The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Rt Hon Michelle Donelan, MP welcomed the UK’s reassociate to Horizon Europe at The Royal Society on 12 February.
Joined by Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, the UK’s association to Horizon Europe was applauded by all. The UK was noted as a vibrant participant in past Horizon programs adding significant value to research and innovation consortia across all technologies.
The department for Science, Innovation and Technology has launched a new campaign to encourage UK businesses academics and researchers to apply for Horizon Europe funding. This will include a range of regional meeting and briefings on how to participate, starting on 13 March in Birmingham. For those looking at the detail of a proposal, support from the UK HEU national contact points remains strong. The British Academy are also offering £10,000 pump priming grant to support high quality applications.
With a number of photonics focused calls in Horizon Europe due over the next three years UK innovators are encouraged to apply. Personal networks were highlighted as vital to joining and forming strong consortia. The UK Photonics community is encouraged to participated in Photonics21, especially at the annual meeting May14-15 to understand the opportunities available and meet potential consortia partners. Single companies are also welcome to apply to the European Innovation Council where their accelerator program offers significant support for the latest disruptive innovations.