What is KTH's strategy for successful participation in Horizon Europe?
During the summer, the work programmes of the new Framework Programme for Research and Innovation in EU 2021-2027, Horizon Europe, were finally released. Also in late June, KTH President Sigbritt Karlsson decided on the KTH strategy for a successful participation with set goals and efforts that will strengthen KTH's ambitions within the programme.
How is this strategy relevant to KTH researchers and employees?
- In short, it is about promoting our researchers' ability, willingness and conditions to apply for and successfully coordinate EU projects, says Annika Stensson Trigell, Vice President for Research. We will build on established collaborations and networks for long-term influence in various ways. We will also learn and share gained experiences to strengthen the competence of both researchers and support staff in the university administration.
- In June, we also officially launched our representation in Brussels, in a joint venture within the Stockholm trio with KI and SU. It will enable us in creating contacts and enhance our presence, e.g. in expert groups and as evaluators of different programs. In Horizon 2020 (the R&I programme 2014-2020), KTH participated in 328 projects with a grant value of EUR 168 million. It was mainly projects in the field of "Scientific excellence" – with a large number of grants from the ERC and MSCA.
The strategy outlines a set of goals that will indicate a successful participation in Horizon: an increase in the number of projects, an increase in total funding granted, an increased number of coordinated collaboration projects, an increased influx of MSCA postdocs, an increased number of ERC projects and KTH: s participation and visibility in the work with Missions and/or other Strategic Programmes such as EIT-KIC.
What will it take to achieve these objectives?
- At KTH, a number of departments, units and functions are involved in the support and management of our participation in Horizon Europe. The Research Support Office (RSO) and I are responsible for coordinating, monitoring and communicating the work within the framework of the strategy.
- A dedicated newsletter, the EU Funding Newsletter, is distributed monthly with the latest calls for proposals, funding news, tutorial workshops and more. A team of administrative project managers have been recruited by RSO to assist the KTH coordinators of major EU projects. Hands-on workshops on proposal writing, ERC grants and MSCA programme are provided on a regular basis. KTH's research platforms offers some support and networking events to create strong applications.
During the fall, various activities are underway, such as an online Horizon Europe seminar series with many opportunities to learn more in seminars and in Q&A sessions. A digital folder that will give an overview of the basics of the new programmes. Other communication measures will highlight KTH's EU projects and generate interest both externally for KTH as a partner and internally to raise awareness of issues such as How to build strong consortia or How to handle Impact in EU applications.
Do you want to learn more? The KTH strategy for a successful participation in Horizon Europe is available in Swedish and an English version will be published soon. Subscribe to the EU Funding Newsletter where you will also learn about all RSO workshops and seminars.