Arise, European entrepreneurs

This month's international research roundup focuses on policies designed to foster entrepreneurialism in European research.

Ján Figel, the European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism called for stronger support for entrepreneurial mindsets through training and education. He cites figures showing that 60% of EU citizens had never considered starting a business and that 50% were overly averse to taking business risks.

Meanwhile the European Science Foundation has announced an new initiative to foster "a more coordinated approach to R&D investment", according to its Director, Wouter Spek. EuroBioFund will have an annual conference, this year in Helsinki December 14-15th, and separate divisions to take care of networking and brokerage, the organization of grass roots research communities, and joint investment and funding tasks.

EuroBioFund's launch has been timed to coincide with the inauguration of the EU's new Framework Program 7, due January 1st 2007. Organizers hope the initiative will re-dress fragmentation in the funding of life science research in Europe.

France declared a success of its public-private innovation and technology clusters, the 'poles de compétitivité', in a press release made on September 4th. The purpose of the Poles is to raise the international profile of French technology and promote regional growth and job creation in high value-added industries.

A total of 67 clusters, 6 of which were deemed internationally competitive, have been selected to share €1.5 over 3 years. The French government claimed that small to medium sized enterprises (SME's) account for 40% of the business beneficiaries. The money is split between corporate tax exemptions, lower social security charges and direct funding. Funding will cover up to 35% of R&D costs incurred by business partners.

Finally, the European Commission's (EC) plans to establish a European Institute of Technology met opposition from Euroscience, a grass-roots research advocacy organization with 2100 members across 40 European countries. Euroscience argue that the EC's proposal would not achieve its goals of promoting innovation and would ignore existing structural problems with academic research and education in Europe.

Euroscience cite large student numbers, dispersed research capabilities and "a serious lack of differentiation" among the woes of the existing research and education system in Europe. They call for centers of excellence and a more "bottom-up" research policy and believe the EC should instead establish a European agency that would stimulate innovative companies, provide training and foster technology transfer.