SAPEA, the European Academy consortium within the European Scientific Advice Mechanism, organised a symposium on new approaches to science for policy in the Estonian Academy of Sciences
Credit: Siim Vaikna
On 13 October 2017 SAPEA organised a one-day symposium titled Crossing Boundaries: New approaches to science for policy in Europe at the Estonian Academy of Sciences in Tallinn. The event was designed to complement the international conference “European Research Excellence: Impact and Value for Society” taking place the day before (see below). Both events took place as part of the programme of the Estonian Presidency of the European Council.
Bringing together speakers from the policy sphere, the private sector, social enterprise, the media and the academic community, the conference explored opportunities and challenges in science for policy together with an international audience of participants.
ALLEA President and Chair of SAPEA Günter Stock introduced the conference, noting the need for interdisciplinarity in the challenges facing decision makers today. He also expressed a wish to broaden the discussion beyond academia, looking at other sectors that are affected by policy making – from NGO’s to business perspectives.
In four well attended sessions speakers and participants explored change in science for policy, the need to improve relationships between the different stakeholders and the need to develop inclusive communities, to share best practice.
Throughout the day, speakers shared diverse views on the participation of citizens and their impact on science for policy, how policy makers and scientists are changing their approach to working with each other, and the role of NGO’s and business in science for policy.
The international line-up of speakers included Professor Dame Helen Wallace who set the scene with a keynote speech examining the international landscape for science policy, TV presenter and academic Professor Brian Cox, head of the SAM unit Dr Johannes Klumpers, Member of European Parliament Dr Marju Lauristin and Professor Janusz Bujnicki, Member of the Scientific Advice Mechanism High Level Group.
A write-up from the event will be available soon on the SAPEA website.
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ALLEA President and Chair of SAPEA Günter Stock participated in a conference on the impact of research organised under the auspices of the Estonian Presidency of the EU Council.
View of the second panel of the conference “European Research Excellence”. Credit: Estonian Presidency of the EU Council
The Estonian Research Agency held a high-level conference in Tallinn titled “European Research Excellence: Impact and Value for Society” on 12 October 2017 as part of its programme for the Estonian Presidency of the EU Council.
ALLEA President and Chair of SAPEA Günter Stock participated in the session “From impact to value of research: providing the rationale for investing in research”. The discussion addressed how to integrate the long-term impact of research investment in economic models.
The speakers of the conference underlined the importance of European research and presented the “Tallinn Call for Action”, which calls for increased funding in future European research programmes in order to make research & innovation a real priority to the European Union.
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ALLEA Vice President Daniela Jezova participated in the 50th Anniversary of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts and congratulated the academy in a festive ceremony at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet.
ALLEA Vice President Daniela Jezova offers a congratulatory speech at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet. Credit: MASA
On 9 October 2017 the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MASA) celebrated its great jubilee with a full-day scientific and festive programme. Representing European Academies, ALLEA Vice President Daniela Jezova congratulated MASA in the opening ceremony at the Macedonian Opera and Ballet. “We can be proud that the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts is one of the early members of ALLEA. That means that already at that time your Academy showed academic excellence, international recognition, independence of research and international collaborations,” she stated.
“We can be proud that the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts is one of the early members of ALLEA. That means that already at that time your Academy showed academic excellence, international recognition, independence of research and international collaborations,” ALLEA Vice President Daniela Jezova stated.
The event was opened by the President of the Republic of Macedonia, H.E. Gjorge Ivanov; the President of Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Academician Taki Fiti, and Academician Gjorgi Filipovski, member of the First Assembly of MASA. The cultural and artistic part of the programme comprised selected works by Macedonian composers, the members of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Academician Todor Skalovski, Academician Vlastimir Nikolovski and Academician Risto Avramovski. The event was closed with a documentary film titled “50 Years of MASA”, which presented a testimony to the growth and rise of the Academy, memories and facts, challenges and achievements, as well as views on the future.
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The third AEMASE conference held at the Académie des sciences in Paris on 3-4 October 2017, supported by ALLEA, brought together experts, educators and policy-makers from 30 countries across both continents to elaborate strategies and actions for the improvement of science education in Africa, the Mediterranean region and Europe.
ALLEA, via its Working Group Science Education, participated in the third “African European Mediterranean Academies for Science Education” (AEMASE) conference held in Paris on 3-4 October. Participants presented and discussed a broad range of issues around the topic of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) in schools. Examples of best practise from both continents were exchanged. Delegates particularly sought to further develop and promote an initiative which seeks to implement a coordinated network of international sites called “Centres for Education to Science in Africa, the Mediterranean and Europe” (CESAME) to improve children’s scientific knowledge and intellectual tools, as well as young girls’ inclusion in science.
The conference took place in Paris at the Académie des sciences. Credit: Académie des sciences
In the concluding statement, conference participants point to “the urgency to renew school science education (education in mathematics, natural science, technology and engineering) in order to help all children acquire adequate basic scientific knowledge and intellectual tools for a rational approach to situations, as well as to reach a better inclusion of young girls in science.” This commitment will be worked towards in the CESAME project. The project will initially set up at least two centres in Africa and in Europe respectively where IBSE-based curricula will be used for science education. The objective is to create a collaborative scheme in which science teachers can share experiences and learn from each other how to improve science teaching in schools. Academies and other scientific institutions from seven countries (Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Italy, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia) have already expressed their interest in collaborating in this initiative and potentially hosting a CESAME centre.
The conference in Paris is the third iteration of an initiative started in 2014 with the first AEMASE conference in Rome, hosted at the time by the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei and continued in Dakar at the Académie Nationale des Sciences et Techniques du Sénégal in 2015. The project is supported by a number of international academy networks, including ALLEA, NASAC (Network of African Science Academies) and the InteracademyPartnership (IAP). [Read the AEMASE report here]
The event was opened by Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister of National Education in France, who thanked the academies for their efforts and underlined the importance of international collaboration in the crucial area of science education.
Through its working group on Science Education, ALLEA has promoted the strengthening and implementation of Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) programmes and methods over many years.
Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) is a form of science education that – unlike the traditional model where the teacher provides facts and the students learn them – gives children the opportunity to explore “hands on”, to experiment, to ask questions and to develop responses based on reasoning.
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On 28/29 September 2017 the ENERI (European Network of Research Ethics and Research Integrity) project hosted their first stakeholder workshop on Research Ethics and Research Integrity in Athens.
Stakeholders during one of the presentations of the ENERI workshop in Athens. Credit: ENERI
The aim of the workshop was to bring together practitioners in Research Ethics and Research Integrity (RE/RI) from across Europe to discuss existing infrastructures and challenges in different research systems on the continent. Participants were invited to brainstorm and conceptualise concepts for improved training in RE/RI.
The stakeholder workshop is part of a project deliverable to develop an online training course for research integrity committee members. Particular emphasis was put on the transnational comparability as to establish shared research integrity procedures in countries participating in Horizon2020.
The outcomes of the workshop will feed into the conceptualisation of an online training platform
ALLEA is represented in the project via its Permanent Working Group Science & Ethics of which Krista Varantola attended the workshop. In the preparation of the workshop, the working group suggested Deborah Oughton of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences as a keynote speaker on Movements and Developments regarding training in RE/RI with a particular focus on her work in Norway. The outcomes of the workshop will feed into the conceptualisation of an online training platform, which will serve as a foundation for European research integrity practitioners, especially also in countries with underdeveloped structures in that regard.
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Koen Lenaerts, Professor of the University of Leuven and President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, was awarded the 2017 ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values in Budapest at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 4 September 2017
Koen Lenaerts (University of Leuven) receives the 2017 ALLEA Prize certificate from ALLEA President Günter Stock. Credit: MTA/Szigeti Tamás
On 4 September 2017, Koen Lenaerts was awarded the 2017 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values in Budapest at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to honour his outstanding scholarly contribution to European law. This prize, endowed with 20 000 euros, was established by ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, and co-sponsored by Compagnia di San Paolo.
Koen Lenaerts has donated the ALLEA prize as a starting capital to a new Leuven University Fund that he created together with his wife, Kris Grimonprez, both alumni of the Faculty of Law of Leuven University. The Fund is named ‘Fonds Lenaerts-Grimonprez voor een sterkere EU dimensie op school’ (‘Fund Lenaerts-Grimonprez for a stronger EU dimension at school’).[1] The Fund is an organisation within the University, governed by a steering board in which the donor Koen Lenaerts and his wife are represented, as well as several academics of the Leuven University. Vice-Rector Bart Raymaekers is its financial manager.
The purpose of the Fund is to raise the quality of EU learning at school. Specifically, it seeks to broaden and deepen the EU dimension within key competences acquired by pupils at school.
Raising the quality of EU learning at school
The purpose of the Fund is to raise the quality of EU learning at school. Specifically, it seeks to broaden and deepen the EU dimension within key competences acquired by pupils at school. Reflecting the importance of the EU in society, the EU dimension should be more consistently present in the learning content of several subjects in primary as well as in secondary education. For example, it does not suffice to learn about the European Coal and Steel Community in history, or to know some EU institutions. The aim is to empower all young people (not only pupils in some optional courses) to become conscious EU citizens who are informed and critical thinkers, combining their national identity with a European one, ready to participate in the democratic life of the Union. Democracy presupposes enlightened citizenship.
To this end, support will be given to the training of future teachers and research about the EU dimension in school curricula and learning outcomes. In this context, modules with a specific EU dimension and adequate teaching materials will be developed. The essential starting point are the texts on which the EU is founded (the EU Treaties and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union) and the EU values and principles that they express. As the EU and its Member States are based on democracy, respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law, this Fund also aims to work in line with the Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education of the Council of Europe,[2] whereby in particular its EU dimension needs to be concretised.
The Fund wishes to reach the ‘ordinary’ pupil in mainstream education, living in Belgium and attending school in Flanders or in a Dutch language school in Brussels. The money is not designated to support mobility of pupils or teachers, nor is it for language learning or extra-curricular activities.
An annual prize may be awarded for work corresponding to criteria set up in detail in different phases. If the project leads to successful results, translation of modules into other EU languages as well as European cooperation may be envisaged.
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Near to 400 participants attended the conference “Sustainability and Resilience” in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest on 4-6 September.
View of the conference hall at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest on 4 September 2017. Credit: MTA/ Szigeti Tamás
The event brought together renowned scientists and scholars to discuss Europe’s heritage, social systems, health, economy, climate, as well as its science and research landscape. The conference was opened by the President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences László Lovász, who underlined the relevance of a united voice for European academic organisations. “We have to remember that the great history of European science by itself is not a guarantee for a great future. Only by a continued effort we can build the ‘Resilience and Sustainability’ of our unique scientific culture. A culture that has always been defined by the diversity of talents across Europe and should continue to rely on the potential of science in all member states. This is why I have been so pleased to offer the building of our Academy to host the first joint meeting of three major European science organisations. I see this conference as a major step towards a more united voice of European academic organisations,” Lovász said in a statement.
“We have to remember that the great history of European science by itself is not a guarantee for a great future. Only by a continued effort we can build the ‘Resilience and Sustainability’ of our unique scientific culture”, said President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences László Lovász.
From neurons to science advice
The panels provided an interdisciplinary roadmap on European science today: from the latest advances of neuroscience to the impacts of climate change in human health or how academies provide advice to decision-makers at the national and European level.
Panel discussion on the role of academies in the Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) with ALLEA President Günter Stock, Yves Caristan (Euro-CASE), Robert Jan-Smits (DG for Research and Innovation) and Sierd Cloetingh (Academia Europaea) (from front to back). Credit: MTA/ Szigeti Tamás.
The President of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) José van Dijck reflected on the challenges to European public values in a global online society. Jointly with other academy and policy representatives, ALLEA President and Chair of SAPEA Günter Stock shared a panel with the European Commission’s Director-General for Research and Innovation Robert-Jan Smits on the lessons learned from their involvement at the Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM).
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ALLEA President Günter Stock congratulates Antonio Loprieno following his election as next President of ALLEA. Credit: MTA/Szigeti Tamás
ALLEA Member Academies elected in Budapest on 4 September Professor Antonio Loprieno as the next ALLEA President for the term 2018-2021. President-elect Loprieno will assume his position during the next General Assembly at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia in May 2018, following the end of the second term of ALLEA President Günter Stock.
The General Assembly, ALLEA’s highest legislative body, voted in favour of Loprieno during the 18th annual business meeting celebrated at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. His candidacy is supported by the Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences.
President-elect Loprieno (1955, Bari, Italy) is a renowned scholar of great repute in Egyptology, Linguistics, and Semitic Languages, and an experienced leader of academic and public institutions in Switzerland and internationally. He was Rector of the University of Basel (2006-2015) and President of the Conference of University Rectors in Switzerland (2008- 2015). Currently he is President of the Austrian Science Board (Österreichischer Wissenschaftsrat) and President of the Swiss Studies Foundation, among others.
In a statement, Loprieno reflected on his election and on his vision for the role of European academies in society. “European academies and learned societies are a mirror and a bridge: a mirror of continental excellence in science and humanities, and a bridge between knowledge production and knowledge society. In view of the current scientific and societal challenges, more than ever we now need both. I feel honored to contribute my share to the visibility of European research and to the development of a science policy that strengthens the role and the impact of science and humanities in shaping European moral values as well as political and economic choices.”
“I feel honored to contribute my share to the visibility of European research and to the development of a science policy that strengthens the role and the impact of science and humanities in shaping European moral values as well as political and economic choices.”
New ALLEA Member and New Working Group
During the business meeting, ALLEA Member Academies voted in favour of accepting Bilim Akademisi (The Science Academy, Turkey) as full member of ALLEA. Bilim Akademisi was established in Istanbul on 25 November 2011 as an independent non-governmental entity with a mission to promote, to model and to protect scientific merit, excellence, independence, and integrity. The Academy was founded by former members of the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TÜBA), following a decree by the government of Turkey in August 2011, which changed the academy’s structure and appointment procedures.
In response to current challenges, ALLEA is establishing a new working group investigating the dynamics of public trust in expertise in the so-called “post-truth” era. The alleged loss of trust in science and evidence, its underlying causes, the way different disciplines are dealing with it, and questions on how valid knowledge can and should be acquired, will be the focus of this group. It will be co-chaired by Baroness Prof Dr Onora O’Neill from the British Academy, and ALLEA Vice President Prof Dr Ed Noort.
Koen Lenaerts, 2017 ALLEA Madame de Staël Prize Laureate
Following the ALLEA General Assembly, ALLEA celebrated the award ceremony for the 2017 All European Academies Madame de Staël Prize for Cultural Values. This year, Professor Koen Lenaerts was awarded the ALLEA Prize to honour his extensive scholarly work on European law and his reflections on European jurisdiction. He is a Professor of European law at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and President of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). His publications represent a thorough and impeccable analysis for understanding the EU’s judicial system and the democratic values on which it is based. “Law is at the origin of the European idea and the basis for free societies, and
this year the Prize Jury decided to honour a scholar with a truly European track record in law”, stated ALLEA President Günter Stock, Chair of the Prize Jury.
Lenaerts is the fourth scholar to be honoured with the ALLEA Prize, which is endowed with 20,000 EUR, thanks to kind co-sponsorship of the Italian foundation Compagnia di San Paolo.
Academia Europaea – ALLEA international conference on “Sustainability and Resilience”
As part of the ALLEA General Assembly, an international scientific conference with the title “Sustainability and Resilience” is organised on 5-6 September in partnership with Academia Europaea and with the kind collaboration of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the Young Academy of Europe. The two-day event brings together renowned scientists and scholars to discuss the various aspects of Europe’s Sustainability and Resilience: its heritage, its social system, its health, its economy, its climate, as well as its science and research landscape.
Delegates of the ALLEA General Assembly in Budapest at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Credit: MTA/Szigeti Tamás
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ALLEA Board Members convened at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest on 3 September 2017 and started preparations for the upcoming transition of the ALLEA Presidency.
ALLEA Board during their discussions in Budapest at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 3 September 2017.
The ALLEA Board Members met on 3 September 2017 at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. Participants discussed the next steps for ALLEA, including upcoming publications, working group and SAPEA activities, and the first steps of the new working group “Trust, Truth and Expertise”.
The participants also assessed next actions in preparation of the Presidency transition, which will take place during the next General Assembly in Sofia in May 2018. During the transition, six of the current Board Members will conclude their term. The ALLEA Secretariat already sent a call for nominations to Member Academies asking for proposals of Academy Fellows to renew the Board. ALLEA delegates will vote on the candidates at the General Assembly in Sofia in May 2018.
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The chair of the ALLEA Working Group Framework Programme 9 and lead author of ALLEA’s position paper “Developing a Vision for Framework Programme 9”, Professor John Bell, reflects on the EU’s future research and innovation programme after Horizon 2020 and elaborates on ALLEA’s recommendations on the topic. Professor Bell (Fellow of the British Academy) is a comparative lawyer who specialises in French and German law, jurisprudence (especially legal reasoning), public law and European law. He is currently Professor of Law at the University of Cambridge and has previously worked at the Universities of Oxford and Leed
Which is the most important aspect that policy-makers should consider in the development of the next EU research and innovation programme?
JOHN BELL: Policy-makers should seek to look into the middle distance: what is Europe and the world going to be like by 2040 and how do we prepare ourselves to engage with the opportunities and problems which that future poses. Many of the calls for research under Horizon 2020 have been driven by rather immediate preoccupations for which the Commission was looking for answers. That is consultancy, not research. Research involves imagining the future and wrestling with the issues that it throws up.
ALLEA’s FP9 working group’s position paper points out that the next framework programme must incentivise “impact focused on European societies not just economic or industrial benefit”. Could you elaborate which types of “impact focused on European societies” FP9 should specifically address?
J.B.: Innovation can be understood simply in terms of new products that will create new jobs and increase wealth. That is only part of the picture. European societies want a quality of life that comes from a tolerant living together in solidarity with those who are disadvantaged throughout the world. Such conviviality is the result not only of economic growth, but of caring for the environment, designing our cities, ensuring healthcare and welfare for the vulnerable in society, and promoting social integration of citizens, migrants and visitors.
How could the Societal Challenges pillar in Framework Programme 9 be more prominently developed and how would the role of researchers have to be adapted accordingly?
J.B.: We need first to identify the challenges that lie ahead. Horizon 2020 has rather a top-down approach to identifying these challenges and is very prescriptive about their content. The process needs more imagination to come from researchers who can suggest different themes to be explored. We also need to bring together the insights of different disciplines into reflection on these issues. Natural and biological scientists will bring insights from replicable trials. Humanities will bring insights from imagination and history, thinking through issues in hypothetical futures. Social sciences can bring forms of modelling to help us anticipate problems that may occur. Working together they can give a holistic view of what the future might be like and how to engage with opportunities and problems.
What are the most relevant contributions and/or shortcomings of the recently published Lamy Report?
J.B.: Lamy provides an important vision of how to develop research beyond 2020. Lamy recognises the importance of research and the need for a substantial commitment of funding. It recognises the important contribution of humanities and social sciences research to a holistic approach to problems. Lamy also recognises that ‘innovation is more than technology’ and that the contribution to society, as well as to the economy is important. Lamy’s approach to missions for research is far less detailed and prescriptive than Horizon 2020. At the same time, the indicative topics it suggests on p. 16 is too much focused on medical and technological developments. The broad topic of how we live together would encourage a wider range of issues to be addressed. ALLEA will be working with colleagues in other organisations to produce suggestions in time for the Lamy Group to review the feedback it has received in early 2018.
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