The COST Association has been organising a series of half-day events where national research communities are informed by its representatives about the COST Framework’s policies, activities and funding opportunities, with an emphasis on the Open Call for new COST Actions proposals, and COST Action representatives from the specific countries showcase the outstanding results of their participation in COST Actions and share their experiences and best practices. After info days organised in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina the next info day is organised in Ljubljana on 22 April 2016. You may check presentations in the link bellow.
Source: https://danube-inco.net/
Erasmus Mundus Graduate Impact Survey
According to the Erasmus Mundus Graduate Impact Survey, the programme is rated highly satisfactory. The report shows that over 90% of the participants were satisfied with the programme, with more than 65% very satisfied. Overall, 81% of graduates were satisfied with the quality of the courses offered. As a negative point, graduates said that contacts with potential employers, as well as practical experiences on the course, were lacking: 72.6% of participants found the links to employment to be too weak.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/education/
Detecting “Legal Highs”
“Legal highs” are new psychoactive substances (NPS) which are very similar to illicit drugs such as cannabis, heroin and cocaine. They can be cheaply and easily produced and they have recently gained popularity even amongst casual drug users, often teenagers and young adults, therefore becoming a serious new threat to public health.
Scientists at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) are helping to develop methods by using highly advanced analytical and chemo-informatics tools for the structural characterisation of these unknown psychoactive substances when they enter European territory. Once their chemical “fingerprint” has been established, most analytical laboratories can use it to identify the substances, e.g. customs and police authorities in confiscated samples, as well as hospitals in the blood or urine of drug-related victims.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/
Increasing Renewables, Decreasing Fossil Fuels
According to a report published earlier this month by the European Environment Agency (EEA), the use of fossil fuels across the European Union continues to decline due in part to increased consumption of renewable energy sources like wind, solar and biomass. The report, which assesses progress on the use of renewable energy, found that clean energy technologies are an important driving force in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in creating employment in Europe. Also according to this report, public funding in research and development of new renewable energy sources has increased between 2005 and 2013 but at a slower pace than before, posing a risk of missing the break-through technologies of tomorrow. The International Energy Agency has recommended the tripling of current public research and development spending on clean-energy innovation.
Source: http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/
Glyphosate Herbicide Discussed in the European Parliament
According to the Environment Committee (ENVI) of the European Parliament, as long as serious concerns remain about the carcinogenicity and endocrine disruptive properties of the herbicide glyphosate, which is used in hundreds of farm, forestry, urban and garden applications, the European Commission should not renew its authorisation. According to the majority of ENVI Members of European Parliament (MEPs), there should be an independent review and disclosure of all the scientific evidence that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) used to assess this substance.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/
The European Research Area: Evolving Concept, Implementation Challenges
The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has recently published an in-depth analysis of the European Research Area named “European Research Area: Evolving concept, implementation challenges”.
The analysis looks into ERA more than 40 years after the first steps to establish a common research policy, and 16 years after the formulation of the concept “European Research Area” (ERA), passing through its reshaping by the Council of the European Union in 2008 and the involvement of stakeholders since 2012, and looking into the future of ERA, where the commitment of the Member States will play a crucial role.
Source: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/
EuCheMS at the European Commission Mission to Chile on Circular Economy
Following an invitation from the European Commission (EC) delegation, EuCheMS will be part of the EC delegation to Chile on the topic of Circular Economy, led by Mr Daniel Calleja, the European Commission’s Director-General for Environment. The mission takes place on 25-26 April 2016 back-to-back with the XIV World Mining Exhibition and Congress for Latin America.
The mission is taking place just a few months before the review of the EU-Chile Association Agreement, and will hopefully be increasing EU-Chile cooperation on sustainable development with a view to addressing the environment while opening up opportunities for growth and investment in the framework of the Circular Economy. Among other topics, the mission will focus on issues related to circular economy, resource efficiency and sustainable use of natural resources, rco-innovation, chemicals, waste management, and water management.
Source: http://ec.europa.eu/easme/
1st European Young Chemists Meeting
Guimarães, Portugal
26 – 29 April, 2016
Website: http://5pychem.eventos.chemistry.pt
Commission Presents Draft Regulation on Circular Economy
The Commission has presented the draft new rules on organic and waste-based fertilisers in the European Union (EU) which will now be discussed in the European Parliament and Council of the EU. The proposed Regulation should significantly ease the access of organic and waste-based fertilisers to the EU single market, bringing them on a level playing field with traditional, non-organic fertilisers. This will create new market opportunities for innovative companies while at the same time reducing waste, energy consumption and environmental damage. The new rules would apply to all types of fertilisers to guarantee the highest levels of soil protection.
The re-use of raw materials that are now disposed of as waste is one of the key principles of the Circular Economy Package adopted by the Commission in December 2015 and discussed in September last year at EuCheMS policy workshop Protecting Endangered Elements.
Source: http://europa.eu/
Dutch Presidency Call for Action on Open Science
A call for action has been published as an outcome of the conference “Open Science – From Vision to Action”, hosted by the Netherlands´ presidency of the Council of the European Union. According to this call for action, by 2020 there should be full open access for all scientific publications as well as a fundamentally new approach towards optimal reuse of research data. In order to reach this vision, twelve action items are proposed, namely changing the assessment, evaluation and reward systems in science; creating transparency on the costs and conditions of academic communication; setting up common e-infrastructures; involving researchers and new users in open science; or stimulating new publishing models for knowledge transfer.
This call for action is an open, living document, and EuCheMS, based on the outcomes of the recent Amsterdam workshop “Science: How Close to Open”, will provide input on the topic of open science to the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
Also during this conference, Commissioner Carlos Moedas announced the imminent launch of the Open Science Policy Platform, which will advise the European Commission on policy actions required to implement the European Open Science Policy Agenda. Members of the platform will be announced end of May 2016.
Source: http://english.eu2016.nl/
Science: How Close to Open?
Earlier this month in Amsterdam, EuCheMS brought together researchers, policy-makers, and publishers for a discussion about the current challenges and opportunities of Open Science. All the materials from the workshop “Science: How Close to Open?” will soon be online on EuCheMS´ website.
Source: http://www.euchems.eu/
Willi Keim Prize 2016 – Call for Nominations
Deadline: 31 May 2016
Website: http://processnet.org/en/willikeimprize2016.html
Detection Techniques on Explosives: Countering an Explosive Threat, Across the Timeline of a Plot
Deadline: 25 August 2016
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/research/
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Cluster
Deadline: 24 & 25 August 2016
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/research/
Teaming Phase 2
Deadline: 23 June 2016
Website: http://ec.europa.eu/research/
Spain – Israel 8th Call for Proposals for Joint R&D Projects
Deadline: 9 June 2016
Website: http://www.eurekanetwork.org/
Celtic-Plus Call for Projects
Deadline: 25 May 2016
Website: http://www.eurekanetwork.org/content/celtic-plus-call-projects-0
6th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress
The European Young Chemist Award 2016 is intended to showcase and recognise the excellent research being carried out by young scientists working in the chemical sciences and will be presented at the 6th EuCheMS Chemistry Congress to be held in Seville from 11-15 September 2016. It will follow the 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 European Young Chemist Awards held in Budapest, Torino, Nürnberg, Prague and Istanbul during the previous editions of the European Chemistry Congresses.
EYCA’s award was inititated by the Italian Chemical Society (SCI), the Consiglio Nazionale dei Chimici (CNC) who also organise it this year with the collaboration of t
Applicants must submit the following items by e-mail to euchems.award@gmail.com by 1 April 2016 in order to be considered for the award.Application information.
1st European Young Chemists Meeting
City of Guimarães – Centro Cultural Vila Flor, Portugal
26th to 29th April 2016
The Young Chemists Group of the Portuguese Chemistry Society, the 3B’s Research Group and the Chemistry Department at the University of Minho are pleased to announce the 5th Portuguese Young Chemists Meeting (5th PYCheM) and 1st European Young Chemists Meeting (1st EYCheM), which will take place in the historical and beautiful city of Guimarães – Centro Cultural Vila Flor, Portugal, from 26th to 29th April 2016.
This joint event will bring together for the first time young chemists from all over the Europe, in a high quality scientific program covering most recent research in the different areas of chemistry (organic, inorganic, analytical, etc.) and at the interface of chemistry and other scientific fields (biology, medicine, nanotechnology, etc.).
By attending to this meeting you will be able to present your results as a poster or oral presentation to a broad audience of chemists and professionals in chemical sciences. Don’t miss this opportunity to network with your peers and interact with experienced professionals from academia and industry. Prizes will be awarded to the best oral and poster communications given by a young chemist.
Science: How Close to Open?
Atrium, Medical Faculty – Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Van der Boechorststraat 2, 1081 BT Amsterdam
5th April, 2016
Chaired by David Cole-Hamilton
Programme and abstracts available at bit.ly/1LBuBPc
10:30 Coffee and Registration
11:00 Welcome and Setting the Scene – David Cole-Hamilton, EuCheMS President
11:10 A Learned Society’s View on Scholarly Publishing in Chemistry – Wolfram Koch, GDCh
11:25 Open Access Publishing in Chemistry: A perspective from the Royal Society of Chemistry – Emma Wilson, Royal Society of Chemistry
11:40 Digital Single Market and Open Science – José Cotta, DG Connect, European Commission
11:55 Open Access Challenges for a Young Researcher – Cristina Todasca, University Politehnica of Bucharest
12:10 Flooding Without Drowning / Are Scientists Drowning in a Flood of Papers and Data? – Eva Wille, Wiley-VCH
12:25 Closer to Open with Springer – Steffen Pauly, Springer
12:40 Panel Discussion
13:10 Conclusions and Closing Remarks – David Cole-Hamilton, EuCheMS President
13:20 Light Buffet Lunch
This event will look into the present and future of intellectual property boundaries in chemistry research and will debate questions such as:
- Which model for peer-review publishing?
- Who owns research data and how to share it?
- Which approach is better for creating innovative products and services?
Together with researchers, publishers, and EU and government officials we hope to build bridges between all concerned and to provide answers to questions.
For more information please contact secretariat(at)euchems.eu
Financial Opportunities and Legislative Barriers for Circular Economy
During a workshop in Brussels on the 21 March 2016 aimed at stakeholders involved in Circular Economy, participants will be given the occasion to better understand the practical tools to finance the transition to Circular Economy. Read more
Roadmap: Mid-term Evaluation of Erasmus+
The Erasmus+ mid – term evaluation will assess the effectiveness of the Erasmus+ actions to achieve the programme’s objectives and evaluate the efficiency of the Programme and its European added value. Read more
Roadmap: Energy Union Integrated Strategy on Research, Innovation and Competitiveness
The Strategy should provide input to the review of Horizon 2020 and the development of a research & innovation framework programme post – 2020. It should also provide extensively evidence – based advice that could feed in to future policy orientations and regulatory action in the Energy Union con text, and will rely on the identification and the design of credible and feasible decarbonisation pathways to 2050 and beyond. Read more
LRI Innovative Science Award 2016
The LRI Award offers a €100,000 prize to support promising new research in the field of novel approaches to the characterisation of molecular initiating events, or other key events, in pathways of human and environmental toxicity.
Deadline: 18 March 2016
Website: http://cefic-lri.org/
Contest – PHOTOCHIMICA 2016
The European Young Chemists’ Network has launched the first edition of the European Photography Contest – PHOTOCHIMICA 2016.
Under the theme “Chemistry is Everywhere” chemists and not chemists under 35 who are passionate about photography and chemistry are invited to participate. EYCN wants to promote chemistry through the power of visual arts, by showing its presence in all of our everyday activities.
Deadline: 6 March 2016
Source: http://eycn.eu/