FCT and MCTES co-organized Science Europe High-Level Workshop on the ERA

Leaders of national research institutions, European Ministers and Secretaries of State for Research, and European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel met online today as part of Science Europe's 12th High-Level Workshop on the European Research Area (ERA).  

Organized by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Higher Education (MCTES), the event discussed how research and innovation (R&I) can contribute to recovery from the crisis and social resilience, in the context of a growing research culture.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe faces exceptional challenges in the areas of health, the economy, and society. "The current global climate has led research organizations to reflect deeply on the role of the ERA, 20 years after its creation. We need to identify the changes in research culture that must be addressed urgently and collectively develop a new vision for European R&I," explained Marc Schiltz, President of Science Europe. "This crisis has demonstrated, more than ever, the added value of cooperation—not only between disciplines, but also between sectors, participants, and borders," added Helena Pereira, President of the FCT Governing Board.

"Portugal, as the next host of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, is committed to promoting debates among Europe's leading research organizations to better understand the challenges we face," said Manuel Heitor, Portugal's Minister of Science, Technology, and Higher Education. "Dealing with uncertainty, risk, and ignorance about the future, which the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has so readily alerted us to, is in fact the landscape of all modern societies and the best we can pass on to future generations. It requires learning more and strengthening collaborative research, moving towards new frontiers of knowledge, promoting better research careers in Europe, and thus defending the future of the ERA in a robust and competitive international scenario."

“Delving deeper into these issues is increasingly relevant as this new coronavirus spreads from animals to humans, and although this process is far from being fully understood, we know that zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, have been on the rise due to the pressure that our societies and their economic development exert on nature. It is a clear manifestation of the unbalanced influence of humans on Earth, equally expressed through climate change. At present, the possible scientific demonstration of these relationships with the pandemic we are now experiencing requires more knowledge so that we can ask more precise and complex questions and better understand the risks we face, as well as evolve in this new geological era of the Anthropocene," Manuel Heitor also pointed out.

Ottoline Leyser, Executive Director of UK Research and Innovation, discussed the evolution of research culture, and Professor Helena Pereira addressed ways to increase collaborative research and multidisciplinary research by breaking down barriers. The final ministerial session welcomed the participation of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, who presented the European Commission's plan for the new ERA and called for collaboration to bring this ambitious project to fruition. The Commissioner's speech was followed by speeches from ministers and senior ministry officials from Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Portugal on the development of research policies for a more resilient European society.

The results of this workshop will contribute to the implementation of the research and innovation policy priorities of the German Presidency of the Council of the EU (including the eagerly awaited Council conclusions on the ERA) and will inform the subsequent Portuguese and Slovenian presidencies.