Georgian National Academy of Sciences hosts ALLEA Board in Tbilisi

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The Georgian National Academy of Sciences kindly invited the ALLEA Board to hold their Board Meeting in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, where the attending members paid special attention to ongoing ALLEA activities and discussed future activities for the academies.

The President of the academy, Academician Giorgi Kvesitadze welcomed the ALLEA Board on the first day of the meeting. In his welcome speech, the President contextualised the role of the Georgian academy and highlighted its preeminent role as a scientific advisor to the Georgian government and also its role as a supervisor to Georgian universities. The academy works towards ultimately achieving a knowledge-based society, planned incorporation into the European Research Area is considered a necessary step in that direction.

The first day of the meeting was held at the Agricultural University of Georgia, which provided the members of the Board the chance to take a close look at the state of Georgian higher education facilities.
In the meeting, the members of the Board received updates on the manifold ALLEA activities that took place over the summer. Krista Varantola reported on the status of the ALLEA European Code of Conduct revision carried out by the Permanent Working Group Science & Ethics, where several meetings were held and stakeholders were consulted.

In addition, the Board discussed the most recent ALLEA statement on “patent-related aspects of CRISPR-Cas”, which was published by the Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights and which was very well received by the relevant European Institutions.

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The ALLEA Board with the President of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences, Academician Giorgi Kvesitadze

Furthermore, the Board heard an update on the AGATE project, where ALLEA supports the Union of the German Academies in reaching out to academies and other relevant stakeholders across Europe. Several member academies have already shown interest and signed a letter of intent to support the project.

The second day of the meeting took place at the National Parliamentary Library of Georgia. The focus of the day was on the current status of SAPEA and the Board heard a report on the ongoing preparation for the project.
Another emphasis was put on ALLEA’s science diplomacy activities which over the summer were quite timely in responding to the outcome of the UK referendum on membership in the European Union and its likely impact on research institutions as well as issuing a statement calling to ensure the scientific integrity and safety of scientists in Turkey following the coup d’état in July.

The Georgian National Academy of Sciences, successor to the Georgian Academy of Sciences, was established in February 1941. The direct predecessors of the Academy were the Georgian branch of the All-Union Academy of Sciences and the Tbilisi State University, where a number of research institutions and scientific centers were created in the 20s and 30s of the past century.

The Georgian National Academy of Sciences coordinates scientific research in Georgia and develops relationship with up to 20 Academies in foreign countries. It is a scientific Adviser to the Georgian Government.

The Georgian Academy of Sciences with up to 65 scientific institutes was formed during the Soviet period. At present all these institutes are under the umbrella of the Ministry of Education and Sciences of Georgia. They are amalgamated with different Tbilisi Universities. Although they are still accountable to the Academy.

European Academies’ Statement: Science is Global

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On the occasion of the ESOF conference in Manchester 2016, Europe’s Academies celebrate the value of science and research. Many of today’s most pressing challenges are global ones. International science and research collaborations greatly enhance the knowledge and tools we need to tackle them.

This means institutions from across Europe need to be free to recruit excellent researchers.  Our researchers must be able to work, cooperate across borders and travel flexibly as part of multinational activities. We must support the exchange of ideas. Unnecessary barriers to this mobility will weaken science and be to the cost of all nations.

The academies of Europe stand together to support our governments in encouraging our countries and institutions to work in partnership to deliver research, scholarship and innovation across the continent for the benefit of society.

Click here for PDF

ALLEA rejects the attempted coup d’état and calls for the Republic of Turkey to respect academic freedom and autonomy

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ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, rejects all non-constitutional and violent attempts to threaten the democracies in the Council of Europe region, which is the host region to the ALLEA member academies, and indeed all over the world. Consequently, ALLEA strongly condemns the attempted coup d’état by factions of the Turkish military on 15 July 2016 against the democratically elected institutions of the Republic of Turkey.

In the meantime ALLEA has closely followed the subsequent and on-going developments and is alarmed by the repressive and excessive nature of recent measures against several public sectors in Turkey, including the academic and research community, carried out by the Turkish government and compliant civil servants in response to the coup.

In particular, we learnt with grave concern and alarm that apparently all 1577 university deans were suspended, thousands of licenses of teachers cancelled, all academics banned from leaving Turkey, and Turkish academics were being called back from abroad.

We strongly condemn these and any other punitive or preventive actions taken without distinction, depriving academics and researchers from their fundamental rights, particularly the right to freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly as well as the right to exercise their profession without politically or ideologically motivated constraints.

We urge the Turkish Government to halt these measures and to return to, respect and safeguard the principles of academic freedom and autonomy for both individuals and institutions in the science and higher education sectors in Turkey.

We stand in solidarity with our Turkish colleagues in these difficult times and we particularly support the academicians and staff in our member academies located in Ankara and Istanbul.

We call upon the European Institutions, national Governments as well as fellow scientists and scholars across Europe and beyond to express their support for the academic and research community in Turkey.

Click here for pdf version of the statement

ALLEA supports Statement “Research and Innovation: after the EU referendum” by British and Irish academies

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ALLEA fully supports the statement “Research and Innovation: after the EU Referendum”, released by seven Academies on the British Isles including five ALLEA Member Academies, and calls upon all parties involved in the Brexit negotiation process to ensure that existing cooperation agreements are not violated and that on-going scientific collaborations and exchanges of researchers continue until the negotiations are finalised and have become legally binding.

The UK’s outstanding research and innovation base is central to our economic, social and cultural well-being. It gives us a competitive advantage and helps increase productivity, growth and the creation of high-value jobs, and it is the bedrock of cultural innovation and influence. This applies right across the economy including service sectors where the potential for productivity-led growth is particularly strong. The result of the EU Referendum presents a challenge to maintaining this excellence. The current uncertainty is having immediate implications and raises many questions. The national academies represent the best researchers and innovators in their fields, we stand ready to help ensure that Great Britain and Northern Ireland maintains its world leading position in research and innovation. A bold public commitment from the Government that the UK wishes to retain and build this excellence is required to assuage any loss of confidence in UK research.

People Researcher mobility between the UK and EU Member States is key to our future excellence and should be reinforced, and with no detriment to researchers, staff and students based in the UK, nor to those wishing to study or do research in the UK. Currently 15% of all academic staff at UK universities are from other EU countries. We believe it is vital that UK-based researchers and staff from other EU countries are given assurances that they and their dependents will be able to continue to live and work here. Similarly, opportunities need to be safeguarded for UK researchers to gain experience in other EU countries.

Collaboration Research and innovation thrive on clear long-term frameworks, such as that provided by the EU. International collaborations lead to research with greater impact – 60% of the UK’s internationally co-authored research papers are with EU partners. Given our geographic proximity, historical links and the relative strength of the research base of many EU countries, UK research excellence draws extensively on collaboration with colleagues in other EU Member States and we need this to continue to retain our excellence. It is vital that we reassure our EU partners of the UK’s commitment to current and future collaboration.

Resources EU research programmes have been a significant and growing contributor to UK research. In Framework Programme 7 from 2007-13 the UK received €6.9billion and is a net beneficiary from EU research programmes. Urgent discussions are needed on how to address any funding gap in both the short and medium term. In addition, it is not only the scale of funding that is significant, but also the intrinsically collaborative nature of these programmes that allow UK researchers to achieve more than they would alone. Similarly, EU programmes provide opportunities for industrial competitors to collaborate with each other and work together towards common goals, often for societal benefit. As a Member State, the UK has been able to shape the EU research and innovation agenda in a way that reinforces our strengths. We look forward to engaging with the Government to ensure that the UK community can continue to maximise its influence on the EU research and innovation agenda.

Regulation The common rules and standards of regulations across the EU provide a strong platform for the exchange of people, ideas and data for research. A movement away from common rules may increase the time and cost to UK research, scholarship and innovation. It is critical that we identify those areas of regulation where alignment with EU rules is most important for the UK’s competitiveness, and that UK experts remain fully engaged in shaping the development of standards and regulations.

Moving forward As the Government explores the various options for the future relationship of the UK with the EU, we urge it to do its utmost to safeguard the UK’s assets in research, scholarship and innovation by: a) seeking the closest achievable association with the EU research programmes; b) ensuring that talented researchers from other EU countries have certainty about the opportunities to work in the UK and likewise for UK researchers to work in other EU countries; and c) providing funding that will continue to promote international collaboration.

Click here for pdf version of the statement

ALLEA releases Statement on “Patent-Related Aspects of CRISPR-Cas Technology”

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In July 2016, ALLEA, via its Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, issued a statement on Patent-Related Aspects of CRISPR-Cas Technology, which investigates the current state of European patent law legislation in regards to CRISPR-Cas technology and comes to the conclusion that the current legislative framework is sufficient for the foreseeable future.

This ALLEA statement is at the cutting edge of genome research legislation, ensuring that this promising technology is not only ground-breaking in life sciences but also sound and free of patent and ethical issues on the legislative side.

After careful consideration of patent-related implications of CRISPR-Cas technology, the Permanent Working Group concludes that the existing “EU patent law provides the necessary incentives for further development and use across all fields of life sciences” and that there will be no patents granted which could “offend human dignity and/or integrity”. As such the Permanent Working Group states that the  rules set out by the European Patent Court are flexible enough to cover research and development, and use of CRISPR-Cas technology “does not require any reforms in the patent law field”. Furthermore, existing legislation is considered to be encouraging and reflective of the respectful application of CRISPR-Cas research by the academic community.

The statement will be circulated among the relevant European and national institutions to further ALLEA’s efforts to contribute to policy for science advice. The full statement is available here.

Third edition of AEMASE Conference planned for 2017

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Among the manifold activities aimed at improving STEM education, the ALLEA Working Group on Science Education is currently working on the preparation of the third AEMASE Conference, which is intended to take place in the second half of 2017.

The ALLEA Working Group on Science Education, chaired by Professor Giancarlo Vecchio, has over the last years put great effort in promoting the cooperation between academies in the AEM (African, European and Mediterranean) region.
Amongst the activities of the informal AEMASE network (African-European-Mediterranean Academies for Science Education), which aims to improve science education in schools in the AEM area, it has organized two intercontinental conferences during the past years: the AEMASE I Conference, hosted by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei in Rome in 2014, and the AEMASE II Conference, held in the premises of the Académie Nationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal in Dakar in 2015.

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During both conferences, participants from various continents shared their experiences and best practices developed in their countries to reform science education focusing on the novel pedagogical approach IBSE (Inquiry-Based Science Education). On the occasion of the AEMASE II Conference delegates of European and African academies signed the Dakar Declaration calling for a sound cooperation among Academies, Ministries of Education, the African Union, the European Commission, UNESCO and foundations for the renewal of science education at the intercontinental African-European level.

For the AEMASE III conference, the Maltese Government has been approached with an invitation to host the event on the Mediterranean island. A preliminary response signalled a keen interest. Subsequent discussions on a final agreement and concrete arrangements for date and venue of the conference are currently underway.
The conference will again provide a unique opportunity to bring together an international audience of scientists and researchers, science education experts and teachers trainers, policy-makers and politicians, representatives of funding agencies and foundations and to provide a platform to discuss the challenges for the future of science education, to stress the importance and benefits resulting from its reform in Africa and Europe and to promote AEMASE projects in the field of teachers´ professional development.

A Scientific Committee for the conference is currently being formed, co-chaired by Odile Macchi, member of the Académie des Sciences in France, and Norbert Hounkonnou, President of the Benin National Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, and including a number of further representatives from African and European academies, renowned scientists from Malta as well as the Presidents of the academy networks ALLEA and NASAC (Network of African Science Academies).

 

ALLEA Board meets in Minsk at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

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In its first meeting since the 2016 General Assembly, the ALLEA Board came together in Minsk on 20/21 June, on the kind invitation of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, to discuss ongoing ALLEA business and to lay the groundwork for the impending start of the SAPEA project in autumn.

On the first day of the meeting, the members of the Board were welcomed by the President of the Belarusian Academy, Academician Vladimir Gusakov, who expressed his deep gratitude for ALLEA’s interest in the science system of his country and highlighted how membership in ALLEA has led to many fruitful cooperation agreements with other academies across Europe. The NASB has been a member of ALLEA since its foundation in 1994

The following meeting saw for the first time the participation and accreditation of the newly elected Board Members Hubert Bocken of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts, Brigitte Mazohl of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and of Krista Varantola of the Council of Finnish Academies.

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Picture credit: National Academy of Sciences of Belarus

The focus of the meeting on the first day was on the implementation of issues which were agreed upon during the ALLEA General Assembly in Vienna as well as other recent, on-going and future activities of ALLEA and partners.

The second day of the meeting primarily dealt with ALLEA’s role in the SAPEA project, in which ALLEA as a consortium partner together with Academia Europaea, EASAC, Euro-CASE and FEAM will be providing science advice to policy makers in the European Commission. As such, possible avenues for ALLEA member academies to get involved in the project were discussed and followed-up from the General Assembly.

Additionally, the Presidency was pleased to report on active working groups, with the Permanent Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights finalizing a statement on CRISPR-Cas technology, the Permanent Working Group on Science & Ethics working on a revision of the European Code of Conduct of Research Integrity and the Working Group Science Education preparing the third AEMASE conference in Malta.

The meeting was concluded with an exquisite cultural programme organized by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and discussions on ways to foster cooperation between NASB and sister academies in Europe under the umbrella of ALLEA.

The ALLEA Board was accompanied during its visit by NASB Chief Scientific Secretary Alexander Kilchevski and the Head of the Department for International Cooperation, Vladimir Podkopaev.

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Picture: The ALLEA Board, absent: Daniela Jezova, Nikolay Miloshev

 The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NAS of Belarus, or NASB) is the highest
state scientific organization of the Republic of Belarus, which carries out the organization and
coordination of fundamental and applied research performed by all subjects of scientific
activities, provides fundamental and applied research and developments in the main directions of
natural, engineering, social sciences, the humanities and arts with the purpose of obtaining new
knowledge about human, society, nature and artificial objects and increasing the scientific and
technical, intellectual and spiritual potential of the Republic of Belarus. The National Academy
of Sciences carries out the organization, conduction and coordination of the state of scientific
expertise, pursues common state policy, coordination and state regulation of activities of
organizations in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, serves as an
umbrella organization of Belarus on scientific and methodological support of informatisation
development, and also carries out some functions of a republican body of state management in
the field of science

For pictures and a report (in English) of the meeting by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus please click here.

Union of the German Academies hosts kick-off workshop for AGATE project

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On 13 June 2016, around 30 experts from European science academies, infrastructures in the fields of Digital Humanities and Social Sciences, and related infrastructures met at the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW), to discuss the “Chances and Challenges of a European Internet Gateway for the Social Sciences and Humanities ”.

The Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities currently coordinates  the project “Elaboration of a Concept for a European Academies Internet Gateway for the Social Sciences and Humanities (AGATE)”, conducted in close collaboration with ALLEA. The workshop’s objective was to share experiences and know-how, identify common chances and challenges of the proposed AGATE, and to pinpoint synergies and possibilities for future collaboration (click here for the workshop programme).

Participants from left to right: Ulrike Wuttke, Laurent Romary, Istvan Monok, and Beat Immenhauser

Participants from left to right: Ulrike Wuttke, Laurent Romary, Istvan Monok, and Beat Immenhauser

The workshop opened with a session dedicated to the “Status Quo of digital Research Practices and Publications at the European Academies today”.
Several representatives of European academies gave insights into the challenges the digitisation process is posing to their academies’ SSH-projects, available solutions and desiderata. There was agreement that the long-term perspective and relevance of this research output creates particular requirements regarding the sustainability of digital

research methods and publication practices. Against this background, the AGATE initiative is considered a welcome opportunity to exchange knowledge and highlight best practices amongst the European academies to develop a joint digital agenda that ensures the leading position of the academies’ SSH research during the digital turn.

In the afternoon session four experts discussed fundamental aspects of the proposed AGATE with the workshop participants, amongst them representatives of the European Infrastructures DARIAH, CLARIAH(NL)/CLARIN, Europeana, and OpenAire. The participants agreed that AGATE has to be more than a technical solution. Its relevance lies equally in the support of digital research practices and network-building amongst the academies. Therefore, the second workshop which will take place on 16 January 2017 at the BBAW, will focus on practical information concerning digital research and publication practices, such as standards and good practices, legal issues, and other relevant topics. It will be aimed at researchers, ICT and digital library experts, and other interested parties from European Academies. Suggestions can be conveyed either to the scientific coordinator of the project, Dr Ulrike Wuttke (wuttke@akademienunion-berlin.de), or directly to the ALLEA Berlin office (secretariat@allea.org).

ALLEA President congratulates Academy of Sciences of Moldova to 55th anniversary

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On 12 June, the Academy of Sciences of Moldova celebrated two major events in its history. It has been 55 years since the academy was officially founded and even 70 years since the establishment of  the first research institute. To commemorate these dates, the academy put together an impressive programme, showcasing the variety of Moldovan science and folklore.
ALLEA President Günter Stock was warmly invited to participate in the festivities, but due to conflicting appointment was unable to go. Instead he sent a video message which you can find below.

ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science & Ethics met in Berlin to revise of European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity

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On 10 June 2016, a subgroup of the ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics met in the premises of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin to discuss the revision of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. The meeting was joined by representatives from the Ethics and Research Integrity Sector at the European Commission and from the European Network of Research Integrity Offices (ENRIO).

Following a request by the European Commission, the ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics, chaired by Professor Göran Hermerén, has taken on the responsibility of updating the “European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity”. For this endeavor, a subgroup was formed, comprising experts from Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. The group is chaired by Dr Maura Hiney from the Royal Irish Academy, who also chairs Science Europe’s Working Group on Research Integrity.

First published in 2011 in cooperation with the European Science Foundation (ESF), the first edition of this document addressed the principles of research integrity, good research practices and potential forms of misconduct in scientific and scholarly research. The Code was well received and is widely used within the research community across Europe.

Recently, the European Commission expressed a keen interest in an updated version of the Code which is intended to become the standard reference document for EU-funded research projects. Since the first publication, new developments such as self-plagiarism, reproducibility of research results and challenges arising in the context of Open Science, among others, have evolved and will be taken into account in the revision of the Code.

At the meeting, ALLEA President Professor Günter Stock welcomed the members of the subgroup and the attending guests and highlighted the value and importance of ALLEA’s Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics’ work in general and the efforts in updating the Code in particular. He considered it an exceptional opportunity for ALLEA to continue framing the conditions for science and scholarship in Europe, thereby demonstrating the capacities and strength of the academies in Europe in providing policy-for-science advice to policy-makers through their European network ALLEA.

In this first meeting, the participants shared their vision on the nature and objectives of the Code in light of the challenges arising from new developments in the research enterprise as well as in society. They identified the main issues to be revised and updated in the document and agreed on the procedures and timeline of the revision process.

The participants shared the understanding of the Code as an empowering document for scientists and scholars, which should be universally applicable and should aim to promote a culture of integrity and good research practice.

Relevant stakeholders and experts outside the academies will be involved in the revision through a two-stage consultation process. The detailed discussions with Mr Isidoros Karatzas from the European Commission and Dr Torkild Vinther from ENRIO represented a first step in this direction. Further relevant external stakeholder organisations have been invited to signpost issues that they feel should be considered in an updated Code of Conduct. In a second stage, stakeholders will be encouraged to comment on an advanced draft of the document.

A revised version of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity is envisaged to be finalised in early 2017.