European science conversations
by the community, for the community
REBUILD project pursues the development of an accessible ICT tool able to efficiently cater for the communication needs of both local service providers and migrants during the first stages of the integration process.
The German Constitutional Court has recently expressed itself on the buying up of bonds by the European Central Bank. It has decided that the German Bundes Bank can no longer participate in such a measure unless the European Court of Justice explains why this is justified.
A commentary on Carlos Moedas article ‘Rekindling the love affair’ in ‘nature’ on May 23rd, 2019
This special issue collects articles that present some projects on media accessibility and contextualise them within the broader context of the social changes we are facing.
The strength of the European project lies in the aim of creating a community by embracing the diversity of its members. Unity in diversity means promoting the value of the vast human variety expressed by all its citizens.
In the second instalment of a two-part series, Emmanuelle Charpentier, head of regulation and infection biology at the Max-Planck-Institut in Berlin, Germany, gives her opinion on the challenges in obtaining research funding in the current system in Europe. She also shares her views on how mobility can be hampered by bureaucracy. Finally, she points to the limited coherence for scientists pursuing a research career in Europe. Clearly, many efforts have yet to be made to improve the condition of scientists in Europe.
EuroScientist, looks at existing and emerging solutions available to help refugee scientists rebuild their career in their host country, as they still have to face the demands of what remains a highly competitive activity.
Looking East of an imaginary line going through Berlin and Rome all the way to the Urals creates a broad outline of what Eastern Europe is, in the widest geographical definition. What is striking about this broad region is the number of similarities between different countries, not least in science. And yet it is equally surprising how little these countries exchange good practice. Specifically, scientists and policymakers will talk for hours about problems in their country. But few will have much awareness of how similar problems have been overcome in neighbouring countries.
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RRI Tools
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In the RRI Tools research project is designed to map out and share good practice in Responsible Research and Innovation across Europe. The challenge is to make the findings of the project relevant to countries spread across a wide geographic area. Countries in the South Eastern European region, for example, are constituted of a diversity of nations including both EU Member States and countries still in the process of EU integration.
The concept of science diplomacy has gained enormous traction over the past decade, though in itself it is of course of older origin.
Too much is at stakes in European science for people managing research—particularly in the UK—to leave it up to politicians to determine their future. Brexit or no Brexit, there are signs that further integration of the UK scientific activities into the European research fabric is underway. Indeed, universities across the UK are establishing new partnership deals in education and research with European and Commonwealth universities. Whether this move will allow UK research institutions to remain attractive to European collaborators remains to be seen.
Brexit keeps resounding in the many aspects that its implications may have for European research. In this opinion piece, Thomas König, Austrian social scientist, who was previously scientific advisor to former ERC president Helga Nowotny, examines the consequences of the predicted fall of influence of British scientists on the future of European science. He believes the consequences of Brexit are likely to be felt, not only in UK science itself, but also at the level of pan-European research endeavours, such as ERC-backed activities. This shows that scientists are not sheltered from the vagaries of politics when policies emanating from the popular vote forces them to defend their interests.
EuroScientist journal 
