education, research and the global knowledge society: can greece compete?
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Education, Research and the Global Knowledge Society: Can Greece Compete?. 3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE London, June 2007. Prof. Fotis C. Kafatos President, ERC. The ERC: Competion for Excellence at a Pan-European Level. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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European Research Council
Education, Research and the Global Knowledge Society:
Can Greece Compete?
3rd Hellenic Observatory PhD Symposium, LSE
London, June 2007
Prof. Fotis C. KafatosPresident, ERC
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European Research Council
• A major European initiative to support frontiers research
• A logical development of the European Research Area
• Securely anchored in EU legislation
but at the same time…..
A revolutionary development
The ERC: Competion for Excellence at a Pan-European Level
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European Research Council
Ageing and shrinking population?
High Labour and Social Security costs?
Expensive production and services?
Limited natural resources?
Capital accumulation and management?
• Yes, an essential part of our civilization
Galileo, Newton, Darwin, Freud
Einstein, Watson & Crick, Jacob & Monod… and?
• What will be our future competitive advantage?
Does Europe Need Frontiers Research?
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European Research Council
• Leadership in Science, the Endless frontier
• Central Role in the Knowledge Triangle:
Education / Research / Innovation
• Investment in excellent research
is an imperative, not an option
Europe Can Only Compete Through Knowledge
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European Research Council
• Generate, Attract and Retain Top Talent
• Integrate and Internationalize our Efforts
• Encourage and Trust the Young
• Create Attractive Career Path
• Competitive Champions League, set standards
by merit only (as in football)
To Become More Competitive, Europe Must
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European Research Council
• Proposals of the Commission to establish ERC through Framework Programme 7
• Political Context: P. Busquin & ERA; J. M. Gago & Lisbon A. Mitsos & Added Value Argument:
Competition for Excellence at European Level
• Adoption FP7 (18/12/06) & Specific Programme “Ideas” (19/12/06); EC decision establishing ERC (02/02/07); 7.51b€ for 2007-2013
• ERC consists of an independent Scientific Council supported by a Dedicated Implementation Structure / Executive Agency
• EC acts as guarantor of ScC autonomy and integrity and ensures proper functioning of the ERC
• Commissioner Potočnik nominated ScC (18/07/06) by arms-length independent procedure (Patten Identification Committee)
Birth and Structure of the ERC
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European Research Council
• Collaborates with EC towards an autonomous, integrated
world-class Research Funding Agency
• Defined ERC Strategy & Annual Work Programme
• Decided Calls for Proposals
• Established Evaluation Rules & Procedures
• Selected Evaluation Panels
• Intensive 1 yr work before establishment
ERC Scientific Council:Aim, Responsibilities and Actions
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European Research Council
- Opportunities and independence for young scientists- Individual frontier research programs- Significant funding to make a difference
• Address essentials, obvious gaps in Europe
The ERC Strategy, 1
• Trust the dynamic of science- Interdisciplinarity is encouraged- Excellence attracts excellence- The effects of critical mass- From individual to institutional excellence
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• Keep it flexible- Evaluation panels judge investment levels - Researchers can rebudget- Grants are portable
The ERC Strategy, 2
• Keep it simple- All fields of science and scholarship are eligible- Excellence is the sole criterion- Research results are the only deliverable- Referees & Evaluation Panels selected by excellence- Flat 20% contribution to overheads
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European Research Council
See http://erc.europa.eu
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European Research Council
-Ca. 300 M€; 200 grants, average 1.5M€ for 5 years
- i.e. 200 new investigators per call, ca. 1400 in 7 years
Sole selection criterion: Excellence of person & proposal
- Eligibility: - ≤ 9 years since Doctorate + 3 years for service
- Recently established or offered a position
- To work within EU or Associated States
- No nationality criterion
3 Rs: Recruit, Repatriate, Retain TOP TALENT
ERC Starting Independent Researcher Grant (ERC Starting Grant)
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European Research Council
-Annual budget minus ERC Starting Grants
- From ca. 600 M€ to over 1 billion € / year
- ca. 200/500 grants awarded each year
- Sole selection criterion: Excellence of proposal & track record
- Eligibility: (a) investigators at all career stages
(b) located or moving to Europe
(c) no age limit or nationality criterion
Recruit, Repatriate, Retain
ERC Advanced Investigator Grant (ERC Advanced Grant)
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European Research Council
- Starting Grants First call: December 2006Submission deadline: 25 April 2007
- Advanced GrantsFirst call: early 2008
- Starting and Advanced GrantsOne call per year, from 2008
Calls for applications
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European Research Council
Principal Investigators (PI’s):
Outstanding young scientistsEuropean and non-EuropeanWorking or moving to Europe
Host institutions:
- Universities
- Research Organizations (including companies, if they allow independent research)
Based in a European Member State or Associated Country
Starting Grants: Foster Early Independence of Young Investigators
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European Research Council
Principal Investigators must be able to:
• choose their co-workers
• decide on the evolving directions of their work
• re-allocate resources as necessary
• publish their scientific results without restrictions and independently (with, as co-authors, only those who contribute to the work significantly)
ERC Starting Grants: Guarantees of Scientific Independence
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European Research Council
Host institutions have to maximize available administrative and legal options to provide for a competitive salary for nationals and non-nationals
• Host institution engages the PI, pays salary
• Part (or all) of PI’s salary can be charged the ERC Grant(joint funding?)
• Additional personnel costs related to research can be covered by the ERC Grant
ERC Grants: Salary Issues
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European Research Council
ERC Grants are portable:
• “Money follows the researcher”
• The PI is entitled to transfer the grant to another
institution after a minimum 2 years at the
sponsoring institution
• Proper justification and ERC approval required
ERC Grants:Portability
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European Research Council
• Social Sciences and Humanities (SH)
• Mathematics, physical sciences, information and communication, engineering, universe and earth sciences (PE)
• Life Sciences (LS)
Budget allocation
SH 15%PE 45%LS 40%
ERC Starting Grants: Scientific Domains
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European Research Council
Starting Grants First Call: Proposals received by domain
Domain Number of proposals %
Life Sciences 3,396 37.0
Physical Sciences & Engineering
4,408 48.1
Social Sciences & Humanities
1,363 14.9
Total 9,167 100
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European Research Council
Starting Grants First Call: % Geographic Distribution: European and Overseas Clusters
Cluster PI residenceHost Institution
location
EEC6:
BE, DE, FR, IT, LU, NL44.8 46.2
Next 9 of EU15:
AT, DK, EL, ES, FI, IE, PT, SE, UK35.5 37.2
Next 12 of EU 27:
BG, CY, CZ, EE, HU, LT, LV, MT, PL, RO, SI, SK
8.6 8.8
7 EU-associated or candidate:
CH, HR, IL, IS, NO, RS, TR7.9 7.8
6 Overseas highly developed:
AU, CA, JP, NZ, TW, USA2.8 0
AL, AR, BR, BF, CN, EG, IN, IR, KH, ME, MX, SN, TN, RU, SG, UA, UZ, ZA,
ZW0.4 0
100 100
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Starting Grants First Call: “Gain-loss” figures
CountryTo Institution -
From Residence
Italy + 44
* Greece + 36
France + 34
Spain + 32
Germany + 26
Sweden + 23
Austria + 17
U.K. + 15
Netherlands + 14
Finland + 11
Switzerland - 17
Romania - 8
Belgium - 4
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Can Greece Compete?
•Rich human resources•A few good universities of high level research institutions
But
•Structural limitations
•Universities:•“One type fits all” •Inflexible legal and political framework•Under-funded•Dispersed faculties•Locked into an unreformed system
•Research:•Under-funded (<0.6% of national income and declining)•Lack of a national programme for bottom-up research