This year The Guild office prepared a special virtual message to wish you a happy holiday season!
The Guild welcomes the EU institutions’ agreement on Horizon Europe and Erasmus+
The Guild calls for an urgent funding boost to the Excellence Science Pillar of Horizon Europe, which covers the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) supporting the mobility of Europe’s best research talent, the European Research Council (ERC) as well as research infrastructures, in order to achieve a balanced resourcing of the three pillars of the programme.
The Guild welcomes the Commission Communication on the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe as an essential step towards the creation of a European Health Union.
After two months of intense negotiations, the European Parliament and the German Presidency of the Council give green light to a budget increase1 of €4bn to Horizon Europe, €2.2bn to Erasmus+ and €3.4bn to EU4Health, if unanimously approved by European leaders. The Guild calls the additional €4bn to be used for increasing the share of Horizon Europe’s Excellent Science Pillar.
The Guild voices its concern that ending ERDF support to universities’ research capacities undermines the goal of reducing the research and innovation divide in Europe.
On 23 October, Presidents of The Guild met for the second General Assembly of 2020. The participants had the opportunity to exchange views with Jean-Eric Paquet (Director-General, DG RTD) and Jean-Pierre Bourguignon (Interim President of the ERC) on Horizon Europe and on the role of research post-pandemic, as negotiations on the budget of Europe’s flagship programme resume between the European Parliament and the Council.
Responding to the European Commission’s Communications on the European Research and Education Areas, presidents of The Guild’s universities set out a vision for Europe’s universities over the next ten years.
The visions for European Research and Education Areas published yesterday represent an important opening for a dialogue on common priorities and their implementation.
In response to the European Commission consultation, The Guild’s Health Deans advocate for the development of a framework that would facilitate the pursuit of multinational clinical studies within the EU.
As a world-leading mathematician, and through his deep understanding of subjects right across the disciplinary spectrum, Prof. Bourguignon enjoys the deep trust of the scientific community. As ERC President, Prof. Bourguignon has been an outstanding leader of Europe’s pre-eminent research council, recognised as Europe’s spokesperson on behalf of frontier-led science.
The Guild welcomes the European Council compromise on the next Multiannual Financial Framework and Next Generation EU. It now calls on the European Parliament to focus on improvements in spending on Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, which are critical in ensuring that the EU can become more resilient in addressing its future challenges.
As negotiations between the EU and the UK continue, The Guild has joined over 100 other organisations and researchers calling for science to be at the core of the future relationship. Signatories include the Wellcome Trust, the Russell Group, the Directors of 48 Max Planck Institutes, Carlos Moedas, former European Commissioner for Research, Science & Innovation and the Nobel Laureate Sir Paul Nurse.
The Guild welcomes the initiative to establish the European Education Area (EEA) that will address how higher education institutions can be strengthened in teaching and learning at a European level.
The African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and The Guild of European Research-Intensive Universities (The Guild) call for sustainable investment in African knowledge societies by creating Centres of Excellence to confront common challenges for both continents.
The Guild reissues its call for the European Research Area (ERA) to focus on strengthening the production of new knowledge through academic research.
In this interview, The Guild discusses with the European Commission how Open Science will be mainstreamed in Horizon Europe and what are the concrete implications for researchers and their institutions.
In response to the pandemic outbreak, the European Commission has mobilised over € 160 million to fund research and innovation calls. Being at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19, projects comprising universities, including several members of The Guild, have been working on different aspects of the pandemic.
This September, Pauline Kleingeld and Linda Steg will be awarded the Netherlands’ highest scientific distinctions.
The document, named “A Year of Transitions and Opportunities”, looks back at the key areas of engagement of The Guild network over the past year, and gives an overview of its working groups and activities. More broadly, the annual report reflects on the network’s achievements and looks at the challenges lying ahead.
On 2 June 2020, Presidents of The Guild met for the biannual General Assembly. Contributions from Themis Christophidou (Director-General, DG EAC) and Patrick Child (Deputy Director-General, DG RTD) enriched discussions on the future of education and research in a post-pandemic environment.
At the 2 June 2020 General Assembly meeting, Presidents of The Guild member universities voted on the new Board for the coming year. They re-elected Vincent Blondel (UCLouvain) as Chair of The Guild for another year.