On 24 November the "Beyond borders: Strengthening EU-UK research collaboration" event took place at Cardiff University.
Organised by Academia Europaea Cardiff Knowledge Hub and CONNECTS-UK (CONNecting European Communities Through Science in UK) to discuss EU and UK research cooperation, in light of the UK’s recent association to Horizon Europe.
Attended by representatives of UK Research Office (UKRO) and the European Parliament Liaison Office in the UK, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Universities Policy Engagement Network (UPEN), Wales Centre for Public Policy (WCPP), the Learned Society of Wales and several universities.
There was a panel on Challenges and Opportunities of EU-UK Cooperation – “How do we operate effectively in the new EU-UK research landscape?” it was widely agreed that researcher mobility with Europe was an issue, but that the opportunities now open were very encouraging.
Then a showcase Transforming Europe through Research, with research conducted by EU nationals or those funded by EU programmes in Wales. Researchers at Cardiff University and Swansea University talked about their current research, plus explained how EU funding had supported their careers.
There was another panel on Policy Engagement in Action – “What is policy engagement, why does it matter and how can you be involved?” The panel discussed the importance of engaging well with politicians and how to do this. Plus considering the potential impact of advice given. While acknowledging the varied influences on political decisions.
As the event took place on 24 November, the association of Canada to Horizon Europe was announced during a panel. This news was well received, with a cheer.
Then event finished with a networking session for connecting and ideas-sharing for future collaborations.