European Commission praises Staffordshire University Work Based Learning project

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

Work Based Learning Qualifications (WBLQUAL) http://wblqual.com examines how Employers, Learners and Higher Education Institutions can benefit from working together to provide quality and affordable bespoke workplace learning to employees to a curriculum that is negotiated by the learner, the employer and the university (a tri-partite relationship).

This innovative project funded by the EU’s ERASMUS programme with partners from Italy, Poland, Latvia and Denmark was led by Staffordshire University’s Rosie Borup. The project ran from October 2010 to November 2012. In evaluating the project the European Commission commented on the ‘high quality of the research results (which are) easily accessible via the webpage of the project.‘, and that ’The great care with which the project has been implemented is noteworthy.’

It is accepted that there is a cultural gap between the worlds of academia and industry. Universities can see themselves as set apart from the commercial pressures that industry is accustomed to, and they can consider that their interaction is best kept to the theoretical context and research.

However there is much to be gained from a closer collaboration between Universities and Industry, and especially the engagement of Universities in Work Based Learning.

In the main Universities have offered Work Based Learning ‘courses’ which are traditional in terms of content and delivery, with little or no recognition of the tri-partite relationship between learner, employer and Higher Education Institutions. Employers have criticised academia for not adapting to their needs, and being inflexible in their approach.

This project explored the issues which concern academic institutions.

The project web site offers

Information for employers regarding how Work Based Learning can be used as an affordable tool for staff training

Information for learners highlighting how Work Based Learning can be flexible enough to fit around their day job
Research for HEIs interested in offering Work Based Learning courses and how they can be implemented
Video summarising key issues and results
Country-specific case studies

EU Prize for Women Innovators

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The European Commission has launched the second edition of the EU Women Innovators Prize to reward three women who have achieved outstanding innovations and brought them to market. The Prize aims to raise awareness of the need for more female entrepreneurs and to inspire other women to follow in their footsteps.

The contest is open to all women who have founded or co-founded their company and who have at some point in their careers benefitted from the EU’s research Framework Programmes (FP) or the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP).

Three prizes will be awarded in total:

First prize: EUR 100,000;
Second prize: EUR 50,000; and
Third prize: EUR 25,000

An independent panel of judges from business and academia will examine and select the three winners who will be announced in spring 2014. Full details of the eligibility and evaluation criteria are available through the competition website, which is indicated below.

The deadline for applications is 15 October 2013.

The winners of the previous edition of the Prize were:

Dr. Gitte Neubauer (Co-founder and Vice-President for Research Operations of CELLZOME – recently acquired by GlaxoSmithKline) whose groundbreaking research into chemo-proteomics is driving her company’s work on new, better targeted drugs against inflammatory diseases and cancer;
Fabienne Hermitte (Co-founder IPSOGEN, Senior director, Research and Development – Regulatory Affairs) whose work made her company a pioneer in personalised healthcare diagnostics, which allow more individualised treatments for cancer patients; and
Ilaria Rosso (Co-founder ELECTRO POWER SYSTEMS, Vice- President of IP Policy and Public Funding Programmes) whose company developed the first self-recharging hydrogen fuel cell system for backup power – a clean, renewable alternative to lead-acid batteries and diesel generators.

The following conditions need to be fulfilled:

The contestant must be a woman.
The contestant must be a resident of an EU Member State or a Countries Associated to the Research Framework Programmes
The contestant must be the founder or co-founder of an existing and active company.
The company has been registered before 1 January 2011.
The annual turnover of the company was at least EUR 0.10 million in 2011 or 2012.
Either the contestant as a natural person or the company founded/co-founded by the contestant have received or is receiving funding from the European Union or the European Atomic Energy Community Research Framework Programme, or from the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP).

Full details:

http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/index_en.cfm?section=women-innovators

Eight new Royal Society Industry Fellowships connect academia and industry

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The Royal Society has announced eight new fellowships aimed at strengthening links between academia and industry. The fellowships are awarded to academic scientists who want to work on a collaborative project with industry and for scientists in industry who want to work on a collaborative project with an academic organisation.

The latest awardees’ project topics range from the pathology of neurodegenerative disease to mineral interface determination in shale hydration.

The scheme provides each scientist’s basic salary for the duration of their secondment, which lasts for up to two years full-time or four years part-time.

The full list of the latest Royal Society Industry Fellowships recipients is as follows:

Dr Hugh Greenwell from the University of Durham to work on Mineral Interface Determination During Shale Hydration with M-I SWACO.

Dr Atsufumi Hirohata from the University of York to work on the Development of an on-chip racetrack memory using exchange-biased pinning with Hitachi Cambridge laboratory.

Dr Hywel Jones from Sheffield Hallam University to work on Multi-Component Ceramic Composites for Engineering and Armour Applications with XeraCarb Ltd.

Dr Andreas Kranis from Aviagen to work on Capturing and Securing the Sequence Diversity of Broiler Chickens with the University of Edinburgh.

Professor Sankara Naryanan Ekkanath Madathil from the University of Sheffield to work on Systems Impact of Next Generation Power Semiconductors and Converter Technologies with Rolls-Royce.

Professor Yvan Petillot from Herriot-Watt University to work on Advanced autonomy in the subsea domain with SeeByte Ltd.

Professor Andrew Randall from the University of Exeter to work on In vivo, cell-level imaging of network dynamics and pathology in murine models of neurodegenerative disease with Lilly company UK.

Dr Michael Ries from the University of Leeds to work on Challenges in Green Solvent Cellulose Processing with Innovia Film Ltd.

This year is the Royal Society’s ‘Year of Science and Industry,’ which is supported by a number of events that showcase UK achievement in industrial science. Click here to find out more http://royalsociety.org/events/2013/year-science-industry/

Reports on the State of the Innovation Union and UK Innovation Performance

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The European Commission has published a report entitled “State of the Innovation Union 2012”. This provides a summary of progress made at national and EU level towards achieving the goals of the Innovation Union flagship initiative, which is the EU policy framework governing research and innovation until 2020.

The Commission has also published series of separate shorter reports on individual EU countries’ research and innovation and performance, including the UK.

State of the Innovation Union report

The report was published alongside the 2013 Innovation Union scoreboard, on which UKRO reported last week (see the article indicated below). The report’s findings are grouped into the five key parts of the Innovation Union initiative, which are:

strengthening the knowledge base and reducing fragmentation;
getting good ideas to market;
European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs);
maximising social and territorial cohesion; and
leveraging policies externally.

The first section includes analysis of the progress made during 2012 on delivering the European Research Area (ERA), and on focusing EU research funding on Innovation Union priorities. On the former issue, the report states that the conditions are not yet in place for achieving the ERA by 2014 (one of the key goals of the Innovation Union). However the Commission’s Communication on the ERA Framework issued in July 2012, and the work required of EU Member States and the Commission to put in place its recommendations, should enable significant progress to be made during 2013.

On focusing EU funding programmes on Innovation Union, the report states that: “In line with the ambition set out in the Innovation Union, Horizon 2020 marks an important break from the past, with funding having a more challenged-based approach, simpler rules for participants, and more effective delivery of results”. This section of the report also analyses the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) with respect to the Innovation Union priorities.

Report on UK research and innovation performance
The report on UK performance in research and innovation, which analyses the progress made towards achieving the Innovation Union goals, includes sections on:

the UK’s scientific and technological strengths;
investments in knowledge;
policies and reforms on research and innovation;
economic impact of innovation;
upgrading the manufacturing sector through research and technologies; and
global competitiveness.

The summary includes the following analysis:

“The UK shows overall innovation performance above the EU average. There are particular strengths in human resources, venture capital, international and public-private co-publications, and entrepreneurship…. The presence of several world-class universities, a significant proportion of young doctoral graduates, and competitive strengths in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and digital technologies have helped achieve this strong performance. However, there are relative weaknesses in research and innovation investments by firms, the creation of intellectual assets, and SMEs introducing innovations. The UK economy has several distinctive characteristics that represent actual or potential sources of competitive advantage in the innovation sphere, including a world-leading science base and information infrastructure”.

The full report on the UK is here.

http://ec.europa.eu/research/innovation-union/pdf/state-of-the-union/2012/countries/united_kingdom_2013.pdf#view=fit&pagemode=none

Science essential to boosting efficiency, says Commissioner

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

Europe needs science to drive innovation in energy efficiency and develop better products, research commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn has told a conference of scientists and policymakers.

Science is the basic requirement for developing more efficient buildings, vehicles, and appliances, she said. “Greater efficiency in these three key sectors will come from the development of new materials, technological advances, and innovative approaches,” the commissioner told the conference.

Better technologies in this area would also help Europe become more resilient in the face of climate change, and ensure an advantage for European companies on international markets, the commissioner added.

Geoghegan-Quinn was speaking yesterday (26 March) in Brussels at a conference organised by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The conference, Scientific Support to EU Growth and Jobs: Efficient buildings, vehicles and equipment, addressed how increasing energy efficiency would enhance Europe’s competitiveness.

The conference was the first event in a Commission initiative about how science can contribute to growth and jobs in the EU. Around 400 researchers, industry representatives and policymakers were in attendance.

Geoghegan-Quinn stressed the need for industrial groups and public researchers to work together to make sure both basic and applied approaches are used to improve energy efficiency.

“Basic research is not part of the public-private partnerships’ philosophy of emphasising activities that are closer to the market,” Geoghegan-Quinn said. “But there is a real need to coordinate upstream and downstream activities by covering the whole value chain from basic research to innovation, and that’s one of the key aims of Horizon 2020.”

Horizon 2020 is the next EU research programme, which is scheduled to begin in 2014.

See European commission statement:

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/jrc/index.cfm?id=1410&obj_id=16500&dt_code=NWS&lang=en&ori=HLN

FP7 People – Marie Curie Schemes – calls open

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

The Marie Curie schemes are funded under the Framework Programme 7 (FP7) Specific Programme ‘People’. Its main objective is to strengthen the human potential in research and technology in Europe and to make Europe a more attractive place for researchers to work. A key focus of the ‘People’ programme therefore is to have a structuring effect throughout Europe on the organisation, performance and quality of research training, on the active career development of researchers, on knowledge-sharing through researchers between sectors and research organisations, and on strong participation by women in research and development.

See European Commission Marie Curie site http://ec.europa.eu/research/mariecurieactions/index_en.htm

The ‘People’ programme is implemented through a set of Marie Curie schemes, also known as actions, addressing researchers at all stages of their professional lives, from early-stage research training to lifelong training opportunities. They provide opportunities for individual researchers and organisations – universities, research institutes and companies – to develop their research skills and training capacity, by building on industrial and academic expertise within Europe and across the world, through staff exchanges, secondments, postgraduate and postdoctoral fellowships.

A key feature of the Marie Curie schemes is the ‘mobility’ requirement, and all fellows funded under the programme will be expected to undertake mobility from one country to another, subject to specific requirements for the different schemes. Please refer to the Work Programme for mobility requirements, and also the call documents for the different eligibility criteria.

1. The initial training of researchers –

This activity support the initial training of researchers, implemented through the Initial Training Networks (ITNs) scheme. The network applies for funding from the European Commission before recruiting researchers. Projects are based on a joint training programme, focused on the development and broadening of research competences , and complementary skills. Community support for ITNs will comprise:

the recruitment of early-stage and experienced researchers to be trained;
recruitment of ‘visiting scientists’ to transfer knowledge and strengthen ITN supervision;
the organisation of short training events (conferences, summer schools and specialised training courses), open to both trainees of the network and possibly to researchers from outside the network.

2. The life-long training and career development

This activity supports experienced researchers (having at least four years of full-time research experience or a PhD at the time of the deadline) at different stages of their careers. The aim is for career development, including greater independence as a researcher. This activity is implemented through the following actions:

Intra-European Fellowships for Career Development; closing date 14/08/13
Career Integration Grants for those looking to establish themselves in a research career in Europe;closing date 18/09/13
Co-funding of regional, national or international programmes is aimed at organisations which are funders of research.

3. Industry-academia partnerships and pathways

This activity will seek to open and foster dynamic pathways between public research organisations and private commercial enterprises, particularly SMEs. The Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways (IAPP) scheme aims to achieve this predominately by secondments between sectors and networking activities.

4. World fellowships

The career development of researchers from Member States and Associated Countries will be supported through the following schemes:

International Outgoing Fellowships brain circulation with mandatory return to Europe;closing date 14/08/13
International Incoming Fellowships to attract highly qualified third-country researchers to Member States and Associated Countries; closing date 14/08/13
International Research Staff Exchange Schemes are partnerships between research organisations in Europe and one or more organisations in countries covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy and countries with which the EU has an S&T Agreement.

5. Specific actions

In support of the creation of a genuine European labour market for researchers, a set of accompanying actions will be implemented, with a view to removing obstacles to mobility and to improve the public awareness of Marie Curie actions.

Transversal study visits – deadline March 28th

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

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The EU Lifelong Learning Programme runs study visits across Europe to bring together small groups of individuals involved in different aspects of Lifelong Learning. Each visit looks at a specific topic of joint interest. English is the working language for the majority of study visits, which are open to all professionals involved in Lifelong learning including, though not only, academic staff.

The study visits are usually 3-5 days long, offering funding for 100% of travel and flat rate subsistence costs. These are very popular with staff in the University and we have had many people attending them.

They cover a huge range of subject areas. You can browse these in 2013 -2014 Study Visits Catalogue

Examples of some study visits, from the PDF Catalogue are here:

Title of Study visit

	Country	Dates	Page
Sustainable development in a learning region	Slovenia	16-20 Sept	52
New opportunities for technical branches and crafts	Czech	16-20 Sept	53
How to integrate arts and cultural activities in lifelong learning	Sweden	11-14 Nov	59
Energy efficiency and renewable energy: new demands in VET for new jobs	Germany	23-26 Sept	63
Understanding teaching and learning at university – A hands-on approach	Germany	2-6 Dec	76

Tomorrow’s teaching with virtual media	Denmark	30 Sept -4 Oct	90
Science of data quality: brainstorming data mining	Slovakia	18-20 Sept	116
Content-based approach and competence acquisition in teaching mathematics and scientific subjects	Italy	21-25 Oct	117

Access to university education for disabled students	France	3-7 Feb (2014)	119

The application form is quite simple and it has a very high success rate.Some of the staff who have attended workshops have gone on to work with the people they met – to submit larger European bids.The deadline for the next round of applications is 11 a.m. GMT March 28^th 2013 for visits taking place from September 2013 to February 2014, (and for study visits taking place from March to June 2014, you can apply by 15 October 2013.)

To apply you should read the Guide for applicants and download the online application form

The website with full details of the programme is here .

Please note that you cannot apply for a study visit in the UK

Background

Study visits are organised around 5 themes which reflect the latest policy developments in education and training in Europe:

1. Encouraging cooperation between the worlds of education, training and work

2. Supporting initial and continuous training of teachers, trainers and education

and training institutions’ managers

3. Promoting the acquisition of key competences throughout the education and training

System

4. Promoting social inclusion and gender equality in education and training, including the integration of migrants

5. Developing strategies for lifelong learning and mobility

Further help

If you require further information, just ask the External Projects Team for support externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

Consultation Results: Internet of Things

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

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Summary

The European Commission has recently published the both the results of its public consultation on the ‘Internet of Things’ and the output from an expert group. The conclusions will feed into the development of future policy. The European Commission will also work closely with the CONNECT Advisory Forum for ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) Research and Innovation on this.

Background
Internet of Things (IoT) is a long term technology and market development based on the connection of everyday objects to the Internet. Connected objects exchange, aggregate and process information on their physical environment to provide value added services to end-users, from individuals to companies to society as a whole.

Therefore IoT could potentially improve the life of EU citizens and tackle societal challenges, such as health and transport, and create job opportunities in Europe. On the other hand, it also will create risks for citizens for example with privacy and security.

Consultation
The European Commission held a public consultation to gather views on the policy approach needed for a dynamic development of the IoT in the digital single market whilst also ensuring appropriate protection citizens. Over 600 responses were submitted to the consultation, which was held in Spring 2012.

Conclusions of Consultation
During the consultation, there was no consensus about whether public intervention is needed for the IoT, and if so, what the scope of the intervention should be.

Many respondents (mainly from industry, but backed by several academics and individuals) felt that public intervention is not needed since the sector is still in its infancy. They felt policy measures should be developed at a later stage and that the existing legal framework already protects the end-user. They suggest that, ongoing standardisation work on identification, IoT architecture or security will foster a competitive and safe development of IoT applications. Some respondents also stressed that inappropriate governance will raise barriers to investment and innovation.

By contrast, many individual respondents, civil society and consumer associations claimed that economic considerations are secondary when fundamental rights like privacy, security and other ethical issues are at stake. They stressed the need to protect the rights of end-users and raised concerns that the IoT market would not develop in a competitive way and that consumers may get locked in certain technologies. In their view, IoT specific rules should be developed and enforced to control the development of IoT technologies and markets. They conclude that a multi stakeholder platform, securing appropriate representation of civil society, is needed to address IoT governance issues.

Next Steps
The European Commission will develop future policy initiatives based on the consultation and expert report. It will also work with the CONNECT Advisory Forum for ICT Research and Innovation, which is known as CAF.

Staffordshire University Research and Funding Blog

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