Le fil d'actualité : News Tank Academic

European academic and research organisations call for open science to be a pillar of the ERA Act

Six European organisations representing universities, research-performing organisations, libraries, scholarly infrastructures and academies of sciences and humanities have published a statement calling for accelerated progress in the future ERA Act to achieve open science.The six organisations argue that while some policy progress has been made, substantial "financial, linguistic and geographic...

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EU research ministers set to miss target of deal on Horizon Europe by month's end

EU research ministers will not be able to agree on their position on the next Horizon Europe programme for 2028-2024 at the end of May, falling short of a target set by Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the EU. Several sources in the EU institutions told News Tank Academic that member states have dropped the goal of reaching a “partial general agreement” on the file, as too many issues...

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Non-EU countries urge equal access to Horizon Europe and day-one inclusion in FP10

Four non-EU countries that are part of Horizon Europe have called on the Council of the EU to ensure their smooth association with FP10 from day one, to keep topic exclusions to a minimum and to guarantee equal treatment for associated countries in applications and collaborative projects.Four university associations from the UK (the Russell Group), Canada (U15), Switzerland (swissuniversities) and...

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ERC grant pressure driven by chronic underfunding, ERC grantees say

The Association of European Research Council Grantees (AERG) and the Ambassadors for the ERC network have stated that the real problem behind the massive increase in the number of applicants to the ERC lies not in the ambition of researchers, but in chronic underfunding.The two networks responded on 12/05/2026 to recent developments regarding the evaluation of ERC grant proposals. On 16/04/2026,...

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Number of students doubled in 20 years globally, mobility tripled but geographical inequalities remain

The number of students enrolled in higher education worldwide has more than doubled over the past two decades and international mobility has tripled over the same period, but serious geographical inequalities remain, according to the first Higher Education Global Trends Report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).The UNESCO report was published on...

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UK and EU announce start of negotiations on UK participation in European Innovation Council Fund

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, have agreed to commence negotiations on UK participation in the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, including the Scaleup Europe Fund.The announcement was made on 04/05/2026 after a meeting between von der Leyen and Starmer at the European Political Community summit in Armenia, aiming to...

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João Gomes Cravinho appointed Rector of the College of Europe

The College of Europe has appointed João Gomes Cravinho as Rector for a renewable five-year mandate. Cravinho’s appointment was decided by the Administrative Council of the College of Europe on 30/04/2026, following the proposal of its Academic Council. Ewa Ośniecka-Tamecka will continue leading the College as Acting Rector until Cravinho takes office.He holds a doctorate in Political...

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Georgi Dimitrov joins Roxana Mînzatu's cabinet as expert for education and skills

Georgi Dimitrov has taken up the post of Member of the Cabinet to the European Commission's Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness, Roxana Mînzatu.Dimitrov announced on 01/05/2026 that he would step down from his position as Head of Unit for Digital Education in the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG EAC) to focus on...

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ERC revises changes to eligibility criteria for grant competitions

After announcing new restrictions on reapplying for European Research Council grants, the ERC Scientific Council has decided to revise some of the changes.On 29/04/2026, the ERC Scientific Council said it "has listened to the concerns from members of the research community about the recent announcement on changes to the re-submission rules...The Scientific Council has decided to readjust some of...

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Trump fires all 22 members of the National Science Board

US President Donald Trump has fired the 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), an entity that establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent agency supporting fundamental research and education in all non-medical fields of science and engineering.US media reported that all members received an email on 24/04/2026 stating that their position was...

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Stephen Collins appointed Director of European Research Executive Agency

The European Commission has appointed Stephen Collins as Director for the European Research Executive Agency (REA) in Brussels on 28/04/2026. He will replace the acting director, Paul Webb, on a date to be confirmed.Collins, a British national, is currently Head of Unit for Corporate Organisational Change in the Directorate-General (DG) for Human Resources and Security of the Commission. He...

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When will the "Phoney War" over the EU's future research programmes end? By Simon Taylor

You will sometimes hear Brits of a certain age talk about the “Phoney War”. This is a reference to the period between Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 and May 1940, when British troops faced the Wehrmacht and were forced to retreat across the Channel. Please forgive the World War reference, but it seems like a very apt way to describe the current state of negotiations on...

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