Renaissance voor 2030
Daarom moet de EU een chief scienctific advisor krijgen, zoalsook Obama op het Witte Huis benoemd heeft. Misschien een leuk ideevoor de nieuwe president van de Europese Raad, zeker als dat eenoud-voorzitter van een innovatieplatform zou wordden. Barroso heeftin elk geval al aangegeven dit een aantrekkelijke suggestie tevinden.
5% BBP
Eén van de voorstellen in ERAB’s
De commissie komt met nog meer uitdagende en optimistischeideeën als het verdriedubbelen van de EU-gelden voor wetenschap,het verdriedubbelen van de nationale budgetten voor onderwijs enhet verdriedubbelen van de mobiliteit van onderzoekers in de EUvoor 2030. Bovendien hoopt ERAB voor elkaar te boksen dat inhetzelfde jaar 50% van de researchers, op alle niveaus, vrouw is.Voor het aanpakken van grote problemen, zoals het energie- enklimaatvraagstuk, moet een derde van alle Europese R&D-geldengereserveerd worden.
Visonary, wildly optimistic
Janez Potocnik, de Commissaris Science and Research, isenthousiast. “Its recommendations, some of which have already foundtheir way into President Barroso’s political guidelines for thenext Commission, will stimulate new discussions on how to addressthe challenges facing European research and usher in a new’Renaissance’. This Strategic View fully vindicates the trust Ihave placed in ERAB to advise me and the Commission on how we canfacilitate the development of a true European Research Area.”
Tegen ScienceInsider verklaarde ERC vice-voorzitter Helga Nowotnyde gestelde adviezen verfrissend, maar niet uitvoerbaar tevinden. It’s wildly optimistic… But this is a visionaryreport–they don’t have to be realistic.” Commissielid Frank Gannongaf echter aan dat de plannen realistischer zijn dan ze lijken,”especially given the 20-year window. The 5% target, for instance,may “start to make more sense”, he says, when countries that haveupped their R&D investments start reaping the benefits and whenEuropean politicians realize that the answers to society’s greatproblems can only come from science.”
Een volledig overzicht van het ERAB-rapport en de reactievan de Europese Commissie ziet u hier.
Today, the European Commission welcomed the first European ResearchArea Board (ERAB) annual report “Preparing Europe for a NewRenaissance – A Strategic View of the European Research Area”. Thisreport outlines how the European Research Area needs to develop by2030 – for the sake of the EU, and of the world at large. Set up bythe Commission to advise on the realisation of a European ResearchArea (ERA), this high-level advisory group, chaired by Prof. JohnWood, is composed of 22 recognized members from the fields ofscience, academia and business.
Janez Potocnik, Commissioner for Science and Research said,: “Iwarmly welcome this first ERAB annual report, which provides aclear vision of what the European Research Area should aspire to.Its recommendations, some of which have already found their wayinto President Barroso’s political guidelines for the nextCommission, will stimulate new discussions on how to address thechallenges facing European research and usher in a new’Renaissance’. This Strategic View fully vindicates the trust Ihave placed in ERAB to advise me and the Commission on how we canfacilitate the development of a true European Research Area.”
In its first annual report, ERAB lays out a broad view of whatis needed to accomplish a new “Renaissance” in European research.Based on the key challenges facing mankind today, ERAB invokes thememory of the revolution in thought, society and science during theRenaissance as an appropriate setting for the necessary changes inthe way we think, work and research today. For this purpose, itidentifies six main areas in which it considers action must betaken:
– the creation of a unitedERA
– the solution of our GrandChallenges (climate change, energy supply, ageing societies,etc.)
– the interaction of scienceand society
– the collaboration ofpublic and private sectors in open innovation
– the encouragement ofexcellence, and
– the promotion ofcohesion
ERAB also highlights the need for an independent voice ofresearch ultimately linked into the political process, and, amongstother tasks, gives independent advice,. This recommendation wasrecently echoed by Commission President Barroso who announced thecreation of a Chief Scientific Officer who “has the power todeliver proactive, scientific advice throughout all stages ofpolicy development and delivery.”
Moreover ERAB stresses the need to restore trust between scienceand society, with a new social contract based on the ‘3 Rs’:”Rigour in decision making, political or scientific; Respect forour fellow man, scientist and environment and Responsibility forour own actions as scientist and citizens”.
Finally, the report sets milestones by which to measure progressin the years ahead. Over the coming months, ERAB will beelaborating on these six points in its research, communications andmeetings with key stakeholders of the ERA.
ERAB’s main tasks are:
– to advise the Commissionon the realisation of a European Research Area;
– to deliver opinions on therealisation of a European Research Area at the request of theCommission or on the Board’s own initiative;
– to provide the Commissionwith an annual report on the current state of the European ResearchArea.
ERAB consists of 22 high-level professionals from the fieldsof science, academia and business, appointed in a personal capacityfor terms of office lasting four years.
Dr. Reinhold ACHATZ, Corporate Vice President, Siemens AG,Corporate Technology, Corporate Research and Technologies (DE)
Dr. Robert AYMAR, Former Director General of the EuropeanOrganization for Nuclear Research (CERN)(CH); Scientific Counsellorto the Administrator of CEA (FR)
Dr. Lajos BALINT, Director of International Relations, NationalInformation Infrastructure Development Institute (HU)
Dr. Jean J BOTTI, Chief Technical Officer, EADS (DE)
Dr. Adelheid EHMKE, President, European Platform of WomenScientists EPWS (BE)
Prof. Frank GANNON, Director General, Science Foundation Ireland(IRL)
Dr. Barbara HAERING, Chief Executive Officer, ECONCEPT Inc.(CH)
Prof. Sir David KING, Founding Director, Smith School ofEnterprise and the Environment – University of Oxford (UK)
Dr. Leif KJAERGAARD, President of LEIF and FOOD SCIENCE, formerChief Technology Officer of Danisco A/S, (DK)
Prof. Marja MAKAROW, University of Helsinki (FI), and ChiefExecutive, European Science Foundation (FR)
Prof. Karol MUSIOL, Rector, Jagiellonian University, Krakow(PL)
Prof. Zaneta OZOLINA, Faculty of Social Sciences, University ofLatvia (LV)
Prof. Maria Cristina PEDICCHIO, Faculty of Sciences, Universitàdi Trieste and President, Cluster in Biomedicine (CBM) (IT)
Prof. Alain POMPIDOU, Centre National de la RechercheScientifique (CNRS) (FR)
Prof. Carlos Maria ROMEO-CASABONA, Director, Inter-UniversityChair in Law and the Human Genome, University of Deusto andUniversity of the Basque Country (ES)
Dr. Unni STEINSMO, President, Chief Executive Officer, SINTEF(NO)
Prof. Lena Treschow TORELL, President, Royal Swedish Academy ofEngineering Sciences (SE)
Dr. Jan VAN DEN BIESEN, Vice-president Public R&D Programs,Philips Research (NL)
Prof. Georg WINCKLER, Rector, University of Vienna, formerPresident, European University Association (AT)
Prof. John WOOD, Imperial College London (UK)
Dr. Ingrid WÜNNING TSCHOL, Head of Science and Research, RobertBosch Stiftung (DE)
Prof. Nüket YETIS, President, Scientific and TechnologicalResearch Council of Turkey (TR)
