Empowering European Research: Highlights from the Cross-Alliances Forum 2023

Many inspiring speeches were delivered last week at the Science with and for Society in European Alliances: Cross-Alliances Forum 2023, which took place in Brussels. The forum showcased the progress that 32 alliances have made so far, extending a shared mission to create free movement of knowledge. Or, as Manuel Aleixo (DG RTD, Head of Unit ERA Spreading excellence & Research careers) noted during his speech to an auditorium of 260 guests, “together, we are doing our best to make Europe the most attractive place for research and to encourage individuals to become researchers”.

During the plenary sessions, all speakers unanimously agreed that now is the best time to influence policymakers – especially in securing adequate funding for the ambitious goals of these alliances. 10 organizing alliances joined their forces to initiate workshops and roundtables, bringing together professionals from various fields and all participating alliances.
Discussions mostly revolved around:

HR issues;
Advancing common science agendas;
Swafs projects contribution for the future development of the Alliances;
Inter- and trans-disciplinarity in research management.

Further emphasis was also put on curiosity-driven, responsible and transparent research, collaboration over competition, and dissemination of findings to the society. Pivotal discussions and experience exchange played a crucial role in making informed decisions for the future, in turn promoting impactful, quality-driven projects.

During an interactive poster session, Alliances highlighted their achievements, and participants shared their best practices and valuable insights regarding seven transformational modules. All posters are available online and ready to download here: Mapping Alliances’ R&I Best Practices | CHARM-EU.

Tine Delva and Stijn Delauré, members of the European Commission, attended the wrap-up as well, expressing satisfaction with the growing impact of the Alliances, which have gained invaluable knowledge through their Swafs projects. According to Minna Wilkki, Head of the Department at the European Research Executive Agency, “European Universities Alliances are on the right path to becoming the pioneers of change”.

Watch the replay of the event here: Science with and for Society in European Universities Alliances: Cross-Alliances forum 2023 – YouTube

View the photo gallery of the event here: photo gallery.