The Technical Area of R&D&I is carrying out, in collaboration with the different strategic groups of the University of Vigo itself, a series of conferences on the funding opportunities that the research community can apply for within the European Horizon 2020 program. Focused on areas of specialization, this Monday a specific talk for researchers in the marine field took place and tomorrow, Tuesday, another one will be held focused on the NMBP challenge (New materials, technologies and sustainable industries).
“Since December we have been holding several information sessions on the different topics of the unique centres and strategic groups at the University. One has already been held for AtlantTIC, relating to the field of telecommunications and aerospace, and also at Cinbio, for those in the biomedical field, and two others in the field of industrial engineering, since within the Energy Industry Group, three strategic areas have been differentiated”, explains Anxo Moreira, director of the R&D&I Technical Area, who explains that the main objective of these meetings is to tell researchers about the opportunities they have to obtain European funding in the 2018-2020 period. “Our message is that right now we are in the last part of the programme and, in this context, there are more funds, so the opportunities are multiplying compared to previous years”, stresses Moreira.
The international success rate is 15-16%
Based on the experience accumulated in these talks, the organizers emphasize that there are proposals and ideas, but also fear, “since it is obviously not something easy, but we have to make them see that all calls are complicated and if a first step is not taken they will never be achieved,” explains Moreira, who emphasizes that these calls are moving at an international success rate between 15 and 16%.
“In the talks we try to advise them on the steps and good practices they should follow to increase the success rate”, emphasizes Moreira, who mentions, among other things, the fact of not only taking into account the science or technology that the group develops, but also what the European Commission is expecting from these projects, that is, apart from how their research relates to European policies. “This is something we can help them with, because they tend to be very good at writing and defending their topic and we can also be good at linking that topic to European policies and priorities”, emphasizes the head of the technical area of R&D&I.
“You have to keep in mind that this is a kind of long-distance race”
During the different days, the message is emphasized that they should use the University’s own services to apply for these projects, as they can be very useful. The aim is to help interested people overcome that initial fear of those who have never applied before, and then there is also the task of helping them manage the tolerance/frustration that these processes can cause, as they tend to be very long, complicated and with a low success rate, especially on the first attempt. “You have to think about it as a kind of long-distance race, in which you may not succeed the first time, but you will succeed the second or third time,” Moreira emphasizes.
Based on accumulated experience, the organizer highlights that, by fields, the scientific and technological side tends to be more inclined to present projects to this type of calls and, on the contrary, it is much more difficult to mobilize those from the humanities and also the legal-social field. “Within the scientific side, especially in the fields of biology and the sea, they are already very used to presenting themselves,” indicates Moreira, who indicates that at the end of the month a new day focused on the legal-social field will be held.
The marine case
This Monday’s session was held in room 1 of the Miralles building and was attended, in addition to Anxo Moreira himself, by Antonio Villanueva, technical coordinator of Research and Infrastructures at the Marine Research Center, and Cristina Quelle, head of Innovation and Transfer at the same center.
Villanueva’s speech emphasized the experience acquired in participating in European projects by Ecimat and the importance of investing time, effort, and financial resources in attending meetings, workdays, and above all being available to collaborate in order to gain the trust of partners, even if there is no funding. “Once an opportunity appears, that collaboration will bear fruit,” Villanueva emphasized.
Mañá martes a cita será no Módulo Tecnolóxico Industrial e nela contarase coa participación da profesora Edita de Lorenzo, comisionada para o Vigo Tecnolóxico, e Carlos Prado, coordinador da Agrupación estratéxica Industria e Enerxía, INEX.
Source: DUVI
