for promoting Teacher Professional Development in science and strengthen their partnerships with their national science Academies.” (project description by IAP).

Please click here for comprehensive information about the conference.

Activities and statements of the ALLEA working group on Science Education can be accessed here.

ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Right issues response to the European Commission’s questionnaire on the review of EU copyright law

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On the initiative of Chairman Professor Joseph Straus, the ALLEA Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights presented a statement as a response to the European Commission´s questionnaire on the review of EU copyright law.

The statement particularly elaborates on copyright issues most relevant to the academic community in Europe and has been sent to the European Commission as an input to the on-going and future deliberations on the EU copyright rules. It was specifically addressed to European Commissioner Michel Barnier and Director General Jonathan Faull, responsible for Internal Market and Services. The full statement can be downloaded here.

More information about the ALLEA Permanent Working Group IPR can be found here.

ALLEA endorses “Statement Supporting Funding for Stem Cell and Reproductive Health Research in Europe 2014”

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ALLEA supports a joint statement drafted by the Wellcome Trust regarding the funding for Stem Cell and Reproductive Health Research in Europe. The statement calls on the European Parliament and European Commission to oppose an initiative seeking a ban on all financing of activities related to stem cell research, including research on regenerative medicine, reproductive health and genetic disease.

2013_11_7_stemcellThe views expressed in the statement coincide with the recommendation of a recent ALLEA position on “Patentability and Research Funding relating to embryonic Stem Cells”, prepared by the Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights in October 2013 and approved by all but two ALLEA member academies. The Wellcome Trust led joint statement has until today been endorsed by 76 partner organisations all across Europe, including  patient groups, research funders, academies and learned societies, universities and industry groups.

The statement seeks to maintain the provisions of the current framework for funding stem cell research in Horizon 2020: “Horizon 2020 allows ground breaking and important research using all forms of stem cells, subject to it meeting fundamental ethical principles. Any roll back of this agreement would be a major step backwards for research across regenerative medicine, reproductive health, genetic disease and delay the development of much needed treatments for a host of untreatable conditions.”

Click here to download the full statement.

Over the last years, the ALLEA working group on Intellectual Property Rights has issued three statements on stem cell research, particularly regarding the patentability and funding regulations, which explicitly underlined that a lack of patent protection in the area of embryonic stem cell research could negatively affect the investment in developing therapeutics based on human pluripotent embryonic stem cells. ALLEA has repeatedly raised serious concerns towards a possible cut down of funding in this field of research.

For download of the previous statements, background documents and further information on the topic please click here.

ALLEA General Assembly elects new member academies and re-elects ALLEA Board for the next term in office

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On the occasion of the 15th ALLEA General Assembly, held on the premises of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters in Oslo, on 25 April 2014 the delegates of the ALLEA member academies decided to admit four further full members and one associate member to the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities. Furthermore, in the course of ALLEA´s annual meeting, all re-eligible members of the ALLEA Board were re-elected and one new member was elected for the period 2014-16. The meeting was preceded by a scientific symposium and a festive event celebrating ALLEA´s 20th anniversary.

Participants of the annual ALLEA business meeting 2014 in Oslo

Participants of the annual ALLEA business meeting 2014 in Oslo

Since 25 April 2014 the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities counts 58 full members. On the recommendation of the ALLEA Board, the General Assembly voted for the admission of four academies that had applied for membership in ALLEA:  The Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (Spain), The Institute for Catalan Studies (Spain), The Academy of Sciences of Turin (Italy) and The Venetian Institute for Sciences, Letters and the Arts (Italy). The Assembly furthermore decided to admit The Science Academy, Istanbul (Turkey), as associate member in ALLEA.

The agenda of the 15th ALLEA General Assembly also included the election of the ALLEA Board for the following two years. The Board comprises nine members including the President and two Vice Presidents whose term in office is independent from the one of the Board. All five re-eligible existing Board members were re-elected and the ALLEA delegates elected The Royal Society of Edinburgh, represented by its Vice President Professor Graham Caie, to fill the vacancy and become member of the Board. The  15th ALLEA General Assembly closed with an invitation from the President of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon to hold the next annual meeting in the Portuguese capital on 23 and 24 April 2015.

Keynote speaker Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council (ERC)

Keynote speaker Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, President of the European Research Council (ERC)

The annual business meeting of ALLEA was preceded by a scientific symposium dedicated to the topic “Enabling Early Career Researchers: Needs for Training of a New Generation” on the day prior to the meeting. The symposium included a keynote speech by the President of the European Research Council (ERC), Professor Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, on European efforts in supporting the career paths of early stage scientists and scholars.

Further presentations and panel discussions provided manifold perspectives on the issue, particularly detailing the Norwegian practise and strategy and displaying the views of early career researchers themselves. Professor Lauritz Broder Holm-Nielsen, Vice President of the European Universities Association (EUA), laid a special focus on the efforts of Universities in training early career researchers in Europe.

The symposium was followed by a festive event celebrating ALLEA´s 20th anniversary opened by a speech on “The role of academies in a European research and education area” by the President of ALLEA, Professor Günter Stock. Further highlights included a video address by the laureate of the All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values 2014, Professor Luisa Passerini, elaborating on “Affective Narratives for Europe”, as well as a festive lecture by Professor Étienne François, Emeritus Professor of History in Paris and Berlin, discussing the question “Between National and Global: Europe as a Research Space”.

Welcome Address by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

Welcome Address by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters

The audience was welcomed by Professor Nils Chr. Stenseth, President of the hosting Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and Dr Björn Haugstad, State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry for Education and Research. Among the guests of the festive event were four past presidents of ALLEA as well as the Presidents of partner organisations in Europe: Professor Jos van der Meer, President of the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) and Professor Lars Walloe, President of  Academia Europaea.

Presentations and pictures of the symposium and festive event are made available here.
Please click for further information about The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Download Press Release here