Science|Business

📌 Big news! Science|Business is transitioning from X to BlueSky. While our account on X will remain, we won’t be actively posting there. Instead, we will be sharing our latest updates and insights and connecting with our community on BlueSky and here on LinkedIn.   ⌛ Stay tuned for more updates, and be sure to follow us on BlueSky! 👉 https://lnkd.in/dCCefkVT

📣 Have a look at this week's highlights from our #Horizon Blog: 🔶 Call to boost EU R&I investments in low- and middle-income countries 🔷 Research and technology organisations want bigger role in EU’s start-up strategy  🔶 European Academies call for strong FP10  🔷 South Africa deepens science partnership with Europe  📌 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dumAQ4Ye

🔎 The EU is stepping up its efforts to bridge the growing #STEM skills gap, aiming to train more professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to drive #innovation and #economic growth. With a pressing need for an additional 2 million professionals in science and engineering, the European Commission’s new STEM Education Strategic Plan hopes to increase student numbers and attract top talent from abroad. However, experts like Robert-Jan Smits, outgoing president of Eindhoven University of Technology, warn that even doubling the number of STEM graduates wouldn’t be enough to meet demand. The EU sees this as an opportunity to not only boost local training but also attract skilled professionals, particularly from the US, to fill the gap. 📌 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dSQbdKaH

🌐 Could the Commission’s focus on productivity undermine the twin transition?Experts warn that while #digitalisation and #sustainability are often presented as complementary, the reality may be more complicated. The EU's "twin transition" aims to simultaneously drive digitalisation and sustainability, but there are growing concerns that an overemphasis on economic growth could weaken the synergies between these two transitions. Digital technologies, like #AI, have environmental benefits, supporting climate modelling and renewable energy integration. However, their infrastructure comes with significant #environmental costs, from resource extraction to energy consumption. As digitalisation grows, so does its carbon footprint, potentially undermining the environmental gains it is supposed to drive. 💡 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dmqcfHKx

🔎 Stay updated on the latest in #Research and #Innovation with Science|Business. 📆 Every week, we bring you the highlights from our latest newsletters - among this weeks R&D policy, funding and more: 🇺🇲 Europe helps researchers escape Trump 🎓 Fulbright freeze hits Europe-US exchange 💡 Health researchers get improved data access 🌍 Russian science becomes isolated ➡️ Subscribe now: https://lnkd.in/eVimaZK2

✈️ The aviation industry has voiced strong support for the Clean Aviation joint undertaking (JU), one of the EU research and development partnerships facing potential rationalisation under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) starting in 2028. With European Commission officials considering changes to the structure of research and innovation funding, industry leaders, including influential MEP Christian Ehler, are calling for dedicated R&D funding in #FP10. The #aviation sector plays a crucial role in Europe’s #competitiveness, but with the challenge of drastically reducing its environmental footprint, companies are urging the Commission to recognise the sector’s unique needs. As the Commission works to streamline #funding instruments, the future of aviation’s role in EU innovation remains uncertain. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dmaRwJJa

🎓A freeze on Fulbright Association funding and a mass furlough of scholarship administrators are causing uncertainty in US-Europe research exchanges. Some US #scientists in Europe, concerned about the repressive political climate back home, have now decided to stay. One Fulbright scholar, who was planning to return to the #US to continue research on cancer biology, has opted to remain in Germany, citing fears of a more hostile environment under the current US administration. This latest disruption highlights the growing challenges to transatlantic #research links, as American scholars consider their futures abroad and Europeans grow increasingly concerned about their upcoming trips to the US. 💡 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dJ7_9fUD

🇮🇹 Italy lobbies for standalone #FP10, warning against EU’s proposed revamp. The country is pushing back against the European Commission’s plan to integrate the successor to #HorizonEurope into a new #CompetitivenessFund. Italy’s research organisations, MEPs, and government officials argue that this could be a major setback for EU research and innovation. Italy is advocating for an ambitious, autonomous, and transdisciplinary FP10 to maintain strong national #research and #development funding and foster global collaborations. Research Minister Anna Maria Bernini emphasised that the new framework must align with Italy’s national interests and continue to support Europe’s innovation leadership. 💡 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dPjqCRw4

🚀 The EIC - European Innovation Council is set to abandon its exclusive focus on civilian technologies. The European Commission has announced that both the EIC and the planned #TechEU Scale-up Fund will now be allowed to invest in dual-use technologies, which have both civilian and defence applications. This shift, outlined in the Commission’s white paper on the future of European #defence, aims to maximise spillover effects between civilian and defence industries. Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, highlighted that this presents a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen Europe’s industry, boost innovation and create a market for defence equipment.” 📌 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dRu9Q6ZD

🇪🇺 🇺🇲 Europe is scrambling to help US researchers escape Trump. With the US tightening restrictions on #science, EU science ministers are calling on the European Commission to open doors for #US researchers facing attacks on academic freedom. In a letter addressed to Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva, 12 EU countries have urged the Commission to provide funding and opportunities through tools like the European Research Council (ERC) and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions. The letter highlights the threat to #research freedom globally, stressing that Europe must act quickly to offer refuge and support to brilliant scientists who could be hit by US funding cuts and interference. A proposed conference will soon bring EU ministers together to discuss how to move forward. 🔎 Read more: https://lnkd.in/dq8j2WbG