Welcome! EECA Participation at ICT 2015 in Lisbon Issue 3-Final.pdfnetworking and services; receives funding from FP7 and H2020), and CLARIN-PLUS (a European Research Infrastructure

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The projects are supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research & Technological Development

(2007-2013) in the "Information and Communication Technologies" Theme (EAST-HORIZON/611063, EECA-2-HORIZON/610793)

www.eeca-ict.eu

Newsletter Issue 3, November 2015

EU-EASTERN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA - Gateway for ICT Research and Innovation

Welcome! Dear Reader,

As we are currently coming to the end

of the 2nd year of the EECA Cluster

projects, our third newsletter issue

aims to present the activities of our

Cluster, its achievements and results

for the period February 2015 -

November 2015. Over this period the

Cluster managed to grow its activities

and to further advance its established

tools. With a second series of Training

almost concluded, new Community

Building activities running, presence in

the most important ICT events in the

region and constant support of

innovation in the EECA countries, the

Cluster continues its work towards

collaboration and innovation.

Thank you for your support and your

interest in our work!

EECA Cluster Team

The EECA Cluster participated at the ICT 2015 event held in Lisbon, Portugal, 20-22 October 2015. With an information booth at the event’s international village and a networking session hosted on the first day of the event, the Cluster had the opportunity to promote its activities and broaden its audience.

More than 120 people visited the Cluster’s booth at the ICT event and talked with Cluster representatives as well as receive information on the Cluster’s goals, activities and services. At the booth, EECA Cluster partners demonstrated the Cluster’s portal, its tools and features aiming to support collaboration between EU and EECA countries.

Those that attended the networking session of the Cluster on the afternoon of 20th October had the opportunity to learn more about: the Cluster’s collaboration with NEM and NESSI ETPs; the formation of EECA ETPs Communities, the opportunities it presents to those involved as well as its activities, goals and anticipated results. The session room was full (with standing room only for additional participants) and the 45 registered participants expressed their interest in receiving news about Communities activities.

Apart from its presence at the event, the Cluster also sponsored 29 experts from the EECA countries to travel to Lisbon and participate in the event. Cluster partners made sure that the sponsored experts made the best out of this experience by assisting them in finding sessions of interest, arranging face to face meetings and promoting their expertise. A brief video about ICT 2015 produced by Agency of European Innovations (AEI), Ukraine can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci1l4kDawpQ

EECA Participation at ICT 2015 in Lisbon

EECA-2-HORIZON Coordinator

Kostas Bougiouklis

[email protected]

EAST-HORIZON Coordinator

Raphael Koumeri

[email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci1l4kDawpQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci1l4kDawpQ

mailto:[email protected]


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Summary of the Events in Georgia, September 2015 2nd EECA Cluster Networking event - Community building, 9th September 2015, Tbilisi, Georgia The "2nd EECA Cluster networking event - ICT Communities building" was organized on 9th September 2015 in Tbilisi, Georgia by the EECA Cluster in collaboration with the Georgian Research and Educational Networking Association (GRENA), the International Centre for Advancement of Research Technology and Innovation (ICARTI) and the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The event focused on specific ICT sub-areas of mutual interest for R&I collaboration among research and industrial teams from the EU and the EECA countries, namely:

Big Data, Software and Services (related to the NESSI European Technology Platform (ETP)).

Interactive Content, Media and Creative industries (related to the NEM "New European Media initiative" European Technology Platform (ETP)).

Building upon the experience of the previous Community building events, two parallel sessions were organized, aimed at:

Presenting the recent activities of the respective ETPs with regard to scientific and technological development of the ICT field of focus.

Discussing and comparing R&I priorities in the EU and EECA region.

Facilitating direct discussions between key experts from the EU and EECA regions regarding their R&I interest and expertise, setting the framework for future collaboration.

Examining future steps that will enhance interaction and collaboration among EU and EECA experts within the scope of the respective ETPs.

More than 70 experts from academia/research organisations, the private sector (Industry and SMEs) and associations/clusters from both regions participated at the event. This included:

15 experts from the EU (France, Greece, Poland, Ireland, Spain and Italy), including Members of the Steering Board of the European Technology Platforms NESSI and NEM.

55 Experts from the Eastern Partnership countries (i.e. Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) and the Central Asia countries involved in the Cluster (i.e. Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan).

You can download the presentations here.

http://eeca-ict.eu/usefull-information/events/icalrepeat.detail/2015/09/09/43/-/networking-community-building-

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Horizon 2020 Eastern Partnership (EaP) Information Day, Research & Innovation in Information and Communication Technologies On Thursday the 10th of September, the "Horizon 2020 Eastern Partnership (EaP) Information Day 2015 - Research & Innovation in Information and Communication Technologies" was co-organized by the European Commission – DG CNECT, the Georgian Research and Educational Networking Association (GRENA), the International Centre for Advancement of Research Technology and Innovation (ICARTI), the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and the EECA Cluster in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The event gathered more than 80 participants from both the public and the private sector and focused on the improvement of European and EECA regional cooperation under the Horizon 2020 Programme. The agenda of the info day included useful information concerning the H2020 Programme and the participation of EECA countries in it, with special emphasis on the subject of Digital economy and harmonization of digital markets in EECA region. The event started with the presentation of cluster activities in the EECA region and the opportunities they create for the EECA countries to enhance collaboration and networking capabilities.

The issue of the digital economy in the region was highlighted by Mr. Vassilis Kopanas, of Unit D1 “International Relations”, DG CNECT, European Commission, who through video-link presented the importance of the European Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy and the opportunities it is expected to create. Discussions on digital economy continued with the presentations of two EECA representatives on Harmonization of the Digital Market Initiative in the region, its progress and results so far. The second part of the info day, presented by Mr. Morten Moller, Head of Unit F3 “Programme Coordination”, DG CNECT, European Commission, focused on the next H2020 work Programme (2016-2017) and the way experts of the EECA countries can be involved. Enhancement of collaboration between the EECA and EU under Horizon 2020 was thoroughly discussed during a panel session with the participation of European and EECA experts. The participants of the panel noted the progress achieved in the region while highlighting existing obstacles and proposing ways to overcome them. Finally the day included presentations on proposal writing and participation in H2020 as well as ways that local Contact Points can assist potential participants by guiding them through the process of networking and collaborating. You can download the presentations here.

http://eeca-ict.eu/usefull-information/events/icalrepeat.detail/2015/09/10/44/-/h2020-eastern-partnership-info-day)

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Horizon 2020 Eastern Partnership (EaP) Information Day, Research & Innovation in e-Infrastructures, 11/9/2015, Tbilisi, Georgia On Friday 11th September 2015 a workshop on "Research and

Innovation in the field of e-Infrastructures" was co-organised

by the Georgian Research and Educational Networking

Association (GRENA), the International Centre for

Advancement of Research Technology and Innovation (ICARTI),

and the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University and the EECA

Cluster.

The participants of the workshop received valuable

information on the activities of projects such as GEANT

www.geant.net (focuses on research and education

networking and services; receives funding from FP7 and

H2020), and CLARIN-PLUS www.clarin.eu (a European

Research Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences,

focusing on language resources (data and tools); receives

funding from H2020). The Status of e-infrastructure services in

Eastern Partnership countries was also addressed during the

workshop, as well as the formation of a new research

environment to be developed through remotely shared access

to research facilities (data, network) with the participation of

EECA countries.

Collaboration under H2020 in the field of e-infrastructures was

highlighted by the organizers, through examination of the

2016-2017 work programme pillars.

In summary, the workshop allowed participants to discuss with

European experts, exchange views on the issue of

collaboration under the umbrella of e-infrastructures and

explore opportunities in general for future collaboration.

You can download the presentations here

http://www.geant.net/

http://eeca-ict.eu/usefull-information/events/icalrepeat.detail/2015/09/11/45/-/r-i-in-the-feld-of-e-infrastructures

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In our newsletters, we take the opportunity to introduce you to our EECA partners. In this issue we

highlight the activities of the Institute of System Analysis and Information Support of Scientific and

Technical Sphere in Belarus!

Belarusian Institute of System Analysis and Information Support of Scientific and Technical Sphere The Belarusian Institute of System Analysis and Information

Support for the Scientific and Technical Sphere (BelISA;

http://www.belisa.org.by/en/) is a state organisation created

under the decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus

No. 363 of 13.09.1996. Acting under the aegis of the State

Committee on Science and Technologies of the Republic of

Belarus, ranked as a ministry for S&T

(http://www.gknt.org.by), BelISA provides information

support for the committee and other state authorities as well

as for national scientific institutions and individual researchers.

Being a successor of the Belarusian Research Institute for

Scientific and Technical Information which was a part of the

unique pan-union system for exchanging the scientific and

technological information in the republics of the former USSR,

BelISA has long and strong traditions of supporting the national

scientific and research sphere, and the national technology

sector. Following its historical path, BelISA develops and

coordinates the State Program for Scientific and Technical

Information and acts as a national center responsible for the

international exchange of S&T information.

Pursuant to the Resolution of the Belarus Council of Ministers No. 472 of 13.05.1997 BelISA is entrusted with registering R&D projects, both national and international, and keeping the appropriate public register, as well as databases and collection of reports on registered R&D projects. In Belarus, the projects which pass the public registration are exempted from VAT. Since 1997, BelISA is in charge of maintaining the Register of High-tech Production Facilities and Enterprises and arranging the evaluation of applications for inclusion in the Register.

Since 2007, BelISA is involved in monitoring of the implementation of the State program of Innovation Development of the Republic of Belarus. By 2010, BelISA had developed a unique automated information and analytic system which provides an opportunity for a real time monitoring of projects included in the program. In the current program cycle, 2011–2015, the system collects and analyses information from 32 state managing bodies about implementation of almost 700 projects. BelISA monitors and analyses the status and trends of

international cooperation in science, technology and

innovation activities and provides recommendations on its

development to the national government and organisations.

http://www.belisa.org.by/en/

http://www.gknt.org.by/

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Second Round of Training Workshops in EECA The second round of training conducted by the EECA cluster is taking place in all EECA countries, with focus on discussions

regarding upcoming H2020 proposal ideas. Training has already taken place in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova

and Ukraine. Below are a selection of articles from completed training events:

Azerbaijan, Baku, 1-2 July 2015 Training was held in cooperation with the IncoNet EaP Project (‘STI International Cooperation Network for Eastern Partnership Countries’) two day event – Horizon 2020 Information Event: Climate Action, Energy, Health and Environment – organized by the International Relations Office of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) and Regional İnnovative Technologies (R.I.T.A.).

European partners from the Pasteur Institute, the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Regional Center for Development Information and Science (RCISD-Hungary) and PLANET SA (Greece), participated. The first part of the training focused on applying for funding, new funding opportunities, proposal writing, partner search.

Dr. Rafail Koumeri jointly with Ms.Nikoletta Psalti (Planet S.A.) presented the structure of HORIZON2020, ICT in HORIZON2020, new work programmes researchers need to be acquainted for proposal writing.

Dr.T.Babayev and Ms.Khalida Melikova (R.I.T.A.) made presentation on finding appropriate calls using Participant Portal of EC, registration of organisation and getting PIC, partner search etc. and answered questions.

The second part of the training was dedicated to the analysis and evaluation of proposals ideas. The participants worked in 3 groups and discussed with European experts, who examined ideas and pointed out their strengths and weaknesses. More than 60 scientists and experts from scientific research institutes and organisations in Azerbaijan participated on the first day and more than 25 on the second day.

Georgia, Tbilisi, 11 September 2015 Training focused on proposal writing in which forty-five participants took part representing both the research and business communities. Training in the morning started with presentation of the ICT work programme of HORIZON 2020 and its main principles. The remainder of the day was devoted to presentations and discussions of new proposal ideas given by Georgian specialists. After each presentation, comments from trainers were given in which they indicated the positive and negative points of proposals, compliance and conformity with the Programme Rules, recommendations about active collaboration, partner search systems, etc. It is important to note that after the training, the East Horizon partner organisation from Georgia, ICARTI, selected the winners from the proposals presented to be supported to participate at the EC Event ICT 2015 on 20-22 October in Lisbon.

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Moldova, Chisinau, 4 -15 September 2015 Training took place at the Moldavian Academy of Science on the 14th and 15th of September 2015. The first day the training was dedicated to: proposal writing and H2020 project management focusing on the new work programme; Call selections; financial issues in the phases of proposal preparation and project implementation; communication and dissemination procedures etc. Special notice was given to the notion of impact and its relation to the evaluation of proposals. The second day was more interactive, with participants presenting their own proposal ideas and discussing with the trainers their approach and concepts within the H2020 framework. The training participants who represented both the research and business community, had the opportunity to read and explore, with the assistance of the trainers, the H2020 work programme and the new calls, and discuss regional and sectoral opportunities.

Belarus, Minsk, 22-23 September 2015 The training became a part of ‘HORIZON2020 Week’ in Belarus, organized together with IncoNet EaP project as a synergy event on 21-25 September 2015. The main purpose of this second round of training was to address the new HORIZON2020 ICT work programme 2016-2017, with a special emphasis on the proposal ideas evaluation. A high interest in the training from different Belarus stakeholders’ groups was shown, and the BELISA team received 19 proposal ideas. It is worth mentioning that a substantial part of the participants represented SMEs and ICT industry, whose numbers are rising in Belarus. Also important, was the participation of many young people (under 30).

The first day of the training workshop was dedicated to: Introducing the new (draft) ICT work programme WP2016-2017; EECA cluster projects activities and services; correct way of selecting Calls. Special attention was given to the explanation of impact and expected outcomes, and their relation to the proposal evaluation process. Also during Day 1 the participants started to present and discuss their Proposal ideas. In parallel many important issues of Proposal Writing and Proposal Design and Structure were discussed in an interactive way, resulting in concrete proposal ideas. Participants actively presented and discussed ideas, expressed their opinions, and asked questions to the trainers from PLANET, Greece, and BELISA who gave valuable feedback. The second day was dedicated to mainly evaluation of project ideas and discussion with the trainers about the approaches and concepts within the H2020 framework, as well as issues such as partner search, including: the Idealist Partner Search system; funding opportunities; EECA cluster services; ICT’2015 Conference in Lisbon, Portugal in October 2015 and its opportunities for establishing cooperation with EU partners etc. The overall feedback from the participants is that more training events of this kind are needed.

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Ukraine, Lviv, 22-23 September 2015 The Workshop was organized by the State Enterprise “The Centre for Scientific and Technical Information and Innovation Promotion of Ukraine” (SE “Ukrtechinform”) together with the local ICT NCP based at the Non-Governmental Organisation “Agency of European innovations” in the city of Lviv, Ukraine, in the Western part of the country, who is a partner in the EECA-2-HORIZON project which is one of the projects of the EECA cluster. Forty-one participants attended the workshop, mostly from research organisations and SMEs. Brief Summary: The beginning of Day 1 focused on H2020 Structure, basic principles, new work programme of Horizon 2020 for 2016-2017 and Evaluation Criteria. This was then followed by participants presenting their project proposal ideas which were discussed in round-tables and with the expert trainers presiding over the event from ATC, Greece. Day 2 of the training focused on further analysing and improving the proposal ideas and preparing for attending the ICT event in Lisbon in October 2015. The training was greatly appreciated by all those who attended and all participants agreed that it is important to have training on H2020 ICT issues on a regular basis and in different regions of Ukraine, to maximize benefits.

Armenia, Yerevan, 28 September – 02 October 2015 The event was organized by the H2020 ICT NCP team at the IIAP

NAS RA and IST-C, along with experts from Greece, Italy, France

and Hungary. Pre-proposals were presented by Yerevan State

University (YSU), American University of Armenia (AUA),

Academic Scientific Research Computer Network of Armenia

(ASNET-AM), Complab LLC and OneCryptor. Other participants

included researchers, technology developers and service

providers in the ICT area from Armenia, Georgia and Russia, and

participants of the Computer Science and Information

Technologies (CSIT-2015) conference. This Event is considered

as the key action in preparing Armenian ICT RTD Organisations

regarding the ICT work programme 2016-2017 Calls of Horizon

2020. The training was open to all ICT stakeholders and focused

on experienced participants, i.e. participants, who passed

previous H2020 training, submitted proposals or Partner

Searches through IDEALIST project services, and finally

submitted a pre-proposal for the ICT Events in Tbilisi (10-11

Sept.) and Lisbon (20-22 Oct.).

This event was an opportunity to discuss the current ICT developments in Armenia, such as: the setting up of The Virtual International Laboratory by IIAP (AM), IRIT (FR), and SzTAKI (HU); the establishment of the HPC Center of Armenia; and to explore ways of integrating with H2020 opportunities. Accordingly, a preliminary list of workshop participants, proposal ideas to be presented and Agenda was composed. The meeting Agenda included a short presentation of the EAST-HORIZON project, the H2020 programme with focus on the ICT 2016-2017 work programme, and pre-proposals, prepared by Armenian ICT experts. The Workshop consisted of one basic session with continuation of its work at CSIT 2015 sessions at 28 Sept. – 02 Oct.

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Upcoming H2020 Calls

On the 14th October, 2015 the European Commission published a new Horizon 2020 work programme for 2016-2017. This second work programme is completely new in terms of content, building on the achievements of the first Horizon 2020 work programme which was for 2014-15, and which received an overwhelmingly positive response with strong demand from the research and innovation stakeholder communities. Like in 2014-15 ICT actions supported through the work programme will allow covering the full innovation chain, from basic research to market uptake. As an enabling technology, ICT is present in many of the H2020 areas. A series of calls in Horizon 2020 with relevance to ICT are now open. To help potential proposers to find ICT-related topics across the different parts of H2020 in work programme 2016-17 a special Guide was designed by the EC.

Events in Europe and in the Region

European Nanoelectronics Forum 2015, 01 -02 December 2015,

Berlin, Germany

ENF2015 will showcase high level keynotes, the largest display of

research results in the field and include plenty of time for

networking. Under the theme Driving Digital Economy,

participants will come together to learn about the latest

innovations and industry trends, as well as to get updates on

policy developments, European strategies and collaborative

funding programmes. With more than 70 projects to be exhibited,

interactive information sessions on hot topics as well as a top

notch plenary programme, ENF2015 promises to deliver a unique

networking opportunity for all attendees and a comprehensive

snapshot of nanoelectronics R&D&I in Europe today. Read more

21st Azerbaijan International Exhibition and Conference

Telecommunications and Information Technologies, 2–5

December 2015, Baku, Azerbaijan

Bakutel 2015, the 21st Azerbaijan International Exhibition and Conference on Telecommunications and Information Technologies will take 2–5 December 2015 in Baku. Every year for over 20 years, Bakutel, the largest exhibition in the region, has been bringing together leading players of the communications market. As the main arena for presenting IT products and services, Bakutel has acquired status as the main business platform where contacts are made and new businesses are created. The support from international industry institutions such as the UN, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Regional Commonwealth in the Sphere of Communication, and accreditation from UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry attests to Bakutel’s international recognition. Around 200 companies from Azerbaijan, Russia, France, America and other countries have already confirmed they will be exhibiting at Bakutel 2015. Among exhibitors are leading ICT companies, mobile operators, communications operators, internet providers, system integrators, and distributors of well-known brands. The exhibition features national stands from a number of countries, actively supported by the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 15 national stands are expected this year, with Belarus, Hungary, Israel, Iran, Italy, UAE, Turkey, Croatia already confirmed. http://bakutel.az/2015/

http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal/desktop/en/funding/reference_docs.html#h2020-work-programmes-2016-17

http://eeca-ict.eu/images/uploads/pdf/H2020_workprogrammes_2016-2017/Guide_to_ICT-related_activities_in_WP2016-17.pdf

http://eeca-ict.eu/images/uploads/pdf/H2020_workprogrammes_2016-2017/Guide_to_ICT-related_activities_in_WP2016-17.pdf

http://www.nanoelectronicsforum.org/




http://bakutel.az/2015/

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H2020 Health European Brokerage Event Paris 2016, 13th January

2016, Paris, France

On 13th of January 2016 Health NCP Net 2.0 together with the Life Sciences cluster Medicen Paris Region and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Paris Ile-de-France, member of Enterprise Europe Network, will organize an international brokerage event on the Health, Demographic change and Wellbeing 2016-2017 calls in Paris.

Get information on the new Horizon 2020 «Health, Demographic change and Wellbeing» 2016-2017 calls.

Get the chance to present your innovative project to the participants.

Meet potential partners from Europe and beyond and start building your consortium.

Target audience: Companies, universities, research organisations and patients associations from Europe and beyond. The registration website will open soon. For More Info & Questions please contact: Sarah Van Haelst - [email protected]

ICIN 2016: 19th conference on Innovations in Clouds, Internet and

Networks, 01-03 March 2016, Paris, France

The mission of the ICIN series of conferences is to provide an international technical forum for experts from industry and academia to exchange ideas and present results on evolving communications, cloud and network services. ICIN addresses the challenges of design, deployment, delivery, and management of services over different platforms and diverse networks from both technical and business perspectives. ICIN 2016 will be organized around 4 main tracks:

Network IT-isation and 5G. Big data insights for networking. Real-time communication platforms and services. Internet of Things.

In addition, a special session (short papers) will be focused on the research agenda for 2020-2025. This special session is opened to anyone wishing to express his/her vision on the future challenges in the telecom and internet environment, and the challenges that will face our communities. Demonstrations are also welcome to present academic or R&D innovative prototypes.

Read more

http://www.healthncp.net/news-events/save-date-h2020-health-european-brokerage-january-13th-2016-paris

http://www.healthncp.net/news-events/save-date-h2020-health-european-brokerage-january-13th-2016-paris


http://www.icin.co.uk/



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Documents

Welcome! EECA Participation at ICT 2015 in Lisbon Issue 3-Final.pdfnetworking and services; receives funding from FP7 and H2020), and CLARIN-PLUS (a European Research Infrastructure