National Platforms get ready for Horizon 2020

With the SusChem Europe’s forthcoming Brokerage event fast approaching two SusChem National Platforms, in the UK and Spain, are organising events in early October to ensure their industrial and academic stakeholders are ready to get the most out of the new EU Research and Innovation Framework programme when it launches on 1 January 2014.

On 1 October SusChem’s coordinating partner in the UK, Chemistry Innovation, is organising a Horizon 2020 Brokerage event on nanotechnologies, advanced materials, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing and processing (NMBP). Chemistry Innovation is coordinating the event on behalf of the Technology Strategy Board – the UK’s lead Innovation Strategy body - and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

This all day event takes place at the National Composites Centre in Bristol and is free, but places are limited. The main objectives of the event are to:

• Hear first-hand from the European Commission the content and detail of the first NMBP related calls within Horizon 2020
• Formulate partnerships with attendees for proposals that will be submitted to Horizon 2020

In order to encourage the formation of partnerships, attendees will have the opportunity to pre-book 1:1 meetings with attendees in addition to the option of attending parallel workshops in the afternoon.

For more information on this event, please visit the event web page or contact Tracy McCarroll by email.

Spanish preparations

The next day, 2 October, sees SusChem Espana starting its campaign to facilitate the participation of Spanish chemical industry stakeholders in the new Horizon 2020 programme by promoting and stimulating dialogue on innovation and project ideas.

The brokerage event takes place in the ACCIO Building in Barcelona and will be the first step in building highly innovative and competitive projects in cooperation with other stakeholders both within Spain and at European level including via the SusChem Europe brokerage event in Brussels on 23 October.

The active participation of the audience will be encouraged through the presentation of project ideas and through bilateral meetings between potential project partners.

More details (in Spanish) on the Barcelona event can be accessed here and you can download the event programme, which also includes a link to on-line registration.

The event is free if you are presenting a project proposal or if you have attended the preceding seminar on ‘Successful Preparation for Horizon 2020’ that also takes place in Barcelona at the Instituto de Química on 1 October. Otherwise registration costs €90 (VAT inc).

More information on the 1 October seminar on Strategies for Horizon 2020 ‘Cómo prepararse con éxito para el Horizonte 2020?’ can be found here.