€30 billion up for grabs in Horizon 2020 work programme 2018-2020

Posted on: 18 October 2017

John Halligan T.D., Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development today called on Ireland’s researchers and companies to seize the opportunities presented in the €30 billion final work programme of Horizon 2020.

Today marked the national launch of the Horizon 2020 work programme 2018-2020, which was hosted by Enterprise Ireland and co-sponsored by InterTrade Ireland.

Research Development Manager, Trinity Research and Innovation, Doris Alexander, said: “The performance of Trinity researchers in the Horizon 2020 programme to date has been exceptional. We have drawn down more funding from the programme than any other Irish HEI, and are ranked 25th from over 1400 participating higher or secondary education institutions across Europe."

"Trinity places the highest possible strategic importance on supporting our applicants to Horizon 2020, and we look forward to working closely with the National Support Network to maximise our participation in the final work programme.”

Speaking before the event Minister Halligan said: “To date, Ireland has won €475 million in competitive funding and is now poised to capitalise on the opportunity of the Horizon 2020 work programme for 2018-2020 with its budget of €30 billion. Ireland is already a winner in Horizon 2020 but we cannot be complacent."

"As we enter the final work programme of Horizon 2020, I encourage all researchers – in companies, Higher Education Institutes and public bodies – to be ambitious in the next stage of Horizon 2020. These are the entities which are already competing at the highest levels of European research, I urge them to engage with the National Support Network for Horizon 2020 to seize this opportunity.”

Dr Imelda Lambkin, National Director for Horizon 2020, added, “The launch of the final work programme also provides the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Ireland’s researchers and companies. More than 1,100 applications have been successful so far, 536 to higher education researchers and 430 to companies, with Ireland’s success rate above the EU average. We now have an opportunity to make bold progress to the end of Horizon 2020. The National Support Network for Horizon 2020, led by Enterprise Ireland, offers unrivalled expertise and is a hugely beneficial resource for both new and seasoned applicants to Horizon 2020 so my advice is to engage with this network as soon as possible.”

Guest speaker Dr. Brendan Hawdon, Advisor at the Directorate General for Research & Innovation in the European Commission outlined details of the changes to the final programme including the introduction of mission-oriented activities, new ways of addressing innovation and new areas of focus which will include; Building a low-carbon, climate resilient future; Connecting economic and environmental gains – the Circular Economy; Digitising and transforming European industry and services and, Boosting the effectiveness of the Security Union.

Panellists at the event included: Professor Valeria Nicolosi, European Research Council Research Professor at Trinity; Professor Orla Feely, Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact, University College Dublin; Professor Mark Ferguson, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Irish Government and Director General, Science Foundation Ireland; Sean O’Reagain, Deputy Head of Unit, Advanced Manufacturing Systems and Biotechnologies, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission; and Dr Michaela Black, coordinator of the MIDAS project, University of Ulster.

The focus of the panel discussion and afternoon workshops was Ireland’s success in Horizon 2020 to date, how to maximise participation in the final period 2018-2020, and how to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the successor programme, which will commence in 2021.

To engage with the National Support Network for Horizon 2020 in Ireland visit www.horizon2020.ie