CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

EARTO's 2013 Annual Conference takes place within just a few weeks of Community Europe extending its frontiers south-eastwards to embrace Croatia, with other south-eastern European countries wishing also to join the Union in the years ahead.

2013 is also the year when the current EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development reaches the end of its seven year term, to be followed by a new research and innovation programme, Horizon 2020.

These major changes mark the conference programme, which will have a triple focus.
•    Horizon 2020: How it will differ from FP7 in its objectives, its instruments, and its operational practice.
•    Structural Funds: How EU Structural Funds can be effectively deployed to support research and innovation, not only but also in Croatia and south-eastern Europe, as well as in complement to Horizon 2020 funds
•    Meeting Place: A forum where research organisations from south-eastern Europe and EU countries can meet and begin building mutually beneficial relationships. To facilitate this, south-eastern European research organisations will have an opportunity to make a short presentation at various points in the conference programme and to have a stand at the conference venue.



09:00 - 10:00 Registration and Coffee
10:00 - 10:15 Opening of the Conference:
President of EARTO – Jan Mengelers
Director General of the Brodarski institut – Vladimir Koroman
Director of the Rudjer Boskovic Institute – Tome Antičić
10:15 – 10:25 Welcome Address by the Minister for Science, Education and Sport of the Republic of Croatia – Željko Jovanović
10:25 - 10:35 Welcome Address by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia – Branko Grčić
10:35 - 10:40 Welcome Address by European Commissioner for Regional Policy – Johannes Hahn (video address)
10:40 – 11:05 The New Structural Funds: Smart Specialization Strategies for Innovation, Jobs and Growth – Pierre Godin, Policy Analyst, DG Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission
11:05 - 11:30 Twinning and Teaming: An H2020 Measure to Support Strategic Partnerships with Research Organizations in Less Research-Intensive Regions – Octavi Quintana Trias, Director, European Research Area, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
11:30 – 12:00 Coffee Break (Press Conference in parallel)
12:00 – 12:25 Progress in the Development of a Regional Strategy on Research and Innovation in the Western Balkans – Paulo Correa, Lead Economist, World Bank
12:25 - 12:50 The Croatian Research and Innovation System – Hrvoje Meštrić, Executive Director, Business Innovation Agency of Croatia
12:50 - 13:15 Completing the European Research Area – Octavi Quintana Trias, Director, European Research Area, DG Research & Innovation, European Commission
13:15 – 14:30 Lunch



Structural Funds for Research and Innovation
14:30 – 14:55 Croatian Competitiveness Clusters: Platform for Smart Specialisation and Growth of Priority Sectors – Damir Novinić, Managing Director, Agency for Investments and Competitiveness, Croatia
14:55 – 15:20 A Programmed Approach to the Use of Structural Funds for Research and Innovation - Nena Dokuzov, Deputy Director General for the EU Cohesion Policy Directorate - Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Slovenia
15:20 – 15:45 TRES: An EU Project of Eight Regions Developing Their Smart Specialisation Strategies – Begoña Sánchez, Innovation Systems and Policies Manager, Tecnalia Research and Innovation
15:45 – 15:55 Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
15:55 – 16:05 Brodarski institut, Zagreb, Croatia
16:05 – 16:30 Coffee Break
16:30 – 16:50 From Knowledge to Innovation: Croatian BioCentre – Gordan Leskovar, Project Manager, Business Innovation Agency of Croatia
16:50 – 17:10 Copernicus Science Centre – Ewa Nurowska, Deputy Head of Science Communication and Education, Copernicus Science Centre, Poland
17:10 – 17:20 DOK- Ing Ltd., Croatia
17:20 – 17:30 Končar Electrical Engineering Institute Inc., Croatia
17:30 – 19:15 EARTO Executive Board Meeting (EARTO Board members only)
20:00 Conference Dinner (Bus leaving Hotel Rixos at 19:45)


08:30 – 09:30 EARTO Annual General Meeting (EARTO members only)
09:45 – 10:10 Responsible Partnering in a World of Open Innovation – Leopold Demiddeleer, President, EIRMA - European Industrial Research Management Association
10:10 – 10:30 Open Access to Publication and Data: an RTO Perspective – Erwin Folmer, Senior Scientist, TNO and Research Associate, University of Enschede
10:30 – 10:50 Update on the Revised State Aid Framework for Research, Development and Innovation – Lorenz Kaiser, Division Director for Legal and Contractual Affairs, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
10:50 – 11:15 Coffee Break



Horizon 2020: A Closer Look
11:15 – 11:40 The New Dedicated SME Instrument – Katharina Krell, Managing Director of Greenovate! Europe and Expert to DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
11:40 – 12:05 The Horizon 2020 Rules for Participation – Kathrin Werner, Co-Chair of DESCA1
12:05 – 12:35 Getting Ready for Horizon 2020 – Sean McCarthy , Managing Director, Hyperion Ltd
12:35 – 13:00 EARTO and RTOs: Yesterday – Today – and Tomorrow? – Christopher John Hull, Secretary General, EARTO
13:00 - 13:15 Close of the Conference by the President of EARTO and Hosts
13:15 Lunch



1 DESCA (Development of a Simplified Consortium Agreement) is a comprehensive Model Consortium Agreement which offers a reliable frame of reference for project consortia - more information www.desca-fp7.eu



Click HERE to download the detailed conference programme.