Challenges for science and technology in the post-covid period

Challenges for European Science and Technology driven innovation in Europe

Erol Gelenbe with a team from the Royal Belgium Academy (ARB) had issued a paper at the end of 2020 concerning the Necessary evolution of Scientific and Technology Communication and Dissemination (large meetings, traveling habits etc…) in a post Covid world ». This paper was sent to all member academies with the objective to setup a group of interested members to work on related issues, starting from this paper. The initial paper has since been published in English in the journal Ubiquity (IF=5) of the Association for Computing Machinery (a 100,000 member organization that selects the Turing Award winners and other prizes in Computer Science), as well as in two academic bulletins in French.

A Euro-CASE working group with additional members from several academies was set up to look at extensions of the work that was started at the ARB, and since then new ideas have also emerged and good progress has been made.

Working Group

• Chairperson: Erol Gelenbe MAE, Fellow National Academy of Technologies of France, Foreign Fellow of the Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Arts of Belgium, and of the Science Academies of Hungary and Poland, Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Turkey. His fields are Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
• Olivier Appert, Academie des Technologies, France, Energy
• Guy Brasseur, ARB, Max Planck Institut, Earth Sciences
• Yves Caristan, Secretary General Euro-CASE & Academie des Technologies, France, Physics
• Luc Chefneux, ARB, Industry and Business
• Peter Cochrane, UK Royal Academy of Engineering, Computer Science, Telecommunication Networks
• Véronique Dehant, ARB, Belgium and Academie des Sciences, FR
• Anna Dreber, Swedish Academy of Engineering, Economics
• Anna Fabijanska, Polish Young Academy, Computer Science
• Véronique Halloin, Secretary General FNRS, Belgium, Chemical Engineering
• Jean-Paul Haton, ARB, Computer Science
• Michel Judkiewicz, ARB, Industry and Business
• Vladimir Mrša, Croatian Academy of Engineering, Food Production & Agronomy)
• Ignacio J. Pérez-Arriaga, Univ. Pontifica Comilla, Royal Academy Engineering Spain, Electrical Power Networks and Regulation
• Bernard Rentier, ARB, Virology

Project aim

The Covid-19 crisis has temporarily transformed many of the normal human interactions in science, technology, education, as well as for industry, business and commerce, where most person-to-person communications have moved to the Internet using new forms of online meetings and conferences that had not been fully tested before. This transition has shown us that many of our day-to-day professional interactions, as well as meetings with friends and family, can greatly benefit from ICT (Information and Communication Technologies), but it has also shown some of the limits of these new tools which cannot fully reproduce the useful serendipity of face-to-face encounters. While in recent years great hope was placed in distance learning, the Covid crisis has demonstrated once again the value of direct human interaction in all branches of research and education.

The working group is currently finalising a report including recommendations to be presented by the end of the year.

A Workshop was organised at the Paris Scientific Center of the Polish Academy of Sciences on Friday September 10 to present to Euro-CASE members academies the initial works.

From Research to Innovation: A Challenge for Europe 2021 Euro-Case Workshop 10th September 2021

9.00-9.30 Morning Coffee and Informal Introductions

9.30 am Welcome and Introductory Remarks by Euro-Case Chair and Secretary General
Session 1
9.40 Presentation of the Working Group, Introduction, and Sketch of Working Group Recommendations – Erol Gelenbe (NATF RoyAcBe HAS PAS TAS MAE)
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10.00 An Ishikawa Diagram for Innovation in Europe – Luc Chefneux (RoyAcBe)
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10.20 Funding of University Research and Education in Europe and the USA, Erol Gelenbe
10.50 European Basic Research and its Impact – Veronique Halloin (President European Science Foundation)
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11.10 The European Research Council and its Impact — Veronique Dehant (RoyAcBe, FrAcSci, MAE Council Member ERC)
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11.30-12.10 The EU’s programs for Applied Research and Innovation – Michel Judkiewicz (RoyAcBe)
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12.10 Lunch and Discussion

13.00 Session 2 – Examples from EU Member States,
Chair Prof Tadeusz Czachorski (Director IITIS-PAS)
13.00 Organization of R & I and Higher Education in Croatia: Vladimir Mrsa (Croatian AcadEng)
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13.20 Organization of R & I and Higher Education in Poland: Anna Fabijanska (PAS Young Academy)
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13.40 Role of the IRTs in France – Francois Mudry (NATF)
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14.00 Session 3 -Trends in Research and Innovation, Chair Olivier Appert (NATF, MAE)
14.00 Innovation for the Green Transition – Guy Brasseur (RoyAcBe, NorwegianAcSci, MAE)

14.30 Coffee Break

15.00 – 16.30 Discussion on Recommendations and Conclusions