Horizon Europe newsletter

Our second face-to-face Horizon Europe National Support Network team meeting of 2023 took place at the end of April here at Enterprise Ireland's offices in Dublin.

We were delighted to be joined by members of the Research Community from all over the country, including some NCPs from Northern Ireland, and representatives from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS) and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) as well as other stakeholders.

Kevin Burke, National Director

While much of the meeting was dedicated to Q&A, we also had informative updates from two Enterprise Ireland/IDA funded Technology Centres, Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) and CeADAR, on their current activities and their experience of applying for, and winning, EU funding.

It was one of many meetings in our very busy early summer calendar - I am currently in Brussels joining other Horizon Europe National Coordinators from all over Europe for our quarterly meetings with the Commission. Hot topics include the outcome from the EU Commission’s largest ever public consultation process on the past, present and future of the Framework Programmes and its input into the emerging shape of the new Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2025-2027.

As our meetings and engagements with the EU Commission, colleagues and partners all across Europe continue at pace this month, we have been reflecting on the past 50 years of Ireland's EU membership - we really liked this #EuropeDay2023 video looking back at how EU membership has been transformational for Ireland – and the role of various Research & Innovation Framework Programmes in playing their part.

International cooperation is an area where we anticipate further progress – so far New Zealand has fully associated and association discussions with Canada, UK, Switzerland, South Korea and Japan are at different stages; we will be taking a keen interest in the upcoming British Irish Chamber of Commerce event in London which will look at the potential for greater collaboration and engagement between the UK and Ireland across our Higher Education and Research systems, both inside and outside of Horizon Europe.

Further below, you will find updates from our National Delegates (NDs) and National Contact Points (NCPs) – James Walsh provides a packed EIC update including info on the new Plug-in scheme; Micol Martinelli takes a look at how the Career-FIT programmes have been advancing the European agenda to address skill shortages and Fiona Grant has details on the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership.

As ever, please get in touch with myself or any member of the Horizon Europe National Support Network for advice and assistance.

Best regards,

Kevin

Kevin Burke
National Director for Horizon Europe at Enterprise Ireland

James Walsh, National Contact Point (NCP) for Horizon Europe EIC, Accelerator, Pathfinder and EIE in Horizon Europe, Enterprise Ireland

In this comprehensive EIC update from James, get the details of the launch of the EIC Accelerator Plug-in Scheme, the call for expression of interest for the EIE Regional Innovation Valleys and a full list of upcoming closing dates for 2023 EIC Prizes - Ireland has performed well in past competitions and we're looking forward to more success this year!

Find out more here.

Micol Martinelli, Career-FIT and Career-FIT PLUS Programme Manager, Enterprise Ireland

2023 is the European Year of Skills and the EU is highlighting ongoing initiatives that help companies, in particular SMEs, to address skills shortages in the EU and contribute to the green and digital transitions, supporting innovation and competitiveness.

With its Career-FIT and Career-FIT PLUS programmes, Enterprise Ireland has been playing a significant part in advancing this agenda. Read more here.

Fiona Grant, National Contact Point (NCP) for Horizon Europe Cluster 6 - Natural Resources and NCP for Ocean and Waters Mission, Marine Institute

The Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) is a Horizon Europe co-funded partnership, comprising a network of 60 partner institutions from 25 countries and the European Commission. It will enable the pooling of research and innovation investments and alignment of national programmes at pan-European scale.

Currently the only partner in Ireland involved in SBEP is the Marine Institute - find out more about the partnership in Fiona's article here.

Upcoming events:

Tue 16 May, Delving into the Evaluation Summary Report in Horizon Europe Webinar. Register here.
Tue 16 May, Human-Centred + Services Dimension in Manufacturing webinar. Register here.
Wed 17 May, Info session on a CSA to apply a cross-sector perspective to sectorial TEFs. Details here.
Tue 23 May, Excellence + Environmental Sustainability in Manufacturing webinar. Register here.
Tue 23 May, Info day - Developing CitiVerse. More details here.
Wed 24 May, Horizon Results Booster – steering research towards a strong societal impact. Info here.
Tue 30 May, Avoiding common errors in declaring other direct costs under H2020 webinar. Register here.
Mon 5 - Fri 9 Jun, OCEANS 2023, Limerick. Get the details here.
Wed 7 Jun, Clean Steel Partnership Conference. More here.
Thu 8 Jun, ‘Coordinators’ Day on Horizon Europe Grant Management. Register here.
Mon 19 - Wed 21 Jun, 6th European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2023, Dublin. Details here.
Mon 15 - Thu 18 Apr 2024, Transport Research Arena Conference. More here.