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HEFCE consultation

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HEFCE are currently undertaking a consultation on whether all higher education institutions (HEIs) eligible to receive public funding for research through HEFCE should comply with a research integrity concordat published earlier this year.  The research integrity concordat is designed to ensure that the UK research base maintains its high reputation for excellence, professionalism and rigour.  This consultation has been discussed at the Staffordshire University Research, Enterprise and Advanced Scholarship Committee and views are being sought to inform our institutional response.

Further information on the consultation is available at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2012/201232/. Please send through any comments to externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk.

Higher Education Statistics Agency – Postgraduate Numbers

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HESA logo - click for home page

Postgraduate numbers down for first time in five years

The number of students enrolling on postgraduate courses in the UK has decreased for the first time since 2007-8, according to data released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. As well as a 3 per cent fall in postgraduate enrolment between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the data show an overall decrease of 4,650 students enrolling on all UK higher education courses in the past year—again, the first drop since 2007-8.
 
To access all of the statistics from 2011/12 please see the website:
 

FP7 ERC proof of concept call

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The European Commission Framework Programme 7: European Research Council/Ideas invites applications for the European Research Council proof-of-concept grants. Grants enable ERC-funded ideas to be brought to a pre-demonstration stage where potential commercialisation opportunities have been identified. Funds support:

•establishing viability, technical issues and overall direction;

•clarifying intellectual property rights position and strategy;

•providing feedback for budgeting and other forms of exploitation opportunity discussion;

•providing connections to later stage funding;

•covering initial expenses for establishing a company.

Applications are accepted by host institutions in association with principal investigators. All principal investigators benefiting from a recent ERC advanced or starting grant may participate and apply for ERC proof-of-concept funding. Candidate host institutions must engage the principal investigator for at least the duration of the proof-of-concept activity and must be established in a member state or an associated country. Any type of legal entity may host the principal investigator and their team. ERC actions are open to researchers of any nationality who intend to establish and conduct their research activity in any member state or associated country. Principal investigators may be of any age and nationality and may reside in any country at the time of the application. The indicative budget for this funding scheme is €10 million, to be divided equally over two rounds. Grants are worth up to €150,000 over 12 months to cover 100 per cent of eligible costs. One proof-of-concept grant will be awarded per ERC-funded project. FP7 ERC-2013-PoC.

  • Closing date 24 Apr 13

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/page/call_FP7?callIdentifier=ERC-2013-PoC&specificProgram=IDEAS#wlp_call_FP7

Social sciences to get dedicated challenge in next EU Framework

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 An additional societal challenge to fund social sciences and humanities research is to be added to Horizon 2020, the EU’s next funding research programme set to run from 2014-2020, officials from member states and the European Commission have said.

The Commission has made preparations to split the existing sixth challenge in Horizon 2020’s societal challenges pillar—inclusive, innovative and secure societies—into two, creating one challenge for humanities and social challenges and one for security research. The new sixth challenge will be called Europe in a Changing World, and will include research on “inclusive, innovative and reflective societies”, says a Commission official.

The seventh societal challenge will be called Secure Societies, and will cover the “freedom and security of Europe and its citizens”, according to the Commission’s proposal. This will include security and defence research, as well as some research related to politics and diplomacy.

Within the sixth challenge, three fields will cover research into media, history, culture, philosophy, European identity and linguistics, the Commission official says. “The Council of Ministers and the European Parliament both wanted this, so we have plans to turn the six challenges into seven,” he says.

There won’t be any extra money for social sciences or the humanities as a result, but the change is likely to be welcomed by researchers in these fields, some of whom feared that being grouped together with security research would skew research priorities towards counter-terrorism and other security-related problems.

Funding for social sciences across the other challenges will remain as previously proposed, says the Commission official, but the Commission is still undecided about how this will be done.

The European Alliance for the Social Sciences and Humanities called the proposal a “pragmatic proposition”, while saying that the creation of a special funding pot for such research would help scientists in the field to collaborate more and improve the circulation of ideas and people. Rüdiger Klein, a co-founder of the alliance, says the separation from security will increase the scope of contributions of social sciences and humanities research to Europe’s society and economy.

However, Klein thinks that the research dimensions within the Innovative Societies part of the sixth challenge need to be further clarified. This part includes funding for initiatives such as ICT support, international cooperation, Science in Society and links between structural funds and Framework Programme funding.

“The current lumping together, under this heading, of all sorts of components familiar from Framework 7 carries severe risks for diluting the research agenda of this challenge,” he says.

 Click on link to see the structure of the 3 Pillars of Horizon 2020

by Inga Vesper, researchprofessional.com, 16 Jan 2013

 

 

Annual UKRO Event 13th February 2013

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The External Projects Team are delighted to be hosting the annual UKRO event on the 13th February 2013.

The event is aimed both at colleagues who have experience of, and those who would like to know more about, EU funding.

This is an opportunity to hear about the new EU funding programmes (2014-2020) with UKRO European Advisor Jo Frost; as well as  firsthand experience of running EU partnerships and projects from Prof. Nachi Chockalingam and Jon Fairburn.

The Programme is set out below –and is arranged so that you can book for any, or all of the sessions. Some sessions are repeated during the day to offer maximum flexibility.

Please register by February 6th  via externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk, specifying which sessions you wish to attend;

                                    STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY

                                   UKRO Annual visit Feb 13th                                                                                                  FINAL PROGRAMME                   

        All sessions in ROOM BG 21 – Ground floor Brindley Building

 

  SESSION 1

0900, Horizon 2020, the new EU research and innovation funding programme (2014-2020):Current proposals and decision making process.  Jo Frost, European Advisor, UKRO

1100 Coffee/ networking

SESSION 2 1130, Working with EU partners –Staffordshire University experience. Nachi Chockalingam, Professor of Clinical Biomechanics
School of Psychology, Sport and Exercise; Faculty of Health Sciences

SESSION 3 1200, How to make the most of UKRO services (repeated  1500). Jo Frost, European Advisor, UKRO

SESSION 4 1400, Erasmus for All: replacing the Lifelong Learning Programme, includes education funding and  funding related to Sport. Jo Frost, European Advisor, UKRO

SESSION 5 1430, Working with EU partners –Staffordshire University experience. Jon Fairburn: Enterprise Reader, Business School – Research & Enterprise. Faculty of Business, Education and Law

SESSION 6 1500, How to make the most of UKRO services (repeat of 1200) Jo Frost, European Advisor, UKRO

SESSION 7 1530 -16-30, Marie Curie Individual Fellowships – session for all or 1-2-1 individual slots. Jo Frost, European Advisor, UKRO.

 

 

 

 

Wider Outlook January 2013

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Wider Outlook January 2013

External Projects Team Newsletter –  Wider Outlook is now available -covering the latest funding deadlines, and reporting on the recent ‘EU Funding and Collaboration’ event, with contributions from ECD Director Sandra Booth, Senior Lecturer Dr. Peter Kevern, Enterprise Reader Dr. Neil Hart, and Head of Policy and Planning Dr. Lesley Rollason.

ICT research intensity stays strong through economic crisis

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The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) sector is one of the most research intensive sectors in the EU economy, meaning that it has a high ratio of Research & Development (R&D) expenditure if compared to its value added (its revenues less materials and services purchases). This is one of the main findings of a new report by the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC*) Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS).

Also highlighted is that in 2009, the R&D intensity of this sector was more than four times the average of all business sectors in the EU (1.2%).

The report shows that in 2009 the ICT sector accounted for 17% of the EU’s total business R&D expenditure, while only representing 4% of the EU’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This share of GDP – stable over the last few years – amounted to a value added of € 470 billion in 2009 and represented over 6.1 million jobs.

Despite the decrease of R&D investment in the sector from 2008 to 2009 (-7%) and the loss of value added (-7.4%), it can be said that the R&D drive was stable, as the sector maintained an R&D intensity of 5.3% in 2009, very close to the 5.4% intensity registered in 2008. This R&D intensity positions ICT as a “high R&D intensity” sector, similar to pharmaceuticals and biotechnology or health care equipment and services, even at times of economic downturn.

Compared to the US however, the report found Europe lags in ICT performance. The US had 22 per cent higher profits from ICT in 2009, and its profit per employee in that area was double that of the EU.

The report is part of the Prospective Insights on R&D in ICT (Predict) project, which works to collect information for the EU’s digital agenda. The project is funded by the European Commission’s DG Connect and the Joint Research Centre.

This report is the fifth edition of a series published annually by the “PREDICT” project, which provides a detailed analysis of the state of Information and Communication Technologies R&D activities in the European Union. PREDICT is a project jointly funded by the JRC and the Directorate General for Communications Networks, Contents and Technology (DG CONNECT). PREDICT provides indicators for the Digital Agenda for Europe.

To read the full report go to: JRC Report

Click here to go to the PREDICT website

*JRC is the EU’s in-house science service.

 

Call for organisations to propose FP7 independent experts

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The European Commission has published a call for proposals for organisations to propose lists of prospective independent experts to assist the Commission’s services in connection with the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).

The Commission will appoint experts:

– to assist in the evaluation of proposals in line with the various scientific, technological and socioeconomic aims of FP7. Evaluation work includes making recommendations on ways to gear research towards optimum achievement of the aims of the specific programme concerned;

– to assist in the monitoring of projects selected and funded by the Community, including, where necessary and as appropriate, the monitoring of projects funded by the Community under previous research framework programmes;

– for other purposes where specific expertise might be required (e.g. monitoring of the implementation, evaluation and assessment of impacts of RTD programmes and policies).

To see the full details of the call, go to:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/c_305/c_30520061214en00540055.pdf

For further information on the appointments, please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

The deadline for submitting proposal documents is 31/07/2013.

Before contacting the Commission, tenderers are strongly advised to consult the original call text in the Official Journal of the European Union at the reference below.

 

New ranking targets 500 universities

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Five hundred universities from across Europe and the world are expected to take part in a new international university ranking initiated by the European Commission, it was announced today. The new listing, U-Multirank, will differ from existing rankings by rating universities according to a broader range of performance factors, aimed at providing a more realistic and user-friendly guide to what they offer. The new ‘multidimensional’ ranking will rate universities in five separate areas: reputation for research, quality of teaching and learning, international orientation, success in knowledge transfer (e.g. partnerships with business and start-ups), and regional engagement. Universities are being invited to sign up for the new ranking in the first half of 2013, and the first results are due in early 2014. U-Multirank will be formally launched at a major conference on 30-31 January in Dublin under the Irish Presidency of the European Union.

Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: “This will be a modern and sophisticated ranking, capturing the full diversity of higher education. Existing international rankings still tend to attach too much weight to research reputation. Our multi-dimensional ranking will provide a more accurate and comparable guide to university quality. U-Multirank will help young people make the right study choices and it will motivate institutions to improve their performance across a whole range of activities. It will also be a useful tool for decision-makers, enabling them to be better placed to develop effective higher education strategies for the future.’

U-Multirank will be based on objective criteria and data. The Commission aims to attract a wide range of universities to take part in the first phase. It would be open to others to join in later. U-Multirank will also enable individuals to select and weigh their own priorities to produce their own, tailor-made rankings.

To ensure impartiality, quality and verification, the Commission has selected an independent consortium to carry out the ranking. The Centre for Higher Education (CHE) in Germany and the Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS) in the Netherlands, will lead the initiative. They will work with partners including the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University (CWTS), academic publishers Elsevier, the Bertelsmann Foundation and software firm Folge 3. The consortium will also work with national ranking partners and stakeholder organisations to compile accurate data.

Background

U-Multirank is the culmination of an initiative which originated at a conference organised under the 2008 French Presidency of the European Union, which called for a new university ranking based on a methodology reflecting a variety of dimensions of excellence in an international context.

The European Commission subsequently commissioned a feasibility study which was carried out by a consortium of higher education and research organisations known as CHERPA and finalised in 2011. The study, based on work with 150 higher education institutions from Europe and around the world, confirmed that both the concept and implementation of a multi-dimensional ranking was realistic.

U-Multirank will be developed in 2013-2014 and will receive €2 million in EU funding from the Lifelong Learning Programme, with the possibility of a further two years of seed-funding in 2015-2016. The goal is for an independent organisation to run the ranking thereafter.

For more information

U-Multirank

Skills Panorama launched by the European Commission

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The EU Skills Panorama website has been launched by the Commission to help tackle skills mismatches across Europe.

The website presents quantitative and qualitative information on short and medium-term skills needs, skills supply and skills mismatches. Drawing on data and forecasts compiled at an EU and Member State level, the Skills Panorama will highlight the fastest growing occupations as well as ‘bottleneck’ occupations.

Containing detailed information by sector, profession and country, the website will aim to improve education and training systems to adapt to the latest trends in skills while boosting Europe’s productivity and competitiveness.

To read the press release in full visit: europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1329_en.htm

To use the EU Skills Panorama visit: euskillspanorama.ec.europa.eu