Archive for category: ALLEA News

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.

European Union flag against European Parliament | Fotolia

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.

ALLEA President salutes SASA Vice President Ljubomir Maksimovic

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.

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.

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.