Ekaterina Zaharieva is the new Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation and oversees the Directorate General for Education and Research and the Joint Research Center.

The Commission President emphasizes that Ekaterina Zaharieva will play a crucial role in closing the innovation gap with the US and China by strengthening Europe's competitiveness. Research, innovation, science and technology should be placed at the heart of the economy and it should be ensured that small companies and startups in Europe can also develop in order to bring more groundbreaking technologies from the laboratory to the market.

More on EC Website

The coordinating and supporting action for the new European Health Partnership "Brain Health" has published the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). The SRIA is a partnership`s strategy document, which identifies its objectives, impact areas and expected outcomes.

See SRIA

Conect4children is a pan-European network with the aim of supporting the development of new therapies for the pediatric population in Europe. The network advocates for children's health by providing strategic feasibility advice to pharmaceutical companies and academic consortia involved in pediatric drug research.

Conect4children has been building a network of experts for six years, including from the areas of methodology, clinics and patients/parents, in order to process specific inquiries from the pharmaceutical industry and academic projects. Additional clinical pediatric experts are currently being sought. Through their membership in the c4c network, the experts will contribute to strategic feasibility advice and ensure that new therapies are well suited for the pediatric population. Interested experts in pediatric drug research can submit their applications by November 8, 2024.

Conect4children Website

The European Commission has published the second report on "Performance of the European Partnerships: Biennial Monitoring Report 2024 on Partnerships in Horizon Europe" (BMR). The BMR aims to provide a solid evidence base for the implementation of partnerships and support strategic discussions on the effectiveness of partnerships within Horizon Europe. 

The BMR summarizes how European Partnerships mobilize significant co-investments and promote additional activities in support of European goals such as the Green Deal, digital transformations and resilience. European partnerships rely on increased transparency and openness to promote the participation of all relevant actors and new participants. Since the last BMR 2022, the focus has shifted from planning to implementing synergies, with several examples of collaboration between European partnerships and between them and EU missions and other EU programs. 

The full report can be found on the European Union website.

The TRANSVAC Academy of the European infrastructure project TRANSVAC2 offers researchers in the field of vaccine development various training courses to support vaccine development. 
The following training courses are offered: 

1. Vaccine Process Development and Scale-up 
2. Statistics for Preclinical Vaccine Research
3. Statistics for Vaccine Clinical Trials

The registration fee is 900 euros, but scholarships are also available. The registration deadline ends on October 21, 2024. 
Further information can be found on the TRANSVAC website.

The Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) has announced its plans to trial a novel, applicant-driven approach in the next Call 9 (single-stage). Applicants can largely define their own topics, as long as they stay within the framework of the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). There will be five themes corresponding to the SRIA's specific objectives.

The draft topics for the 9th call are expected to be published in mid-October 2024 and the call is expected to open in early 2025. There was an information event about the call on October 10, 2024; The recording can be found on the IHI website.

A brokerage event to find a partner will take place on November 12th and 13th, 2024 in Brussels. There will also be pitching and poster sessions to give research organizations, patient groups and companies the opportunity to present their expertise. You can pre-upload your presentation or poster on the brokerage platform until October 28, 2024. On November 14, 2024, the platform can still be used for virtual exchange and it will remain open until the submission deadline for call 9. 
Further information and the possibility to register can be found on the IHI website.