Archive for category: ALLEA-News

The ALLEA Permanent Working Group Intellectual Property Rights met in Munich at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition on 24 February to plan its roadmap for 2017 and to discuss the most pressing developments relevant for science and research in the field of intellectual property rights, including topics such as Human Embryonic Stem Cells (HESC), “Big Data” and scientific publications, among others.

In its first meeting of the year, the Group set its priorities and agreed to focus future activities on deliberating and producing statements on the patentability of Human Embryonic Stem Cells (HESC) (see below for related previous statements), the patenting of products of essentially biological processes, the inventorship of multinational inventions, and the European Commission’s proposal for a directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market.

Furthermore, the experts will continue monitoring the latest developments on “Open Access”, taking into account the complex negotiations between the publisher Elsevier and several German scientific institutions, as well as the case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) concerning the linking and making available of contents on the Internet. The Group has published a series of statements on Open Access scientific publishing in the past, including “Enhancement of Open Access to scientific publications in Europe”, as well as a follow-up statement and a supplementary statement (see below for download).

In the meeting, Professor Carlo D’Adda on behalf of the ALLEA Board also informed the participants about the recent developments concerning ALLEA’s involvement in the EU funded project SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies), which brings together the five European academy networks to work within the EU’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) and contributes to this new innovative scientific advice system in the provision of science advice to the European Commission.

ALLEA’s Permanent Working Group Intellectual Property Rights is chaired by Professor Joseph Straus, Director Emeritus of the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. The expert group regularly issues reflections, declarations and recommendations on the most challenging topics of patents and copyrights. Most recently, it has published a Statement on the Patent-Related Aspects of CRISPR-Cas Technology.

Published statements on related topics:

Open Access

• Enhancement of Open Access to scientific publications in Europe
• Follow-Up Statement: Open Access to scientific publications in Europe
• Supplementary Statement on Enhancement of Open Access to scientific publications in Europe

Human Embryonic Stem Cells (HESC)

• ALLEA Statement on Patentability and Research Funding relating to embryonic Stem Cells (e-SCs)
• ALLEA Statement on Patentability of Inventions Involving Human Embryonic Pluripotent Stem Cells in Europe of May 2011 and the Judgment of the Court of European Communities (Grand Chamber) of 18 October 2011 in Case C-34/10
• ALLEA Statement on Patenting of Inventions Involving Human Embryonic Pluripotent Stem Cells in Europe, 13 May 2011, Amsterdam

The newly formed ALLEA Framework Programme 9 Working Group held its kick-off meeting on 9 February in Brussels at the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts to plan and discuss the roadmap for their future actions. The Group aims at developing an ALLEA perspective for the future of EU research and innovation following the conclusion of the Horizon 2020 programme. ALLEA President, Prof. Günter Stock, welcomed the members of the group and particularly pointed to the importance of substantially integrating social sciences and humanities in any forthcoming EU funding project for research.

The ALLEA President thanked the fellows for their commitment and engagement with ALLEA activities, and expressed satisfaction at the wide and keen interest among Member Academies in taking part in the group. “It is very important that the academies have a say on the future of research funding in Europe and over the last years we have been able to further increase our sway with the decision-makers in charge of EU research policy”, Prof. Stock stated.

“It is very important that the academies have a say on the future of research funding in Europe and over the last years we have been able to further increase our sway with the decision-makers in charge of EU research policy”

Günter Stock, ALLEA President

The Group consists of twenty members representing fifteen countries of the Council of Europe region and has already defined the fundamental lines of its programme. Key aspects are the engagement with relevant European institutions, the development of suggestions based on input from the ALLEA Member Academies, and the production of regular updates for the ALLEA Board and Member Academies. The agenda of the first meeting included key research policy topics such as the guiding principles and core values of a future EU research and innovation programme, as well as technical aspects of the budget, implementation and evaluation of the plan, among others.

The overall purpose of the Group is to ensure that any successor research programme to Horizon 2020 is developed taking into account the interests of the scientific and research community in mind. Particularly it seeks to guarantee that the Social Sciences and Humanities are fully represented in the design of any future plan. As a successor to the already completed ALLEA Social Sciences and Humanities Working Group, the fellows will be able to build on existing work and ample experience.

A new ALLEA Working Group called “Framework Programme 9” will develop suggestions for the successor EU Framework for Research and Innovation that will come into force after the conclusion of Horizon 2020. The Group will engage with Academies, relevant EU institutions and stakeholders to ensure that the interests of the scientific community are taken into consideration in the design of the future programme, and that particularly the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) are fairly represented.

Following the decision of the 2016 ALLEA General Assembly in Vienna, the new Working Group is set up as a successor to ALLEA’s Social Sciences and Humanities Working Group, which advocated for the full representation and needs of the Humanities and Social Science in the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme. The new Working Group will continue these efforts in the coming years to ensure that the SSH are appropriately represented in the scope, organisation and funding of the future post-Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.

On 9 Feb. 2017 the first meeting of the working group will take place in Brussels

Furthermore, the Framework Programme 9 Working Group will seek to encourage deliberation and foresight within the ALLEA member academies on the fields and activities in which EU funding will be a priority within the period 2020 to 2030. On 9 February 2017 the first meeting of the working group will take place in Brussels. The new working group’s membership comprises twenty members representing academies from across Europe, including from Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, The Netherlands, and the UK.

Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme to date with nearly €80 billion of funding available over seven years, from 2014 to 2020. It seeks to achieve EU’s policy objectives with an emphasis on excellent science, industrial leadership and tackling societal challenges. Since October 2016, the European Commission is conducting an interim evaluation on the programme open to the general public and key stakeholders.

At its fourth and last meeting of 2016, the ALLEA Board came together in Belgrade from 1-2 December, on the kind invitation of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA). The ALLEA meeting was held simultaneously to the international symposium “National Academies of Sciences and Arts in the 21st Century”, organised by the Serbian Academy as part of a series of events on the occasion of its 175th anniversary.

In the meeting, the members of the Board discussed the ongoing activities and future initiatives of ALLEA’s working groups, the development of the SAPEA project (Scientific Advice to Policy by European Academies), and the latest deliberations on prominent upcoming events, including ALLEA’s General Assembly 2017.

In a side meeting between the Board of ALLEA and SASA, the President of the Serbian Academy, Vladimir Kostić, gave a welcome address to the ALLEA Board and highlighted the relevance of regional cooperation amongst the academies, particularly in the framework of Western Balkan initiative and through the Danube Academies Conference. ALLEA President, Günter Stock, provided an overview on the core features and activities of the European federation of academies and expressed his thanks for the hospitality and for combining the ALLEA Board meeting with the international symposium.

The symposium featured lectures to re-think the role of academies for the future. ALLEA President Günter Stock participated in these discussions, jointly with academy delegates from Balkan and Central European countries, inter alia Austria, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Slovenia.

In the symposium’s afternoon session, Professor Günter Stock gave a speech on the role of academies in the course of history. He delved into the responsibilities and principles of academies in the past and present, and pointed to current and emerging threats to science. Particularly he drew attention to challenges faced by scientists and scientific systems and called on academicians to engage with the public and promote a rational discourse.

Vice President Daniela Jezova represented ALLEA at the Academy’s commemorative ceremony that took place under the auspices of the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

ALLEA Vice President Daniela Jezova spoke in Sarajevo on 28 October during the official ceremony organised to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ANUBiH). The solemn session took place under the auspices of the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Professor Jezova congratulated the ANUBiH on its high achievements during its sixty-five year history promoting excellence in science. Particularly she underlined the remarkable role of the national Academy in the country’s research system. “We can be proud that the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a member of ALLEA, has demonstrated interdisciplinary excellence, autonomy of research, and has promoted and fostered international collaborations”, she affirmed.

In her speech, Professor Jezova drew attention to the work of ALLEA on bringing together academies from across Europe and beyond. She particularly highlighted the importance of the European Commission’s Science Advice Mechanism (SAM) as the new advisory system to obtain scientifically based policy advice. To support this mechanism, ALLEA is working with a network of organisations of academies in the SAPEA project (Scientific Advice to Policy by European Academies). The ALLEA Vice President encouraged the Bosnian academy to collaborate and contribute to these efforts.

The solemn session was opened by a welcome address by the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Bakir Izetbegovic, and closed with the speech of the President of the academy, Professor Milos Trifkovic. The celebrations also commemorated the 50 years since the enactment of the Law on the Academy of Sciences and Arts, and included an exhibition of the artistic works of the members of the Department of Arts of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ANUBiH) is the highest scientific institution in the country and was established in 1951 by the Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The institution works under the principles of independence and autonomy and was assigned the task of taking care of the development of science and arts in the country. Its activities include the organisation of scientific and artistic productions, and the publication of the works of its members and Academy’s associates. The ANUBiH is managed exclusively by the principles and interests of science and free beliefs of its members.