Science|Business Widening Newsletter No. 45 | Sign up here
22/01/2025
“The Widening” is a product of Science|Business and is not related to EU institutions or programmes.

Focus on central and eastern Europe

Welcome to a new edition of The Widening newsletter, a roundup of news and analysis of research and innovation policy and investments in central and eastern Europe, delivered to your inbox twice a month. Sign up here.

Edited by Florin Zubașcu

This week we have an interview with EU research commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva on the future of the Widening programme, we take a closer look at Poland’s priorities in research and innovation for the next six months, and we have an update on the ongoing spat between the European Commission and the Hungarian government over EU research funding.

The latest news

WIDENING UNDER REVIEW: The European Commission is reviewing ‘different parts’ of the Widening programme, EU Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva told Science|Business in an interview last week. “Part of the widening programme is working,” she said. “Now we’re making assessments of the different initiatives there, what works well, what doesn’t.” In parallel, the EU research chief expects member states to boost budgets and come up with “significant reforms” in research and innovation. Read the details here. 

POLISH PRIORITIES: Poland plans to use its six-month presidency of the European Council to advance the uptake of artificial intelligence in science, and to lay the groundwork for FP10, the next Framework Programme for research and innovation. The full story is here.

HUNGARIAN FRUSTRATIONS: The unresolved EU funding row continues to frustrate Hungarian science, so the government is maintaining its commitment to domestic research and student mobility schemes created to cover for blocked EU funding. This follows a European Commission decision in December that its proposed legislative reforms do not resolve the issues that caused funding to be suspended in 2022. Juliette Portala has the full story.

DATA CORNER: One of Horizon Europe’s biggest investments in biotechnology so far is the €72 million awarded to five research centres in Widening countries. We found this data by clustering together all of the Horizon Europe projects and calls relating to biotechnology. The second largest budget turns out to be part of a 2022 call in the Widening Participation and Spreading Excellence (WIDERA) programme. This funded the creation or upgrading of centres of excellence in Widening countries, states considered to have underperforming research systems. Raffaele Guerini has the data.

THE HORIZON PAPERS: In case you missed it, Science|Business has been publishing the Commission’s sector-by-sector plans for Horizon Europe. On this page, you can find links to the draft Horizon Europe work programmes for 2025, including a history of the drafting process, with earlier-stage drafts that were leaked to us over time.

HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY? We welcome opinion pieces and other contributions on R&I policy in central and eastern Europe. Send yours to news@sciencebusiness.net.

In other news

APPOINTMENT: Andrew Harrison has been appointed executive director of the Central European Research Infrastructure Consortium, an organisation that provides open access to some of the most advanced analytical facilities in Europe to help science and industry advance in all fields of materials, biomaterials and nanotechnology, with a focus on energy materials and life sciences.

“CERIC’s Facilities have already had a marked impact on science and innovation, but there are many opportunities still to explore, from the life sciences and biotechnology to energy or quantum materials, through strengthening the collective capabilities of their instrumentation, and their engagement with the research community, particularly in central Europe,” said Harrison.

From 2022 to 2024, Harrison served as director of science at the Extreme Light Infrastructure in Czechia, where he played a pivotal role in developing its user access programme. Before that, he successfully led the Diamond Light Source, overseeing its transition from construction to full operations, while developing a strategy for long-term sustainability and achieving significant growth in its user base.

CROSS-BORDER RESEARCH FUNDING: Poland’s National Science Centre has announced the winners of the latest round of Weave-UNISONO, a cross-border funding programme modelled after an initiative by Science Europe member organisations aimed at funding excellent international research projects. The winners are involved in seven bilateral Polish-Czech research projects and two trilateral projects with research teams from Czechia, Germany and Slovenia. Polish researchers in physics, engineering, humanities, social sciences and life sciences will perform projects with funding of over €2.2 million. More details here.

FUNDING KNOW-HOW: Universities in the Western Balkans want to learn how to win grants through the EU’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). Last week, the University of Ljubljana organised a workshop for members of EUTOPIA, an alliance of ten European universities, and the Rectors' Forum of Southeast Europe and Western Balkans.

The workshop was led by Stojan Sorčan, secretary at Slovenia’s ministry for higher education, science and innovation. Sabina Berne and Živa Kolbl from the University of Ljubljana gave advice on how academics can write successful MSCA applications.

CZECHIA AND FRANCE: Milena Králíčková, rector of Charles University and French Ambassador Stéphane Crouzat met in Prague to discuss deepening Franco-Czech collaboration in higher education and science, including through 4EU+, an alliance of European universities. Details here.  

HUNGARIAN KNOW-HOW FOR CHINESE CARS: The University of Szeged is helping Chinese electric vehicles manufacturer BYD recruit prospective employees for its Hungarian plant, which is now under construction. BYD's human resources department was already involved in four final exam committees at Szeged’s Faculty of Engineering. The faculty has a domestic and international industrial network of 150-200 companies and wants to further strengthen these partnerships in the future, including with BYD.

Mark your calendars 

SEOUL, 17-19 February 2025: Czechia’s Technology Agency is organising a bilateral Energy Tech Forum, which will gather companies, research institutions and academia interested in working with counterparts in South Korea. More details are available here.

KRAKOW, 18 MARCH 2025: Registrations for the Euro HPC Summit are now open.

KRAKOW, 14-16 MAY 2025: The European Defence Agency is organising the third European Defence Innovation Days. Register here. 

BRNO, 10-12 JUNE 2025: The Czech city will be the host of next year’s conference on core technologies for life sciences. The event is aimed at facility administrators, managers, researchers and professionals, who will discuss cross-facility workflows, professional development of facility staff, open science in core facilities, building of a national core facility community, and engagement with industry. Registration is now open. Early bird fees are available until 28 February 2025.

Science|Business Widening group

Did you know that we host a meeting of the founding members of our Widening initiative once a month, during which we discuss the latest progress and the future of the community? You can find out more about becoming a member at this link.

UPCOMING EVENTS