18 Mar 2024
EC opens R&I Week 2024
The European Commission has launched this year's Research & Innovation (R&I) Week, which is taking place in Brussels and online. The first day on 18 March features the opening ceremony at 14:00 CET, a journey through the 40-year-old history of the EU R&I framework programme and discussions about its future, followed by the Women Innovators Prize Ceremony at 17:00 CET.
On 19 March, the focus shifts to the European Innovation Council (EIC) Summit which includes high-level conversations, policy debates, and strategic workshops for researchers and entrepreneurs on topics such as intellectual property rights, investments, and scaling up. Concurrently, the Innovation Procurement Conference, organised by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will commence as of 16:00 CET and will run until 20 March. The Presidency will showcase the outcomes and learnings after almost 7 years of the Programme for Innovation Procurement (PIP), which launched more than 100 innovative projects and demonstrates the Flemish government's strong commitment to innovation procurement.
As of 14:00 CET, on 20 March, the R&I Days will provide a forum for discussing ways to make Europe greener, more equitable, and competitive, drawing on the experience of the previous Research and Innovation Framework Programmes. Attendees will go through EU-funded research and innovation initiatives, see their societal impact, and participate in discussions about the importance of continued investment in research and innovation.
Throughout the R&I Week, the European Commission will continue to issue strategic announcements, providing updates on major policy initiatives and calls, such as the EIC Impact Report 2023, the winners of the Women Innovators Prize, the results of the Regional Innovation Valleys call, the New European Innovation Agenda report or the Horizon Strategic Plan 2025-2027, amongst others.
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