News & Events

Meet the ERC’s Proof of Concept grantees. A by-invitation event organised by the Science|Business Innovation Board.
European Research Council, Covent Garden, Place Charles Rogier 16, Brussels - 04 July 2014

How the continent's many obstacles, from widespread poverty to failed states, allowed African entrepreneurs to beat the West at reinventing money for the mobile age. 

According to an article published on The Atlantic, it's a painfully First World problem: Splitting dinner with friends, we do the dance of the seven credit cards. No one, it seems, carries cash anymore, so we blunder through the inconvenience that comes with our dependence on plastic. Just as often, I encounter a street vendor or taxi driver who can’t handle my proffered card and am left shaking out my pockets and purse.

When I returned to the United States after living in Nairobi on and off for two years, these antiquated payment ordeals were especially frustrating. As I never tire of explaining to friends, in Kenya I could pay for nearly everything with a few taps on my cellphone.

According to an article published on isgtw, the data deluge is coming. In fact, in many research disciplines it is already upon us. The era of ‘big data’ poses enormous challenges to researchers across almost all fields of endeavor, from natural scientists to humanities researchers and from citizens to policy makers. However, big data also presents a wealth of opportunities, especially in today’s global, interconnected world.

With scientific data output alone growing at a staggering 30% per year, it is vital that researchers come together to build the social and technical bridges required to enable open sharing of data. The organization charged with achieving this is the Research Data Alliance (RDA), which is supported by funding bodies from Australia, Europe, and the US. Having only recently celebrated its first anniversary, the RDA has already grown to include over 1,500 members. “The growth has been precipitous,” says Francine Berman, co-chair of the RDA Council. “Our community is expanding in both scope and numbers and our organization is evolving.”

According to an article published on Projects, the importance of international cooperation in science and technology is explicitly recognised in the European Union's Innovation Union flagship initiative and the proposals for Horizon 2020, the new EU funding programme for research and innovation.

Image courtesy of nongpimmy / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many of the EU’s international partner countries are investing more and more in research and innovation, and cooperation is now vital if research is to reach its full potential. An active and more strategic international cooperation will also contribute to achieving the EU’s wider policy objectives, outlined in the funding programme’s launch documents.

A New International Strategy

According to an article published on isgtw, in industry, and with small businesses in particular, it is now common for companies to outsource large amounts of their essential information technology tasks to third party providers. To increase efficiency, cut costs, and streamline their businesses, companies are willing to collaborate and hand over their not-so-core competencies in exchange for the infrastructure, expertise, and support of third-party providers.

Hosted by the Government of Mauritius through the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and the National Computer Board, and Supported by the European Commission (EC) and African Union Commission (AUC), IST-Africa 2014 (06 - 09 May) is the ninth in an annual series of Ministerial Level Technology Research Conferences.

According to an article published on SciDev.Net, endless discussion just impedes concrete steps to tackle Africa’s gender imbalance in science, says Bola Olabisi.
 
Whichever way the case is argued and however many figures are bandied about to support that case, I find it incomprehensible that women in any part of the world are deprived from playing a significant role in contributing to scientific and technological development.

According to an article published on IT NEWS AFRICA, almost 90% of CEOs in Africa plan to increase investment in technology in 2014 and position technology amongst the top three considerations, claim media reports covering research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

PwC’s 16^th Annual Global CEO Survey reveals that the perception of technology amongst senior executives is that it is an easy enabler of agility and growth because it helps with risk management and skills development and retention.

The latest addition to the iMENTORS database is the Connect 4 Change project.  Connect 4 Change is a consortium of five Dutch development and ICT organizations collaborating to accelerate the realization of the Millennium Development Goals through the use of ICT. The program supports ICT initiatives in the areas of education, health and agricultural and economic development, and members of the consortium have funded nearly sixty different ICT projects in Africa. The consortium works with local partners in many different countries, including Burkino Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

Image courtesy of cooldesign at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

iMENTORS version three went live today and is one step closer to mapping the majority of e-infrastructure (resources, tools and data supporting community research and development) of the past five years in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to lay a foundation for better services, encourage research and connect cross-continental progress. The aim of iMENTORS is to help scientists, universities, research and education networks as well as policy-makers and international funders to gain valuable insights on the gaps and progress made in the region and to identify synergies when planning future ICT initiatives within the African continent.

Access and make creative use of the huge amount of data available!

iMENTORS version three went live today and is one step closer to mapping the majority of e-infrastructure (resources, tools and data supporting community research and development) of the past five years in Sub-Saharan Africa in order to lay a foundation for better services, encourage research and connect cross-continental progress. The aim of iMENTORS is to help scientists, universities, research and education networks as well as policy-makers and international funders to gain valuable insights on the gaps and progress made in the region and to identify synergies when planning future ICT initiatives within the African continent.

iMENTORS has identified and recorded 58 submarine cables into and out of the African continent.  This amounts to over 450,000 km of cable, and over 150 different organizations involved in the funding and operation of the cables. 

The challenge now for Africa is to develop local fiber optic networks to connect these from high-capacity international submarine cables all the way to the home.

Image courtesy of jscreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to an article published on The Next Web, The Internet can be a difficult space for entrepreneurs to maneuver considering the many facets to it. Should I start with a mobile presence first? Do I need an app or can I just optimize my website for mobile viewing? Should I advertise via Facebook or YouTube? All these are questions that companies tend to face.

According to an article published on the UNESCO site, the pivotal importance of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), knowledge-sharing and capacity-building for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development has recently been confirmed at the Rio+20 Conference and the 2013 ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review. While the benefits of STI for development have received global recognition, access to these benefits remains unequally distributed within and among countries.

According to an article published on Science Wolrd Report, scientists trying to decypher the fundamental laws and building blocks that constitute our universe at CERN in Switzerland had to go big in terms of giant devices and hyper-charged technology required to achieve their ambitious goals. They succeeded. 50 years onwards, some of the largest and most sophisticated machines ever built by man yielded experimental prove to the complex theories devised by physicists, things like antimatter and most recently the Higgs-Boson, and accompanying scientific awards -- like Nobel Prizes.

According to an article published on the African Development Bank(AfDB) website, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group chaired by Emmanuel Mbi, First Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer,on Wednesday July 24, 2013 in Tunis, approved five projects covering the following:

According to an article published on the African Development Bank(AfDB) website, the AfDB's Board of Executive Directors approved on Wednesday, July 24 an African Development Fund (ADF) grant of US$ 45 million to support the creation of a Pan African University (PAU). The new university consisting of fivePan African Institutes will focus mainly on science, technology and innovation.

The Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association offers a forum to collaborate, innovate and share knowledge in order to foster the development of Internet technology, infrastructure and services to be used by the research and education community.

Click here to view the TERENA Annual Report 2012

The first issue of the e-IRG Newsletter of 2013 has been published. The latest e-IRG Newsletter keeps you up to date of the ongoing activities and plans of the e-Infrastructure Reflection Group and other initiatives.