The Launching Conference of Horizon 2020 organised by the EU funded project ‘BILAT UKR*AINA – Enhancing the BILATeral S&T Partnership with UKRraine * Advanced INnovative Approach’ took place in Kyiv on 16 January 2014 with the support of the State Agency on Science, Innovation and Informatization of Ukraine (SASII).

As a successor of the 7th Framework Programme, the new EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation ‘Horizon 2020’ (2014-2020) shall provide support to the entire range of research and innovation activities from fundamental sciences to industrial sciences. It will also advance the transfer of research into specific innovation activities, including mission-oriented research tackling the grand challenges of our future.

The objective of the conference was to inform the research, academic and innovation community of Ukraine about the mission, structure and general rules of ‘Horizon 2020’ and discuss the opportunities for participation of researchers and companies. Moreover, the Conference informed participants about the Ukrainian and EU support measures to facilitate the participation in ‘Horizon 2020’.

RCISD, as a project partner of BILAT-UKR*AINA also attended the meeting and highlighted the importance of creating synergies among national, structural and EU funds for research and innovation (R&I). A brief state-of-the-art presentation on Hungarian R&I funding underlined its similarities to the Ukrainian system; additionally it emphasized the significance of aligning national and any other type of funding in order to strengthen the country’s participation rates in Horizon 2020.

In the afternoon, thematic sessions on New Materials and Processing Technologies, Information and Communication Technologies, Biotechnologies and Aeronautics and NCPs training were held in order to allow the discussion on specific aspects of the programme and participation strategies in more details.

More info: Horizon 2020 Launch Conference