Tagged / UKRO

European IPR Helpdesk – slides from 30/09/15

BU research, EU, Research Training, Training

Academic and RKEO staff enjoyed the recent webinar regarding IP Management in EU-funded Projects /Horizon 2020, presented by Jörg Scherer, Managing Director of the European Research and Project Office (Eurice)
The webinar covered:

  • The importance of considering Intellectual Property from day oneeurope
  • How to embed IP within the project submission and agreement documents
  • Definitions, ownership and access rights
  • Obligations to disseminate, protect and exploit
  • The IP landscape and implementation

The slides are available to BU staff along with other publications from the European IPR Helpdesk.

Although the slides are instructional, it is not the same experience as attending the webinar. Why not come along to the next events:

02/11/15  IP Management in H2020 – with a special focus on MSCA

02/12/15   Impact and Innovation in H2020 – a Guide for Proposers

16/12/15   Maximising the impact of H2020 projects

They will all take place in the Casterbridge Room, starting promptly at 9:30. Please contact Dianne Goodman to reserve your place.

 

European News (w/c 14/9/15)

EU, Funding opportunities, Info Days, Training

Every week I receive an email from UKRO updating me on the EU-related activities including funding calls, info days, tenders and other news which helps keep me up to date with the EU. As this blog can be accessed externally, we cannot give you all the information that they email, but you can get the full subscriber experience by registering at the UKRO website.UKRO logo

Highlights from the most recent email are:

  • UKRO ITN (Innovative Training Network) event on 7/10/15 – please see the previous blog post about this event
  • ERC Consolidator Grant Information sessions – see University of Sheffield on 3/11/15 and  London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 6/11/15 to register
  • Info Week for Societal Challenge 2 (Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, maritime and maritime inland water research and bio-economy) runs from 24/11/2015 to 27/11/2015
  • Experts are required for EC non-food Scientific Committees in the topic areas of Consumer Safety  and Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks – deadline 2/11/15
  • Did you miss the H2020 Co-ordinators’ Day on 8/9/15? You can see videos of the presentations to find out more about H2020 project management
  • The draft Work Programmes are being made available. Please note that they are still under review and should not be assumed to be finalised
  • EU and China have launched a new Co-Funding Mechanism for research and innovation

If you are looking for specific funding, please make use of BU’s subscription to ResearchProfessional or search on the Participant Portal. For tenders, please use TED – Tenders Electronic Daily.

Also being discussed on planet EU:

  • ResearchProfessional are reporting on changes to demand management within Horizon 2020 (log-in to our institutional account to read more)
  • There are concerns about a move to an increased emphasis on applied research and product development within the H2020 Societal Challenges Pillar, according to a freely available article from ResearchResearch.Research-Professional-logo

If you would like further assistance in developing your EU knowledge and engagement, please contact Emily Cieciura, Research Facilitator: EU & International

 

UKRO Visit – 14th October 2015 – Save the date!

BU research, EU, Info Days, Research news, Training

UKRO logoDo you aspire to be an EU-funded researcher?

The planning for our annual UKRO visit from our European Adviser, Maribel Glogowski, is well underway. This will take place on Wednesday, 14th October 2015 at Talbot Campus.

There will be an information sharing session for RKEO-only staff in the morning with presentations for all staff in the afternoon (13:00 – c. 16:30). It is expected that the afternoon session will include a general introduction to EU funding and the draft Work Programmes to 2017. You can see the draft Work Programmes in the Subscribers’ area on the UKRO portal. As BU subscribes to this service, all staff can register.

Please register for this event as soon as possible by contacting Dianne Goodman. Once we have your details, we will send the full programme, when it is confirmed. The schedule for the day will also be announced on the Research Blog nearer the date.

If you have any burning EU funding information needs, do let me, Emily Cieciura, know as soon as possible, so that we can incorporate your query into the session, where possible.

UKRO Information Event – Innovative Training Networks 7/10/15

EU, Funding opportunities, Info Days, Training

ukro_logo-150x85Information Event: Horizon 2020 Innovative Training Networks (ITN) – Royal Veterinary College, London​​, Wednesday 7 October 2015

​​The current EU funding programme for research and innovation, Horizon 2020, offers exciting opportunities for academia and industry collaboration through European and international partnerships. These include schemes which are completely ‘bottom-up’, in that organisations can initiate projects on topics of their own choice.

The UK Research Office (UKRO), in its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), is holding two information events on the 2016 ‘Innovative Training Networks’ (ITN) call for proposal, which will have a deadline in mid-January 2016.

Aim of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Networks

The ITN scheme supports joint research training and/or doctoral programmes, implemented by European partnerships of universities, research institutions, industry (incl. SMEs) and other non-academic organisations. The research training programmes are intended to provide doctoral students with excellent research skills, coupled with experience outside academia, hence developing their innovation capacities and employability prospects. ​

Aim of the events

The events aim to provide participants with an in-depth overview of the ITN scheme. Participants should gain a clear understanding of the proposal format for each scheme and the key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals.

Event Registration is via the UKRO website.

Attendance for the event is free of charge, but registration is mandatory.

Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Further information on the venue will be provided to delegates once they have registered.

BU subscribes to the UK Research Office (UKRO). Please sign up to get updates direct to your inbox. You will also need to register to view the draft programme for this event.

UKRO launches new portal

EU, Funding opportunities, Research news

UKRO logoThe UK Research Office has a new portal.

The new UKRO Portal maintains the functions and services of the old website, namely the UKRO articles with email updates and the extensive UKRO fact-sheets on Horizon 2020 and other EU funding streams.

In addition, the new Portal offers:

  • a new design, compatible with portable devices;
  • a streamlined, simple navigation;
  • a powerful new search engine with refiners and hash tags;
  • dedicated areas for European Liaison Officers and Research Council staff;
  • and a new event registration facility.

If you want to familiarise yourself with the new Portal, UKRO recommend you start by having a quick look at the subscriber area.

If you are not registered with UKRO, all you need to do is register with your BU email address (we are institutional members). Once registered, you can access all the UKRO content and manage your alerts so that updates are delivered directly to your inbox.

All in all, making engaging with EU funding just that little bit easier.

UKRO Reminder – RISE workshop 22 January 2015

BU research, EU, Research news, Training

Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE): Information Event

In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the UK Research Office is holding an information event for researchers who are interested in applying for the 2015 MSCA Research and Innovation Staff Exchange call, which opens on 6 January 2015, with a closing date of 28 April 2015.

Aim of the Research and Innovation Staff Exchange funding
The RISE scheme supports projects which promote international and/or inter-sectoral collaboration through staff exchanges and the sharing of knowledge and best practice. The scheme involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors, organisations based in Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries) and outside of Europe (third countries).

Date and venue
Thursday, 22 January 2015
London South Bank University
Room 806, Keyworth Centre
Keyworth Street
London  SE1 6NG

Aim of Information Event
The event will provide participants with an in-depth overview of the RISE scheme. Participants should gain a clear understanding of the proposal format and the key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals.

Who should attend?
The event is aimed at staff at UK academic and non-academic organisations, including industry, who are planning to submit a proposal to the RISE call.

Registration
Attendance is free of charge, but capacity at the venue is limited and places will therefore be allocated on a first come first served basis. Register via the UKRO workshop announcement.

The event will only take place if a minimum number of participants is reached. All interested participants will be notified by Friday 16 January 2015 at the very latest.

Agenda
The event will cover key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals. A successful RISE 2014 project case study will be presented by the Principal Investigator.

UKRO – RISE workshop in January 2015

BU research, EU, Research news, Training

Research and Innovation Staff Exchange (RISE): Information Event

In its capacity as UK National Contact Point for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, the UK Research Office is holding an information event for researchers who are interested in applying for the 2015 MSCA Research and Innovation Staff Exchange call, which opens on 6 January 2015, with a closing date of 28 April 2015.

Aim of the Research and Innovation Staff Exchange funding
The RISE scheme supports projects which promote international and/or inter-sectoral collaboration through staff exchanges and the sharing of knowledge and best practice. The scheme involves organisations from the academic and non-academic sectors, organisations based in Europe (EU Member States and Associated Countries) and outside of Europe (third countries).

Date and venue
Thursday, 22 January 2015
London South Bank University
Room 806, Keyworth Centre
Keyworth Street
London  SE1 6NG

Aim of Information Event
The event will provide participants with an in-depth overview of the RISE scheme. Participants should gain a clear understanding of the proposal format and the key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals.

Who should attend?
The event is aimed at staff at UK academic and non-academic organisations, including industry, who are planning to submit a proposal to the RISE call.

Registration
Attendance is free of charge, but capacity at the venue is limited and places will therefore be allocated on a first come first served basis. Register via the UKRO workshop announcement.

The event will only take place if a minimum number of participants is reached. All interested participants will be notified by Friday 16 January 2015 at the very latest.

Agenda
The event will cover key issues relating to planning, writing and submitting proposals. A successful RISE 2014 project case study will be presented by the Principal Investigator.

UKRO visit to BU – last chance to reserve your place!

EU, Training

UK Research OfficeOur UKRO contact, Maribel Glogowski, will be coming to Bournemouth on December 11th.  We benefit from the services, information and support provided by UKRO throughout the year but this is your opportunity to see and speak to our representative in person.  This year Maribel will be making two presentations open for all to attend.

Both presentations address H2020 but rather than just being another overview we’ve asked Maribel to feedback on H2020 so far and then to zoom in on an area we do a lot of work in but which can be difficult to place in H2020 – Social Science and Humanities.  As H2020 has sought (with varying degrees of success) to ‘embed’ elements of Social Science and Humanities across the whole work programme; collaborations across disciplines have become increasingly standard and as impact has moved (particularly in the EU) to the top of the agenda insights into the role of Social Sciences and Humanities in H2020 are pertinent across all disciplines.

The agenda (BG14: Lansdowne) is as follows:

9.30am-10.45am:

      i. Brief introduction and overview of UKRO

     ii. H2020 in action – what’s happened so far and where’s it going?

10.45am-11.15am: Coffee and networking

11.15am-12.30pm: Social Sciences and Humanities in H2020

Please contact Organisational Development by following the link if you wish to attend.

For those unfamiliar with UKRO (The UK Research Office), it is the European office of the UK Research Councils.  UKRO’s mission is to promote effective UK engagement in EU research, innovation and higher education activities, by:

  • Enabling the UK research community to make informed decisions about participation in EU programmes and to maximise the opportunities available to them;
  • Supporting UK input into European research policy development and implementation through informing and interfacing with the appropriate bodies; and
  • Developing and maintaining a suite of quality services that meet the evolving needs of sponsors and subscribers.

Bournemouth subscribes to the information and assistance services of UKRO. For many years UKRO have been providing us with the latest EU information on funding calls, policy and providing advice on how to make a great application.  UKRO are also the national contact point for the UK in relation to Marie Curie actions and the ERC (European Research Council).

UKRO Annual Conference 2014 – a newcomer’s view

EU, Funding opportunities, Research news

UK Research OfficeAs my new role within RKEO will concentrate on supporting academics with EU and international applications, I was very pleased to attend the recent UKRO Annual Conference.

Having provided dedicated support to Knowledge Transfer Partnerships for nearly three years, I have grown used to the friendliness and knowledge of my professional colleagues in the UK KTP world. I need not have worried as I found the EU funding community just as welcoming and knowledgeable. With Horizon 2020 ahead, most of the conference focused on initial findings, preparing for future bids and highlighting updated practice and opportunities since FP7.

 Christina Miller (Director, UKRO) opened the conference then Tim Willis (Head, International Relations, BBSRC) led a session reviewing the start of H2020 and where the UK should be going.

David Wilson (BIS), outlined the role of the Technology Strategy Board and how H2020 links to the UK’s agenda for growth and innovation. Within H2020, innovation is ‘mainstreamed’ as are the social sciences and humanities. The difficulty SMEs have in engaging with EU funds was acknowledged but it was stressed that H2020 provides the framework for trust and tools to manage IP etc. We were left with a call to arms to help SMEs navigate this complex funding stream and to actively encourage such collaboration, with government support. Keith Sequeira (Member of Cabinet – Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn) focused on how H2020 is integrated, simplified and challenge based, with the removal of disciplinary boundaries. The scheme also provides a stronger mechanism to ensure outcomes showing impact. Shearer West (Head of Humanities Division, University of Oxford) considered the implications of the mainstreaming of arts and humanities. Their role in supporting global challenges by providing context and perspective was shown as vital to the process of embedding innovation within policy development, ethics and economic growth. The example of the humanities in the H2020 Climate action Advisory Group, one of many EU expert groups, was explored.

Following this session there followed a lively debate from the floor, where the importance of EU funding to the UK and the engagement by UK HEIs were both evident.

The next session, presented by Dirk Beernaert (Adviser to the DG Connect), considered the routes available via H2020, in preparation for the digital revolution. Dirk gave an excellent overview of the funding topology and key themes – smart objects / platforms, human-centric and cyber security. The session ended with a question – will HEIs define or just participate? We were encouraged to be pro-active in influencing the funding roadmap.

I then attended a useful breakout session on IPR given by Lea Montesse of the European IPR Help desk. This outlined the processes to be undertaken in managing IP within the life of an EU project, from inception through to eventual exploitation.  The key message here was to make more use of this service. My second breakout session was presented by Mathias Reddmann (Policy and Project Officer DG Connect) considered the focus area of Smart Cities and Communities. Unlike many other streams, the UK is not in the top three funding recipients here. The session outlined the European Innovation Partnership, which is not a funding instrument but a mechanism for collaboration. The application is a ‘light touch’ Invitation to Commitment for HEIs and SMEs.

The first day ended with a celebratory meal as this conference coincided with 30 years of UKRO. This was preceded by a reception hosted by the University of Bristol.

The second day dawned with a consideration of the annotated Model Grant Agreement, which included detailed discussion of costing, budgets, third parties vs. subcontractors, staff costs, payments, reporting and audits. Given some detailed questioning by some HEIs, David Mejuto Gayoso (Legal Officer, DG RTD), made a strong defence regarding some controversial issues in the changes from FP7 to H2020.

Alejandro Martin-Hobdey (Head of Unit, ERC) gave a fascinating and statistically-rich presentation of how the EU countries are responding to EU funding and the challenges and opportunities that this presents to the European Research Council. For BU, the Standard Grant appeared an attractive route into this funding. In terms of priories for ERA, these are gender, wider EU participation, international participation (with S. Korea and NSF mentioned), interdisciplinary proposals and clear impact evaluation. In questioning, Alejandro reported that 50% of grants are made to c. 50 institutions s with the UK dominated by the Russell Group members. During the Q and A, the potential of using companies and leverage and embedding the scheme within PDP for academics was aired.

Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, in terms of building successful partnerships with the non-academic sector, was explored by Kamila Partyka (Policy Officer, DG EAC). A key message from this session was that, in the EU, 45% of Post-Doc researchers work in the private sector, so EU funding needs to be used to prepare the best candidates to work in industry, not just in academia. The structure of these actions within H2020 was described, with particular reference to Innovative Training Networks (ITN). I noted that on the slide giving the top 20 participating HEIs in the UK that no post ’92 HEIs were listed… 

Alan Cross (Head of Unit, DG RTD) then gave a revelatory review of the H2020 evaluation processes. This including scoring, key points for assessment (challenge based, impact, close to market and cross disciplinary), the role of the assessors who use the principles of independence, impartiality, objectivity, accuracy and consistency, eligibility, operational capacity, panel review processes and ensuring quality in terms of the panel.

The conference ended with Professor Jackie Hunt CBE (BBSRC) and David Golding (Head of EU and International Strategy, TSB) inspiring us all to go back and make better use of IP to promote business and academic research within innovation partnerships. The Innovative Medicines Initiative was used as a key example, along with BBSRC Research Industry Clubs, ELIXIR, ERA-NETS, EPI and KIC. The value of the TSB in supporting innovation was enthusiastically presented with the Enterprise Europe Network noted. Using other agencies, such as LEPs, trade associations and professional bodies was encouraged, as was the TSB’s desire to build real relationships, not just being a funder for x months.

 By the end of the very full two days, my head was buzzing with potential opportunities for BU. Over the coming months, as Paul Lynch and I move to our new role in facilitating EU and International bidding at BU, we hope to inspire you with our enthusiasm for the over 400 schemes within the EU funding arena.

Easy guide to Horizon 2020

EU

UK Research OfficeUKRO have created a very helpful and short guide to Horizon 2020 which is available on their portal. BU subscribes to the UKRO services and therefore all BU staff have access to this (simply register for an accout if you haven’t already and you will also get very useful updates from them too!).

This hyperlink should take anyone with an account straight to it, but if you have any problems, just log in and go to ‘Future Funding’ in the left hand navigation. The three thematic areas all have their own pages and the useful over view of all contains the guide.

October is still EU-tastic!!

EU

EU funding remains a bit of an enigma for most people and this month I have organised some sessions to help demystify this for you, especially as the calls are due to be released on December 11th!  Two have already been held and the slides from these can be found on our I drive.

Health in Horizon 2020: The European Commission National Contact Point for Health – Dr Octavio Pernas made a special trip to BU on October 7th to inform anyone interested in health research (from nursing care models to medical devices) of what to look out for under Horizon 2020 and expanding on other complementary funding programmes. The session detailed how you can make the most of the National Contact Points to help with your application. Slides from this presentation are available here: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\Health in H2020 Presentation.  

All things Horizon 2020: Bournemouth subscribes to information services from the fabulous UK Research Office (UKRO) and for many years they have been providing us with the latest EU information on funding calls, policy and providing advice on how to make a great application. Their visit on October 9th told us in simple terms what is coming up in Horizon 2020 and how we can make the most of their subscription services. Slides from this presentation are available here: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\UKRO H2020 presentation

Our remaining two sessions tell you how to write a successful grant – there are a couple of spaces left on each session, so if you are interested please do book on quickly to be guaranteed a place.

1. All things Marie Curie

You can’t fail to have heard me saying how wonderful these fellowships are and how pleased I am that they will feature in Horizon 2020. These grants are absolutely the best way to kick start your EU career and you only need one non-UK partner to apply. You can either apply to have an academic come to the university from another country or you can go to another country as part of the fellowship scheme. You can have a fellowship with an academic or with an industrial partner and you can even apply for entire departments to be involved in exchanges. I’m proud of how engaged BU colleagues are with Marie Curie and the grants we already hold from this scheme. The session is divided into two parts with both being held on October 16th. The first is a brief intro to the schemes and the second is a more detailed session on how to approach and structure your bid. You can book your place for either session here.

 

 2. The tricks of writing a winning Horizon 2020 proposal

Having already had sessions providing you with an overview of the various funding opportunities within Horizon 2020, you need to know the tricks of writing a winning bid. Writing bids for the European Commission is quite a different skill to writing for UK funders and this session on October 17th will guide you through the journey. We’ve had some fantastic feedback from this session in the past and attending will help get you on the right path to create your proposal. You can book your place for the information session here.

October is EU-tastic! The four sessions which give you all the EU funding info you need!

EU

EU funding remains a bit of an enigma for most people. I remember how overwhelming I found it when I first began to unpick the tangle of the different funding strands, rules of participation, deadlines and conditions.Thankfully you don’t need to suffer in the same way. Horizon 2020 will be released soon (the replacement for FP7 and worth tens of billions of Euros) and I am here to guide you through it. As well as a Simple Guide to Horizon 2020 funding which I will release in early 2014 to demystify the funding schemes for you, I have arranged for four sessions to be held at BU in October to give you all the resources you need for your EU journey.

1. Health in Horizon 2020 

The European Commission National Contact Point for Health – Dr Octavio Pernas madea special trip to BU on October 7th to inform anyone interested in health research (from nursing care models to medical devices) of what to look out for under Horizon 2020 and expanding on other complementary funding programmes. The session detailed how you can make the most of the National Contact Points to help with your application. Slides from this presentation are available here: I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\European Related\Horizon 2020\Health in H2020 Presentation.  

2. All things Horizon 2020 and 1-2-1s with UKRO

Bournemouth subscribes to information services from the fabulous UK Research Office (UKRO) and for many years they have been providing us with the latest EU information on funding calls, policy and providing advice on how to make a great application.

They will be visiting on October 9th to tell you in simple terms what Horizon 2020 is, the areas which will be funded within it and how you can make the most of UKRO by help with finding partners and gathering key bits of information. The two hour session will be followed by 1-2-1 appointments where you can get advice on your specific area of expertise and ask anything you want about EU policy making or funding. You can book your place for the information session here  and for the 1-2-1s by emailing Dianne Goodman.

 

3. All things Marie Curie

You can’t fail to have heard me banging on about how wonderful these fellowships are and how pleased I am that they will feature in Horizon 2020. These grants are absolutely the best way to kick start your EU career and you only need one non-UK partner to apply. You can either apply to have an academic come to the university from another country or you can go to another country as part of the fellowship scheme. You can have a fellowship with an academic or with an industrial partner and you can even apply for entire departments to be involved in exchanges. I’m proud of how engaged BU colleagues are with Marie Curie and the grants we already hold from this scheme.

The session is divided into two parts with both being held on October 16th. The first is a brief intro to the schemes and the second is a more detailed session on how to approach and structure your bid. You can book your place for either session here.

 

 4. The tricks of writing a winning Horizon 2020 proposal

Having already had sessions providing you with an overview of the various funding opportunities within Horizon 2020, you need to know the tricks of writing a winning bid. Writing bids for the European Commission is quite a different skill to writing for UK funders and this session on October 17th will guide you through the journey. We’ve had some fantastic feedback from this session in the past and attending will help get you on the right path to create your proposal. You can book your place for the information session here.

Thinking of applying for a FP7 Health call? UKRO has some good advice…

EU

The final version of the FP7 2013 Health Work Programme will be published in early July 2012, and at the same time two calls for proposals (INNOVATION 1 and 2) are expected to be launched with deadlines in late September and early October 2012. These calls will mark the last opportunity to bid for FP7 funding under the Health theme and no further calls are expected to be issued until the start of Horizon 2020 in 2014.

UKRO have provided some excellent tips for  those interested in taking up this last opportunity under FP7 with some hints and tips for preparing for their submissions on their website.

 

New & improved UKRO website launched at last!

EU

UK Research OfficeThe new and very much improved UKRO portal is now available , Not only is it easier on the eye, it is finally a fully integrated system and much more effective to search.

To access the extensive ‘UKRO Subscriber Services’ and your personal news page,  go to ‘Subscriber Login’ and enter your email address and the password ukro4web. This is a temporary password. Once you are logged in, please go to ‘Edit Profile’ to set a new, personalised password.

You have been set up with a default profile which means that your personal news page will cover all information types and categories, and you will receive a daily email alert. You can customise this at any time using the short guide to the new Portal (and FAQs) on the homepage.

If you haven’t ever set up an UKRO account; now is the perfect time! UKRO is sponsored by the UK research councils and provides information and advice on EU funding opportunities, and EU programmes and policies. Signing up for the alert service means you will be kept up to date on relevant funding opportunities, news and partner searches.

Sign up for FP7 information & alert service

Funding opportunities, Research news

The UK Research Office (UKRO) promotes effective UK participation in European Union funded research, higher education and training, and related activities. Established in Brussels in 1991, UKRO is jointly sponsored by the UK Research Councils.UK Research Office
UKRO provides information and advice on EU funding opportunities, and EU programmes and policies. You can sign up for the UKRO FP7 information and email alert service. Simply, “create a profile” (a personalised web page, covering the areas that you are interested in) and then select to receive email alerts at whatever interval you would prefer. UKRO has also produced a  guide to help you understand more about this service.