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Universities hold key for translating benefits of open science into delivery on grand challenges

Press release. Brussels, 1 October 2014

Having opened its Brussels office two years ago, the EuroTech Universities Alliance is pleased to announce its first formal contribution to a major EU Public Consultation. It is especially timely that this contribution should be in response to the Consultation on Science 2.0. As leading European universities of science and technology, the EuroTech Universities and the Alliance as a whole are experiencing many of the key trends highlighted in the Consultation and are committed to further strengthen their engagement with Science 2.0 related developments.

The EuroTech Universities’ contribution addresses the issues highlighted in the Commission’s Background Document and looks more widely at the challenges and opportunities presented by Science 2.0. The EuroTech Universities recognize that Science 2.0 is primarily a “bottom-up” phenomenon, both driven by and impacting upon the work of individual researchers and research teams. Therefore, the Alliance is conscious of the role and responsibilities carried by universities, especially universities of science and technology, in helping to ensure that EU policies and actions in relation to Science 2.0 are informed and supported by practical experience and existing knowhow. With that aim in mind, the Alliance’s contribution to the Consultation also includes some concrete suggestions to support the Commission’s possible future activities in this domain, notably in relation to infrastructure, data privacy and security platforms, progress in data science and pilots for a cross-border “Science Dropbox” and for the integration of Science 2.0 in education and training.

Professor Henrik Wegener, Provost of the Technical University of Denmark and current Chair of the Alliance’s Governing Board states: “The EuroTech Universities have created their strategic partnership with the mission of achieving a step change in their capacity to deliver solutions addressing real world problems. There is no doubt that the trends highlighted in the Consultation on Science 2.0 are of rapidly increasing importance to the fulfillment of this societal mission. Thus, seizing the opportunities and addressing the challenges of Science 2.0 is of central interest to the individual EuroTech Universities as well as to the Alliance as a whole. We hope that our comments on Science 2.0 related policies and our concrete offers of supporting actions prove to be of interest to the Commission and to other research stakeholders.”

Contact:
Andrew Sors, Senior Advisor to EuroTech Universities Alliance
[email protected]

or

Emily Palmer, Head of EuroTech Universities Brussels Office
[email protected]

Tel. +32 2 274 0532