Horizon 2020 Day Luxembourg, which was organised by Luxinnovation with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR), took place in the Maison du Savoir in Esch-Belval on Thursday 20 October 2016; it was aimed at informing Luxembourg based researchers and companies about European funding opportunities for their research focused or innovative projects.
The event was not only a starting point for newcomers to European research and innovation projects, but it also gave an insight into recent trends on what is needed to succeed in the competitive bidding process for EU funding. With over 100 registered delegates, the event also provided the Luxembourg research and innovation community with an occasion to network.
Event programme
Innovation initiatives launched in Luxembourg in recent years match European priorities in many crucial domains. “The plenary session presented national projects and priorities and showed how these are mirrored in European funding opportunities under Horizon 2020,” said Benjamin Questier, Head of European Funding at Luxinnovation. In addition, four guest speakers from Luxembourg presented their project work and shared their experience of Horizon 2020.
Five parallel sessions presented 2017 funding opportunities under five headings: Smart Cities and Mobility; Fintech and IoT; High Performance Computing (HPC) and Industry 4.0; Training Networks and Individual Projects; and SMEs.
A second round of parallel sessions offered advice on proposal writing for beginners (‘Horizon 2020: back to basics’) and experienced bidders (‘New little known facts for a winning proposal’).
Highlight on 2017 opportunities
In 2017, €8.5 billion will be allocated to projects selected through open and competitive calls for proposals. Major funding opportunities will be provided in the fields of ‘Industry in the Circular Economy’ (€325 million), ‘Smart and Sustainable Cities’ (€115 million), ‘Technologies and Standards for Automatic Driving’ (over €50 million) and the ‘Internet of Things’ (€37 million).
About Horizon 2020
Horizon 2020, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, funds collaborative or individual projects in research and innovation. Research organisations, universities, companies and non-profit organisations are all eligible to participate. Launched in 2014, Horizon 2020 has funded well over 10,000 projects to date.
The framework programme runs from 2014 to 2020, with a total budget of €77 billion. Horizon 2020 also funds the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT) and the European Research Council (ERC).
Since 2014, Luxembourg entities have won over 156 projects and benefitted from around €50.53 million of Horizon 2020 funding (as at 30 September 2016).
Luxinnovation’s role in Horizon 2020
Part of Luxinnovation’s mandate is to act as national contact point (NCP) for the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation and provide advisory services to applicants in Luxembourg.
In this role, the Agency helps applicants to match their ideas with funding opportunities under Horizon 2020 or to expand project ideas to fit European calls for proposals. Further support includes partner search and critical reviews of project proposals. Luxinnovation is present in various policy committees related to Horizon 2020.
Since 2016, Luxinnovation also coordinates LuxCor, the Luxembourg Contact Office for Research in Brussels. The Luxembourg NCP informs via its website, newsletter and social media, and by organising in-house or open trainings, info sessions, and events.
For further details, see www.horizon2020.lu
