European Union News - Research & Innovation

Reporting in the journal Science, researchers from the European Learning Laboratory for the Life Sciences (ELLS) at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) describe the challenges facing science teachers in European schools and explain how their programme addresses the problem.
 

A new EU-funded project aims to develop economically and environmentally efficient techniques for the production of biofuels. Called NEMO ('Novel high-performance enzymes and micro-organisms for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to bioethanol'), the initiative will generate new ways of converting agricultural and forestry waste, such as straw and wood chips, into liquid biofuels.

The European Union, year after year, is being hit by forest fires. This puts European citizens at risk and causes tremendous costs economically and to nature and wildlife. Therefore 55 partners, with support of the European Commission, have joined forces in a project for rapid mapping of places at risk via satellites, the SAFER project.

The European Commission has released in its Communication dated August 2st, 2009, COM (2009) 432 final, the final evaluation of eEurope 2005 Action Plan and the multi-year program (2003-2006) for the monitoring plan eEurope 2005, the dissemination of good practices and improving network security and information (Modinis). In this Communication, the Commission considers that, despite the existence of some weaknesses, the overall results are positive.

Within the scope of the 7th Framework Programme, the Commission's Research Directorate General  has published a Call for Tenders for the elaboration of a study about the investments in joint and open R&D programmes and the analysis of their economic impact. Interested bidders may submit their offers until October 7th 2009.

The European Commission announced on August 24th 2009 the names of the 52 finalists that are going to compete for the European eGovernment Awards 2009, as well as those projects which have been awarded with a Good Practice label in the framework of these Award. The Awards ceremony will take place on November 19th 2009 in Malmö, Sweden, within the 5th Ministerial eGovernment Conference.

On October 9th, a conference will be held in Brussels where experts will discuss about "Improving the deployment of innovative broadband networks in European regions”. This event, addressed to all stakeholders, will bring together members from industry and academia, as well as European institutions, in order to provide a strategic overview of the existing opportunities for fast deployment of advanced access infrastructures, particularly broadband and next generation ICT networks.

Given the lack of progress in the deployment of the new in-car communication technology eCall, the Commission noted in a policy document published on August 21st 2009 that regulatory measures to make this life-saving technology available all over Europe as soon as possible could be introduced. In this document, the Commission made a last call to all EU countries to speed up voluntary implementation of the new technology.

As of January 1st 2010, the EU will invest 18 M€ into research that will underpin next generation 4G mobile networks. The European Commission just decided to start the process of funding research on Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced technology, that will offer mobile internet speeds up to a hundred times faster than current 3G networks. LTE is becoming the industry's first choice for next generation mobile networks, also thanks to substantial EU research funding since 2004.

The EU-funded project SFERA ('Structural funds for European regional research advancement') and the Portuguese Innovation Agency (ADI) are organising a conference entitled 'ICT (information and communication technology) as a means of accelerating the economic recovery: strategies for regional development and use structural funds' on 17 September in Faro, Portugal.

The European Commission is organising information days on the upcoming calls for proposals under the Transport Theme of the Seventh Framework Programme on 28 and 29 September in Brussels, Belgium. The latest call for proposals under the Transport Theme were published in July, and they are related to air transport, trans-European transport and sustainable surface transport.

The European Commission's Digital Competitiveness report published today shows that Europe's digital sector has made strong progress since 2005: 56% of Europeans now regularly use the internet, 80% of them via a high-speed connection (compared to only one third in 2004), making Europe the world leader in broadband internet.