EU backs projects to boost researcher-industry ties

Brussels: Horizon Europe research and innovation programme funds nine talent projects in Widening Countries

The EU has announced funding for nine research and innovation projects intended to help researchers in so-called Widening Countries increase their ties with industry.

Widening Countries are those identified as lagging behind the EU average in their R&I capabilities. They include the 13 countries that have joined the bloc since 2004, as well as Greece and Portugal. Some neighbouring non-EU countries also qualify.

Horizon Europe, the EU’s €95.5 billion 2021-27 R&I programme, will allocate about €3bn to its Widening schemes over its duration.

On 31 October, the European Commission announced that it had selected nine projects for funding under the ERA Talents section of the Widening funding streams. This section is intended to “boost cross-sectoral talent circulation and academia-business collaboration for knowledge transfer” in the Widening Countries.

The nine projects will share funding totalling €24 million for work lasting up to four years, the Commission announced. They were selected from 16 proposals to a call that closed in November 2022.

Among the nine, two of the projects are coordinated in each of Estonia and Slovenia, while Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovakia and Tunisia have one each.

Funded projects span diverse disciplines. One Estonia-led project, called Nestor, aims to improve the R&I performance of institutions involved in reproductive medicine. Meanwhile, a Tunisia-led project called Vision is intended to increase knowledge transfer related to vaccine production.

A second ERA Talents call will open in April 2024 and has an estimated budget of €40m.