Information Day Horizon 2020 was held for researchers from CRUCH universities

The activity focused on delivering information about the European Union initiative, which envisions an investment of nearly 80 billion euros worldwide over the next 7 years.

An information session on the current guidelines of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework program was held at the University of Santiago. The session was convened by the Council of Rectors in conjunction with CONICYT and the French regional cooperation delegation for the Southern Cone and Brazil of the French Embassy.

The importance of international collaboration in the development of science, the humanities, technology and innovation is of the highest priority and relevance among the universities of the Council of Rectors.

From this perspective, the objective of the conference was to provide researchers with practical information so they could gain a more direct understanding of how the Horizon 2020 program operates and learn about the scope of this new framework program for research, which represents an investment of nearly €80 billion worldwide over the next seven years. With this initiative, Horizon 2020 hopes to strengthen Europe's role and contribute to fostering stronger international ties for the development of cutting-edge research, industrial leadership, and addressing societal challenges.

The first part of the event took place in the Hall of Honor at the University of Santiago and was attended by the university's rector, Juan Manuel Zolezzi, who opened the proceedings with a welcome address. Also present and speaking were the Ambassador of France, Marc Giacomini, and the Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Chile, Rafael Dochao.

The director of CONICYT's international cooperation program, Gonzalo Arenas, provided a brief overview of the institution's role in supporting Chilean researchers in accessing this new framework program. He also reported that CONICYT has an office specifically dedicated to this purpose, operating through its National Contact Points (NCPs).

The meeting included the participation of three international experts. Piero Venturi, head of the Science, Technology and Innovation Section of the European Union Delegation in Brazil, focused his presentation on providing a global overview of the program and its specific areas such as sciences of excellence, social challenges and industrial leadership.

For his part, Guy Henry, from the French Center for Agricultural Research for International Development (CIRAD), gave his vision on why and how to apply to the H2020 program.

The third guest, Sebastien Carretier, representative in Chile of the French Research Institute for Development (IRD) and expert in Earth Sciences, explained the great research opportunities that exist due to the conditions in our country.

For her part, the coordinator of Conicyt, Trinidad García, referred to the successful Chilean experience in PM7, where 537 Chileans applied, of whom 119 obtained funding, in areas such as Bioeconomy, Environment and ICTs.

The account of a specific application as a participant in the framework program was given by Héctor Torres of the Metropolitan Technological University who – as an NCP of CONICYT – provided detailed information about his experience.

After sharing a convivial lunch, the researchers attending the conference formed three working groups to explore operational aspects of international partnerships, project design, and submission. Each group addressed three topics: How to find partners? How to develop a project proposal? And how does the Horizon 2020 website work? All three groups received support from international experts and CONICYT.

The participants expressed their interest in this type of activity and hope to be able to replicate it in regional contexts with the support of CONICYT and CRUCH.