Švédské předsednictví v Radě EU: Výzkumníci volají po lepším zacílení

More focus. That is how the vision for research and innovation presented to the Swedish EU Presidency at a conference in Lund can be summarised. 400 prominent researchers, politicians and others want to see less territorial thinking in the research community and more both cross-faculty and cross-border cooperation. The ‘Lund Declaration’ now calls on the EU and academia to more clearly identify the major challenges facing the world, areas where there is an urgent need for more research.

“The proposals in the declaration are well in line with the Swedish Presidency’s priorities. Our focus is on strengthening the so-called knowledge triangle – cooperation between education, research and innovation – and to make the European research area more effective and transparent,” says Sweden's Minister for Higher Education and Research Tobias Krantz, who received the document in the Lund University Hall on Wednesday.

The ‘Lund Declaration’ is the end result of the research conference that took place this week. Over the past two days, the delegates at the conference ‘New Worlds – New Solutions’ have outlined Europe’s future research requirements and the direction in which the EU’s research policy should develop until 2025. Some of the most important issues the EU will have to address in the future are Europe’s aging population, the climate threat and the limited access to energy and water. It will therefore be important, the researchers suggest, to break up boundaries between different research areas, for example between environment and social research. The researchers also stated that the EU institutions now play a crucial part in pushing for more European cooperation, in collaboration with private and public actors.

“I am very grateful for all the efforts made in Lund. The conference and the declaration mark the start of the work we will conduct over the next six months”, says Tobias Krantz.

Discussed social changes

Another participant at the conference was Susanne Ivarsson, Professor of Gerontology at Lund University. On Wednesday, she participated in discussions with fellow researchers from all over the world on how profound social changes affect science. But more concrete issues were also addressed.

“We have discussed the balance between administrative requirements when receiving finance from Brussels versus focus on the actual research findings – in other words attempting to make the financing system as efficient as possible”, she says.
Closer cooperation

Susanne Ivarsson sees the ‘Lund Declaration’ as a continuation of the ongoing process to form closer ties between European researchers. Mobility must improve and research findings must not stay within a country’s borders. This type of knowledge exchange is something that Susanna Ivarsson has personal experience of, after having studied comparative living conditions of elderly people in Sweden and Latvia.

“I hope that the Lund declaration will, in time, lead to a globally competitive research policy in Europe”, she says.

The declaration is also a step forward in the preparations ahead of the EU’s next multiannual research programme. The Swedish EU Presidency hosted the conference ‘New Worlds – New Solutions’ in Lund. More news, as well as Wednesday's declaration in full, can be accessed via the links on the right.