H2020 Nanotech Brokerage Event : 19-20 November – Brussels

Posted on October 22, 2013 by Esther KNIGHT

www.errin.eu

The ERRIN Network in collaboration with Saxony-Anhalt is organising a two day event on Nanotechnology.

Starting with a Policy event on Nanotech and synergies on 19^th November, organized by Saxony-Anhalt, and followed by a joint networking cocktail; this is an opportunity for participants to meet and start the discussing project proposals.

On the following day 20^th November, ERRIN is organising a brokerage event where participants will have the opportunity to develop project proposals and build consortia.

The aim of the two day event is to give the opportunity to participants of getting a Policy overview which can contribute to new ideas and projects on the second day.

The Venue for both days: Saxony-Anhalt EU Office: Boulevard St. Michel 80 1040 Brussels.

More Details:

– The event on 19^th November focuses on nanotech-related policies, networking with European Commission staff and between ERRIN members;

– The event on 20^th November will focus on the Call/Topics with a deadline in 2014. In attachment the latest draft of the Work Programme: a new version may become available before the meeting;

– Participants can prepare by identifying which topics they would like to participate in and which topics they may become involved in as a partner.

Please fill out this WEBFORM in order to Register by indicating which Event/Session and Topic are you interested in

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Funding opportunities for ICT research

Posted on October 21, 2013 by ejd2

The ICT Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) and the ICT National Contact Point are organising a half day event at Aston University to promote forthcoming opportunities for funding from the Horizon 2020 programme. Horizon 2020 is the new European Commission funding programme for research, technological development and innovation.

This event will provide an overview of the funding available and importantly the range of support in place to help people benefit from these opportunities. ICT is a fundamental part of Horizon 2020 in both addressing new ICT developments and developing the use of ICT to support societal challenges. Access to finance schemes are also available to support innovation in SMEs.

The event is being held on 20th November at 12:30. Registration is available at https://horizon2020birmingham.eventbrite.co.uk/. If you are unable to attend, please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk for feedback. The event flyer can be viewed by clicking here H2020 ICT event flyer November 2013

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Staffordshire University ARBOR project in the running for European Commission Award

Posted on October 21, 2013 by ejd2

A huge congratulations to the ARBOR project team in our Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Sciences who have been named as finalists in the European Commission’s RegioStars Awards for 2014. They have been shortlisted from 80 projects from across the EU which have been supported by EU cohesion policy funding on the basis of their delivery of innovation, impact, sustainability and partnership.

ARBOR is an Interreg IVB NWE funded project aiming to develop regional strategies and new technological solutions for more sustainable biomass use. It is led by Staffordshire University and involves 12 other partners from 6 different European regions.

ARBOR Project Manager Dr Sacha Oberweis traveled to Brussels to showcase the ARBOR project last week to the awards jury (pictured below). The final decision will be made by the Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn in March at an award ceremony on 31^st March 2014.

Further information available at http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/cooperate/regions_for_economic_change/regiostars_en.cfm.

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Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance

Posted on October 17, 2013 by BENNETT Margaret

The Humanitarian Innovation Fund supports organisations and individuals to identify, nurture and share innovative and scalable solutions to the challenges facing effective humanitarian assistance.

Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance, (under the humanitarian innovations fund), invites proposals for its large grant facility. Funding supports the development, implementation and testing of a humanitarian innovation that will lead to demonstrated cost-effective improvements in humanitarian practice.

Non-profit organisations such as non-governmental organisations, public or governmental institutions and academic or research institutes that have legal status and are registered in the country in which the project will be carried out, may apply. There is no geographic restriction as to the origin of an applicant. Organisations may apply individually or in consortia.

Grants will be allocated to projects with an implementation period of up to 18 months and range from £75,000 up to £150,000.

There are five key steps to innovation and large grants are awarded at two of these stages:

To date the Fund has awarded grants to fifteen projects from its large grant facility which supports the development, implementation and testing of innovation in humanitarian contexts with grants of up to £150,000.

The Fund has also awarded grants to eleven projects from its small grant facility which supports the recognition, invention and dissemination of an innovation with grants of up to £20,000.

For further information go to: http://www.humanitarianinnovation.org/funding/awards/large-grant

Closing date Expressions of intent due by 28 October; full proposals due by 13 December 2013. This call is repeated 2 times a year.

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Drafting and negotiating agreements: A ‘process’ driven approach

Posted on October 16, 2013 by ck7

Please find attached a link to an article written on Mark Anderson’s Intellectual Property and drafting blog, which is concerned with the process of contractual drafting, and practical methods that could be adopted to achieve successful results when negotiating agreements. The Anderson website also contains many useful articles on drafting skills underpinned with relevant legal sources. Enjoy.

10 tips for successful contract negotiations

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Getting up to Speed on European Funding

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Holly Hoar

Special guest, Eevi Laukkanen, will be coming to Staffordshire University on 11 December 2013. Eevi is from UKRO in Brussels and will be talking about the new European funding streams being launched in January 2014.

The new funds include:

Horizon 2020, the replacement for FP7 which funds research and innovation
Erasmus+, funding education and vocational training scheme.

Horizon 2020 is the EU funding programme for research and innovation. The official start for the programme is 1 January 2014. There are opportunities for individual researchers and groups of researchers to apply for funding.

Erasmus+ consolidates education and vocational training schemes into one programme, with the addition of Sport. Erasmus+ will replace the Lifelong Learning Programme, Youth in Action, Erasmus Mundus, ALFA III, TEMPUS EDULINK in one over-arching scheme.

The Universities External Projects Team will be hosting the event in the Ashley Building Stoke. We do not have full details of the schedule yet, but for now we would like you to save the date in your diary.

For further details email externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

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Sneak Preview of the 2014 Erasmus+ Work Programme

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Holly Hoar

The External Projects Team has access to a draft work programme for the new Erasmus+ Project. This is European funding for education, vocational education and young people.
The official document is expected to come out in January 2014, with call deadline dates shortly after. Reading the draft programme can give staff the opportunity to get ahead of the game and start planning partnerships.
The programme covers one year of funding. It gives an overview of the Erasmus+ programme, particularly the specific objectives in education and training, youth and sport as well as in:
•   Key action 1 (learning mobility of individuals)
•   Key action 2 (co-operation for innovation and the exchange of good practices)
•   Key action 3 (support for policy reform)
•   Jean Monnet activities
•   Sport

The draft work programme gives an overview of the funding allocations for 2014-2020 as well as a detailed budget for the 2014 calls.

The draft work programme also lists the topics of the specific activities, outlining an overview of the topic, the expected results, eligible applicants, award criteria and budget distribution per sector for 2014.

This is a confidential document, so we are not able to publish it on our website, however staff who are interested can email us on: externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

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Looking to collaborate with the US?

Posted on October 14, 2013 by ejd2

The British Council are running the Global Innovation Initiative which will providing funding for university research collaborations between the UK and US working with either Brazil, China, Indonesia or India. Science, technology, engineering and mathematical research issues of global significance will be supported through this scheme. The research competition opens on 28^th October, with a deadline of 16^th December.

Academics interested in applying are encouraged to contact their potential partners now to prepare for the call launch. Only 20 grants are expected to be supported, with project values proposed between £100,000 – £150,000.

The goals of the scheme are:

To increase the global mobility of students, researchers, faculty, and higher education administrators from the U.S., the UK, and other countries;
To develop a cadre of people in the U.S., UK, and other countries who have the international experience, outlook and knowledge to confront global challenges and operate in a global context;
To encourage international collaborations that develop capacity across a range of universities in the U.S., the UK, and other countries;
To forge university and business linkages that support a globally mobile talent pool and a multinational base for the exchange of discovery and innovation.

Further information: http://global-innovation-initiative.org/

Please contact externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk if you are developing a proposal for this call.

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UKRO Horizon 2020 Event – Kings College London

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Josephine Beech

The External Projects Team attended a “Train the Trainer” Horizon 2020 event yesterday at Kings College, London. The session was hosted by Edward Ricketts (Pictured with Jose Beech) one of UKRO’s European Advisors. With over 100 HEI’s represented this was a key session for European Officers as institutions prepare for the new Horizon 2020 calls in January 2014.

A full briefing with details will be sent next week. Needless to say, there are still changes being made to the calls for proposals…

For further information please contact the external projects team at externalprojects@staffs.ac.uk

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