The European Parliament will host a five-day conference on “EU Science: Global Challenges, Global Collaboration” (ES:GC2), starting on March 4th, 2013, in Brussels. The conference will bring together science policymakers, scientists and industry representatives from 100 different countries and will place EU research at the centre of the international response to global challenges. It will be convened by ISC - Intelligence in Science, under the auspices of the Irish Council Presidency, in conjunction with Mr Sean Kelly MEP and other Members of the European Parliament.
The core focus of ES:GC2 will be primarily on Horizon 2020, the EU’s funding instrument for collaborative research and innovation beyond 2014, which seeks to provide both increased funding and enhanced ease of participation compared to its predecessor, FP7. The aim of the conference is to encourage worldwide collaboration in science and to explore how Horizon 2020 can enable an effective scientific response to global challenges. This conference will also provide an environment to build new partnerships with the view to increase international participation in Horizon 2020.