Policy

Six venture capital funds will share the task of raising €2.1 billion of private investment for European companies. Image credit - Pixabay/rawpixel, licensed under CC0

10 April 2018

EU launches venture capital mega-fund to attract heavy-hitting investors

Heavy-hitting institutional investors will soon have their chance to back European technology innovation, according to fund managers involved in Europe’s new €410 million venture capital fund of funds.

Jean-Eric Paquet says the the need for science to live up to societal challenges is greater than ever. Image credit - European Commission

interview | policy

28 March 2018

'Evolution, not revolution' will guide next EU research funding programme – Jean-Eric Paquet

The structure of the EU’s next research funding programme is based on the mantra of ‘evolution, not revolution’ and so will not contain any major surprises, according to Jean-Eric Paquet, the EU’s recently appointed director-general for research and innovation, who takes up his new role on 3 April.

Imagine if all the billions we are now putting into these expensive subscription journals could be put into research, says Robert-Jan Smits. Image credit - European Union

interview | policy

23 March 2018

Open access to scientific publications must become a reality by 2020 - Robert-Jan Smits

A lot of lip service is being paid to making scientific papers free to access but when it comes to action there is a lot of hypocrisy, according to Robert-Jan Smits, the EU's outgoing director-general for research, science and innovation. He has recently been appointed the EU's special envoy on open access, tasked with helping make all publicly funded research in Europe freely available by 2020.

Major missions such as putting a man on the moon generate a lot of spillover innovations along the way. Image provided by Prof Mazzucato.

interview | policy | open innovation

27 February 2018

Missions could make Europe cool again – Prof. Mariana Mazzucato

Missions modelled on the 1960s 'moonshot' programme to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade could help make Europe a cool place to do business and unite the public behind European science and innovation, according to Professor Mariana Mazzucato, founder and director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London, UK, where she holds the chair in the economics of innovation and public value.

The transport sector accounts for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Image credit -Flickr/opengridscheduler, licensed under CC0 1.0

energy | policy | open innovation

27 February 2018

EU puts its 'foot on the accelerator' of battery research

The European Union is scaling up its investment in battery technology with the announcement of a €10 million open competition to design a better battery for electric vehicles and a €50 million cash injection to develop Europe's largest green battery factory.

A successful project to improve childbirth safety in Mali and Senegal will now be rolled out to Chad, Niger and Burkina Faso. Image credit: Russell Watkins/DFID is licensed under CC BY 2.0 https://flic.kr/p/TJn81M

health | policy | open innovation

14 February 2018

Maternal death audits in Africa win €1 mn innovation prize

An audit committee that reviews deaths during childbirth and works out how to avoid them has won its founders the €1 million EU Horizon Birth Day prize for a solution that saves the lives of mothers and their babies.

Depending on the country, between 12% and 20% of workers have some experience of working via gig economy platforms, according to Prof. Ursula Huws. Image credit – Pexels, CC0

policy | open innovation

06 February 2018

Gig economy necessitates a new charter of labour rights – expert

We need a new bill of rights to absorb the changes brought about by the gig economy, or using apps and websites to arrange casual jobs, which are now spreading to other areas of work, according to an international labour expert speaking at a conference on the future of work.

Research excellence relies not only on funding but also on the right governance and culture, according to experts. Credit — Pixabay/ jarmoluk

policy | health

01 February 2018

Life scientists unite to close EU's innovation gap

Nepotism, a lack of transparency and poor governance are among some of the challenging conditions faced by researchers in Central and Eastern Europe, according to a consortium of life scientists who have set up a project to raise the level of research excellence in those countries.

Energy poverty is caused by income limitations and energy inefficiency, according to experts. Credit – Max Pixel/ image is in public domain

energy | policy

31 January 2018

Online observatory aims to combat energy poverty

If you have ever run up arrears on your bills or shivered without turning on the heat at home during winter because you are concerned about the cost, then you may be experiencing energy poverty.

Sea-based agriculture that cultivates large quantities of algae could help triple or quadruple the amount of food we get from our oceans. Credit - pxhere/ picture is in public domain

agriculture | environment | policy

08 December 2017

Algae and krill may be a tough sell for European consumers

People will need to be persuaded to eat new types of seafood if we are to extract more food from the oceans and feed growing human populations, according to fishing industry experts.