Newsletter November 2016

The Europe Office Newsletter –November 2016

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EVENTS

EUROPE WEEK: A series of events organised by the Europe Office,  will take place from,

Monday 28 November to Wednesday 30 November 2016. To register please go to,

http://www.eventbrite.com/preview?eid=29225706876 .  Lunch will be provided.

 

28/11/16, H116, 10.30am,

Scotland Europa Workshop:  International Collaboration for a Better Society,

This workshop will promote the opportunities for funding in the areas of  Social Inclusion, Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies, as well as Social Sciences and Humanities.  A range of opportunities will be examined in the following general areas:-

  • Growth and Inclusion and Reversing Inequalities
  • Global Economic Development and Social Welfare.
  • Cultural Engagement
  • Global Engagement

Please register separately for this event at, https://events.scottish-enterprise.com/events/ClientApps/Silverbear.Web.EDMS/public/default.aspx?tabid=37&id=301318&orgId=1

 

29/11/16, 10.30am, The Hanging Lantern Room,

Opportunities and Uncertainties: The landscape for continued European Engagement,

The debate will attempt to respond to the contradictory messages revolving around BREXIT and bring clarity to the current situation, suggesting strategies and initiatives to counter the prevailing sense of an ambiguous future.

 

30/11/16, H116, 11.00am,

Promoting and Showcasing European Funding Programmes and current projects,

Erasmus+, including Capacity Building and Strategic Parnterships; Interreg, Horizon2020 – hear from successful EU project participants and take the opportunity to network over lunch.

 

BREXIT

Universities UK provide information and analysis on the impact of Brexit at the following link:-

http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/policy-and-analysis/Pages/brexit-and-universities.aspx

 

HORIZON 2020

MSCA (Marie Skldowska Curie Actions) Deadlines for 2016/17

  • MSCA IF (Individual Fellowships) 2016: Deadline: 14/9/2017
  • MSCA COFUND-2016: Deadline : 28/9/2017
  • MSCA RISE (Research and Innovation Staff Exchange) -2016: Call open 1/12/16; Deadline 5/4/2017
  • MSCA ITN-(Innovative Training Networks) -2017:  Call open 15/9/16;  Deadline 10/1/17

Looking Beyond Horizon 2020

While Horizon 2020 is the main EU programme for funding research and innovation, there are also a number of other EU programmes which could be of interest to researchers looking for funding. These programmes are often characterised by lower funding levels and rates but often finance smaller scale projects which are harder to fit under the Horizon 2020 umbrella. The better known programmes include Erasmus+, COST and the Health Programme​, but there might also be opportunities under Creative Europe, LIFE, in the area of Rights, Equality, Citizenship and Justice or the Research Fund for Coal​ and Steel. Finally, UKRO has also produced a short overview on the European Structural and Investment Fund.

Different policy Directorate Generals of the European Commission run these programmes, and while some efforts have been made to align funding rules more, there are still significant differences, for example in the application procedures or the rules for project management and reporting. Our UKRO Factsheets will provide you with the most important information on each scheme in a condensed format.​

 

OTHER EU FUNDING

Erasmus Plus 2017 application deadlines announced

The European Commission has released the 2017 application deadlines for Erasmus+.

All the deadlines and information on the types of activities you can apply for are contained in the 2017 Call for Proposals document and the 2017 Programme Guide both of which you can download from the Eramus+ Key Resources page. The Call for Proposals is an overview document containing all the deadlines for 2017, while the Programme Guide contains all the detailed information on how to apply for Erasmus+ funding. You will need to read both documents when planning an application.

 

Contacts at GCU

Mark Anderson, Mark.Anderson@gcu.ac.uk or x8842

Pablo Lopez Alonso, Pablo.LopezAlonso@gcu.ac.uk  or x8337

Rhona Blincow, r.blincow@gcu.ac.uk or x3928

Rose Cawood, rose.cawood@gcu.ac.uk or x3749

 

More Information:

HORIZON 2020 http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.html

ERASMUS PLUS http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TheEuropeOffice

NEXT STOP: Hanoi, Santiago, Valparaiso & Bogota…

Hi Friends!

We have been absent from here for a few weeks but we have lots of new travel stories to update you with, including pictures!

Firstly – we started off our travels in Vietnam for the ENHANCE Project, in beautiful Hanoi to discuss applying Social Innovation to research and European Funding with our Vietnamese partners, as well as a visit to see the stunning Ha Long Bay.  For details about ENHANCE, see the end of this post.

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And the beautiful Ha Long Bay

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Next we were on our way to Chile to stop in Santiago, and then Valparaiso for our LASIN Project meetings.  We landed over the beautiful mountains in Santiago, and had our first lot of meetings at Universidad de Desarrollo, and then a workshop with partners Social Innovation Exchange (SIX), to prepare partners for the development of their individual Social Innovation Support Units.  We then had a visit to two innovative projects in Santiago – first to Ideas Factory Santiago, and second to Laboratorio de Gobernio.  

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Ideas Factory Santiago and Laboratorio de Gobernio

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We then spent a day in beautiful Valparaiso at Federico Santa María Technical University where we wrapped up our project meetings and visited the Ideas Factory in Valparaiso. 

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Finally, some of the group went Bogota, Colombia for the for SIX Summer School.  The event showcased other organisations and their activities in Social Innovation, as well as talks about different aspects, opportunities and challenges in social innovation.  For more information on this event and SIX’s activities see this link:

http://www.socialinnovationexchange.org/categories/read/six-summer-school-2016-in-colombia-social-innovation-in-divided-societies

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For more information on ENHANCE Project, see here: www.project-enhance.eu

For more on LASIN Project, see here: lasin-eu.org

For more on SIX, see here:  www.socialinnovationexchange.org

For more on Ideas Factory Chile, see here: www.ideafactory.cl

For more on Laboratorio de Gobernio, see here: lab.gob.cl

For more on Universidad de Desarollo, see here: www.udd.cl

For more on Federico Santa María Technical University, see here: www.usm.cl

 

Keep up to date with our office through:

Facebookwww.facebook.com/TheEuropeOffice

Twitter: @GCU_TEO

Or send us an emailrose.cawood@gcu.ac.uk

Newsletter – October 2016

The Europe Office Newsletter – October 2016

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BREXIT

LIFE Programme Included in Treasury Guarantees EU Funding for UK Researchers Beyond the Date UK Leaves the EU

Following up on last month’s news about the Treasury statement on the future of EU funding, it has now also been confirmed that UK organisations that bid directly to the European Commission on a competitive basis for EU LIFE funds will also have the payment of such awards underwritten by Treasury, even when the projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU.

This means that UK organisations can continue to bid for funding from the Commission’s LIFE programme up until the point of exit, with the guarantee that funds awarded will continue for the duration of their projects.

The LIFE programme is the EU’s funding instrument for climate action, nature conservation and the environment.

Horizon 2020 Post-Referendum Issues BEIS Email Change

​The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) continues to collect evidence through a new email address for any issues or concerns UK organisations may have following the EU Referendum. Future emails should be sent to Research@beis.gov.uk, though the old address (Research@bis.gis.gov.uk) will still receive emails sent to it.  BEIS welcomes any examples of issues, problems or general concerns UK organisations have experienced or perceive as a result of the referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU.

Further Information Regarding EU Funding for Structural and Investment Fund Projects Provided by UK Government

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond announced today that EU funding for structural and investment fund projects will be guaranteed by the government, for those projects signed after the Autumn Statement that continue after the UK exits the EU. This announcement builds on the previous statement on 13 August, which guaranteed funds for projects signed up until the Autumn Statement. As part of today’s announcement, it was set out that funding for projects will be honoured by the government if they meet the following conditions:

  • they are good value for money;
  • they are in line with domestic strategic priorities.

Elsevier Brexit Resource Centre

Elsevier have launched a Brexit Resource Centre, providing free access to data, metrics and other resources for monitoring the effects of Brexit on the global research community. The information provided includes a factsheet on UK research 2011-2015, social media monitoring, free access to the top downloaded articles related to Brexit, and other related resources. Elsevier plan to update the UK research factsheet quarterly as new data becomes available to show any effects that may be linked to the results of the EU referendum.

HORIZON 2020

‘Research and Innovation Funding: Making a Real Difference’ Brochure and Video

The European Commission has prepared a promotional brochure and video, which show how effective the first two years of Horizon 2020 have been in terms of promoting economic growth and improving the lives of EU citizens.

The brochure and video present an assessment of the programme’s management and distribution throughout 2014 and 2015, with key information on the number of proposals submitted and funded, key Horizon 2020 performance indicators, major achievements etc. It also highlights some of the positive outcomes of FP7, which had been presented in the final assessment of the programme published last year.

MSCA (Marie Skldowska Curie Actions) Deadlines for 2016/17

•              MSCA IF (Individual Fellowships) 2016: Deadline: Passed

•              MSCA COFUND-2016: Deadline : Passed

•              MSCA RISE (Research and Innovation Staff Exchange) -2016: Call open 1/12/16; Deadline 5/4/2017

•              MSCA ITN-(Innovative Training Networks) -2017:  Call open 15/9/16;  Deadline 10/1/17

Looking Beyond Horizon 2020

While Horizon 2020 is the main EU programme for funding research and innovation, there are also a number of other EU programmes which could be of interest to researchers looking for funding. These programmes are often characterised by lower funding levels and rates but often finance smaller scale projects which are harder to fit under the Horizon 2020 umbrella. The better known programmes include Erasmus+, COST and the Health Programme​, but there might also be opportunities under Creative Europe, LIFE, in the area of Rights, Equality, Citizenship and Justice or the Research Fund for Coal​ and Steel. Finally, UKRO has also produced a short overview on the European Structural and Investment Fund.

Different policy Directorate Generals of the European Commission run these programmes, and while some efforts have been made to align funding rules more, there are still significant differences, for example in the application procedures or the rules for project management and reporting. Our UKRO Factsheets will provide you with the most important information on each scheme in a condensed format.​

OTHER EU FUNDING

Preparing for Erasmus+ in 2017
The European Commission will soon publish the 2017 Call outlining deadlines, priorities and application information for the coming year. Please be assured following recent events, organisations should continue to apply in 2017 and deliver their projects as intended. Read our news item for more details on our preparation for 2017.

Call for Proposals: Connecting Europe Facility

​The European Commission, Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport and Directorate-General for Energy, is hereby launching a call for proposals in order to award grants in accordance with the priorities and objectives defined in the annual work programme for 2016 for a multi-sectoral call for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility. Proposals are invited for the following call CEF-Synergy-2016-1.
The indicative amount available is EUR 40 million. The deadline for submission of proposals is 13 December 2016.

Further information of this call available at Innovation and Networks Executive Agency website.

EVENTS 

Erasmus+ | Glasgow | 2 November 2016

Erasmus+ is holding a series of information sessions on the Erasmus programme in the UK.  The event will provide an overview of the funding opportunities available under Erasmus+ in 2017, and is primarily aimed at organisations which have not yet applied for funding and would like to know more about the programme.

Erasmus+ – more information

Scotland Europa Workshop

On the 28th November a workshop will take place at Glasgow Caledonian University to promote the opportunities for funding in the areas of  Social Inclusion, Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies’, as well as Social Sciences and Humanities.  A range of opportunities will be examined in the following general areas:-

  • Growth and Inclusion and Reversing Inequalities
  • Global Economic Development and Social Welfare.
  • Cultural Engagement
  • Global Engagement

Further information on times and venue will be published shortly.

UKRO ERC Consolidator Grant Proposal Writing and Information Events

In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the European Research Council (ERC), the UK Research Office, in partnership with the hosting institutions, is holding two events for researchers who are interested in applying for the 2017 ERC Consolidator Grants call. The events are scheduled as follows:

Further information and registration are available at the links to the events given above.

OTHER NEWS

European Parliament Approves the Ratification of the Paris Agreement

The European Parliament has approved the ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change by the European Union. The European Union played a decisive role in building the coalition for the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015. The European Commission has brought forward the legislative proposals to deliver on the EU’s commitment to reduce emissions in the European Union by at least 40% by 2030. The approval from the European Parliament concludes the political process for the European Union to ratify the Agreement and now the Council can formally adopt the Decision. In parallel the EU Member States will ratify the Paris Agreement individually, in accordance with their national parliamentary processes.

More information on the European Commission’s efforts to fight climate change at EU and international level is available Climate Action website.

ERC Signs an Implementing Arrangement with Brazil

​The European Research Council has signed an Implementing Arrangement with Brazil, allowing Brazilian researchers to join ERC-funded research teams in Europe.

The newly signed agreement between the ERC and the Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies (CONFAP) aims to foster international collaboration between the ERC and major international partners in line with Horizon 2020’s ‘Open to the world’ strategy.

Following the signing of the agreement, ERC-funded research teams will be encouraged to host excellent researchers from Brazil, funded by CONFAP, for a limited period. These opportunities are intended for active postdoctoral grantees from the State Funding Agencies (FAPs), from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) and from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq). The Implementing Arrangement will mirror the existing ones the ERC previously signed with the USA, South Korea, China, Argentina, Japan, Mexico and South Africa, and brings the total number to eight.

Contacts at GCU

Mark Anderson, Mark.Anderson@gcu.ac.uk or x8842

Pablo Lopez Alonso, Pablo.LopezAlonso@gcu.ac.uk  or x8337

Rhona Blincow, r.blincow@gcu.ac.uk or x3928

Rose Cawood, rose.cawood@gcu.ac.uk or x3749

More Information:

HORIZON 2020

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/home.html

ERASMUS PLUS

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/TheEuropeOffice

Twitter

@GCU_TEO

Oh hey there Panama, Ireland, Uganda…

Hola amigos!  Sorry for the hiatus on here – we have been rather busy.  Read on…

We have been off on our travels this August and September, and we have another two trips in Vietnam and Chile at the end of September and beginning of October. Our project LASIN based in Latin America will take place in October in Santiago, and a visit to Vietnam to network and then attend the ENHANCE Project meeting are happening in September to October.

Firstly, we met in Panama City for our LAURDS project meeting with partners to discuss project management and the progress of the project. It rained a lot but it was nice to see friends and colleagues again. See the pictures below:

p5 p4  panana panama

Our meeting in Dublin was around Strategy For Change project with partners in Aveiro, Umea, Eindhoven, Dublin and Glasgow.  We heard from interesting academics and practitioners in the area of social innovation and attended a workshop with Fighting Words a creative writing enterprise in Dublin, before sampling some live Irish music in the pub!  Pictures below:

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Fighting words – www.fightingwords.ie/          Pictures below:

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Next was our meeting in Kampala, Uganda for the Enrich Project International Conference and coordination meeting.  Weather was warm and we had interesting talks from practitioners in the field of renewable and low carbon energy, as well as a Whistle Stop tour of Kampala before returning home:

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We also hosted the eSTEM meeting where Egyptian partners visited our engineering labs during the week long capacity building meeting.   See pictures below:

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However we also still had colleagues around in the Office and we always welcome anyone who wants to pop by with questions and ideas or for a chat.

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For more information on the projects discuss see the links below, or go to our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.

LASIN: lasin-eu.org/

ENHANCE: www.project-enhance.eu/

LAURDS: www.gcu.ac.uk/gsbs/staff/professordavidedgar/

Strategy for Change: strategy4change.eu/

Enrich: www.enrich-project.eu/

eSTEM: www.eelu.edu.eg/index.php/projects/Erasmus    /    www.estem.edu.eg

 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheEuropeOffice/

Twitter: @GCU_TEO

 

Or write to us: Rose.Cawood@gcu.ac.uk

Impressions about GCU’s Europe Office

This is an article written by a recent intern, Elena; who worked with our office.  Elena is from Romania, currently studying in Forlì, Italy; and worked with our office for a few months as part of her studies. She wrote an article for us to share about her impressions of our office and a reflection on her time working with us.  

It is easy to see that GCU’s Europe Office has enjoyed unprecedented success from the opportunities provided by the European Union; as a result of implementing strategic partnerships with universities, businesses and other organisations within the UK and throughout the world. The Europe Office (TEO) has managed to deliver an appropriate and professional strategy in order to find new partners and convince others to engage in interesting projects. Along with other offices sustaining social innovation and enterprise within GCU, TEO has given the city of Glasgow a boost by attracting different organisations and top researchers to contribute to projects and research in the city, whilst also helping to draw in tourism and support cultural exchange. The projects that TEO coordinates and is involved in aim to promote social innovation through ideas, creativity, diversity and inter-sectoral collaboration; with overriding aims to improve quality of life in Glasgow and the wider world.

TEO has a range of skills and experience through its staff and projects and this makes it a place where professionalism; proactivity; reliability; commitment; and many other qualities can be found combined to produce the innovative approach that the office has.  There is an ideal mixture for an outward looking and engaged office.  One of TEO’s most important assets is that at its forefront there is a leader and not a boss. Working with a leader enables sharing of experience and skills acquired between staff; and abilities are passed on in the team. This boosts TEO’s overall capacity and it leads to a stronger, well prepared and hardworking team. TEO is a place where the team is a team in the real sense of the word. It is a great working environment where the team collaborates, sets common goals and develops together. The inter-disciplinary experience, interpersonal skills, attention to detail and diplomacy; and multi-tasking but relaxed work environment, are the qualities that make GCU’s TEO indispensable and effective; even in these uncertain times.

TEO have continued to be proactive and through risk analysis are aware of feasible scenarios for the office to be sustainable into the future.  To move forward will require the implementation of a new strategy for the office; and different approaches along with consolidation of skills and cooperation with new and established partners. The office continues to support the university’s researchers, partners and academic staff using their expertise and disseminating information to help allay the uncertainty that the University community may be experiencing in recent months.  For the university and project partners, the Brexit result might be an opportunity to become better as individuals by developing new abilities and skills while acquiring new information and work experience.

If leaving the EU will be the outcome for Scotland, TEO has identified alternative funding sources and strategies to be ready for a changing world.  If so, the office may change but TEO will retain its ethos of supporting collaborative research, international university cooperation and constructive dialogue between different countries. Improving standards, as well as becoming more active and visible are some of GCU’s underpinning goals which will continue to help maximise opportunities and offer a higher standard of education for its students.  With or without the EU, it will continue its overarching mission.  Currently nobody can tell exactly what impact Brexit will have on certain sectors because the process is a complex one, as indicated below, made mostly of negotiations which makes it somewhat unpredictable what outcomes will occur.

 

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Source: [1]

After the process ends, UK will no longer offer European added value [1] [2]. But despite the uncertainty, the resources for collaboration will still be accessible, at least for the moment. GCU’s The Europe Office has managed to increase international cooperation outside Europe by engaging in opportunities offered by the EU. In addition to supporting the academic community to access funding streams, it has already led to several successful EU funded projects, including the establishment of Innovation Centres in Latin America and North Africa, and is currently involved in a number of Social Innovation initiatives.  TEO’s revived strategy going forward will continue to work to place GCU at the forefront of EU engagement.

[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32810887

[2] http://ec.europa.eu/chafea/documents/health/hp-factsheets/added-value/factsheets-hp-av_en.pdf

[3] http://www.proyectosupua.es/lifestyles/en/content/project/european-added-value

NAFSA in Denver

Hi everyone!

We have been in Denver this week at the NAFSA Conference and Expo 2016.  It was warm and sunny as you can see from some of our pictures!  We met with contacts both nNAFSAew and established and discussed current and potential NAFSA3projects.

There was a range of different workshops and speakers, and many universities from all over the world exhibiting and networking with each other.

 

For further info on the speakers please see here for the full agenda: https://www.eventscribe.com/2016/nafsa/agenda.asp?h=Full%20Schedule&BCFO=A|GP|MG|O|P|PF|PL|S|SP|W|X|CC|ES|NP

All in all it was a useful and interesting week, and our director Mark even donned full Scottish dress (pictures to follow soon…).

At the end of June one of our projects ‘Strategy For Change’ has an event in Aveiro coming up also.  At this event there will be speakers from a range of organisations; such as freelance entrepreneurs, university professors and researchers and more – from across the world.  It will be an interesting event with speakers and workshops focusing on social innovation, social entreprenafsa4neurship, collaboration and co-design and civic participation.

NAFSA2

 

For more information on the event and how to get involved, see the Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/sfcaveiro , Tumblr page: http://sfc-aveiro.tumblr.com/ and keep your eyes on our Facebook and Twitter where we will be posting details of the event.

That’s it from us this week, happy Friday and enjoy your weekends (and the weather!), new post again soon.

Please leave us a comment to tell us what you have been up to, or if you want to chat to us about any projects get in touch on Twitter Facebook or by emailing Mark.Anderson@gcu.ac.uk

TEO is busy!

The last month has been a bu13124799_1569430006683680_1693394600465804544_nsy one in the Europe Office!

At the beginning of the month we visited Nairobi, Moi University for a Roundtable meeting for the ENRICH Project.  Discussions focused on13227431_1573585776268103_2318383523835893682_o the constraints faced by East African countries to developing better, reliable and more affordable low carbon energy.  Discussions went further in to include smart grids, better infrastructure, using local business and innovation, and greater collaboration between public-private-university sectors.

 

Then there was the HEURO Annual Conference 2016 in Birmingham where Pablo delivered a presentation on our experience of Erasmus+ KA2 Capacity Building projects.

We also hosted an UKRO workshop about MSCA Fellowships under Horizon 2020.  If you would like to know more about this get in contact with TEO through our Facebook, Twitter or by emailing mark.anderson@gcu.ac.uk.

We were in Groningen and we visited the Campus Library at University of Groningen, during our Capacity Building TEACHEX meeting.

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Lastly, we were also in Brussels at a Scotland Europa familiarization event.  We heard from Scottish MEPs, Policy think tanks and Scotland E13260197_1576456619314352_5446023692939862272_nuropa staff about the structure of the European Union and the different funding mechanisms available.

For more information about these events and projects, see our Twitter feed (@GCU_TEO), Facebook page (The Europe Office – GCU) and the website links in this post.

We will be in Aveiro, Portugal at the end of June, for the Strategy for Change Project…. keep your eyes peeled for updates about that visit!

Project visit to Tanzania

Pablo Lopez Alonso, European Projects Manager at The Europe Office, delivered a workshop on Six-Sigma and process management and attended the 1st International Conference “Energy accessibility & efficiency: the importance of Science, Technology and Innovation support services” in Dar-es-salaam (Tanzania), from 5 to 9 October. These activities are organised under Enrich, a European Commission funded project focusing on capacity building activities with universities and national institutions from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, in which GCU is a partner.

Pablo in Tanzania Oct15

GCU’s Europe Office hosts brokerage event in Brussels

On the 1 and 2 of October, The Europe Office brought together leading researchers and practitioners at two special brokerage events in Brussels in order to forge new partnerships and projects. The first day focused on Funding Opportunities for Social Innovation in International Cooperation & Development. The event aimed to forge a more effective, transdisciplinary approach to projects under the Horizon 2020, Erasmus+ & EuropeAid Programmes and attracted leading players in the field from across Europe and beyond. The second day centred around Serious Gaming as an integral part of research and innovation under the Horizon 2020 Programme. The event attracted a range of experts in the fields of serious gaming and other specific areas – health, climate change/energy and societal challenges – in order to forge a more effective, transdisciplinary approach to EU project delivery. Over 120 participants attended the events from 15 different countries, including US, Korea and Ghana. As well as representatives of various European Commission funding programmes participants were given the opportunity to hear the latest developments from world renowned researchers such as Tom Baranowksi from Baylor College of Medicine and Christoph Kaletka from the University of Dortmund.