UNICA President insights from the Science|Business Widening Public Conference
04 October 2024 | From UNICA - Funding
Story highlights:
– President of UNICA advocates for a collaborative, integrative approach to science that transcends borders, mentalities, and divisions at the closing of the Science|Business Widening Public Conference
On October 1st, 2024, UNICA attended the Science|Business Widening Public Conference in Skopje, North Macedonia. The event, hosted in collaboration with Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM), ELI ERIC, and the EIT Community RIS Hub, aimed to explore Southeast Europe’s role in maintaining and and connecting Europe’s research and innovation infrastructures.
The conference, titled “The Role of Southeast Europe: How to Maintain, Build, and Interconnect Research and Innovation Infrastructures in Europe?”, drew participants from national and European research infrastructures, policy-making bodies, and international organizations. The discussions centered on how Southeast Europe can strengthen the European Research Area by fostering strategic partnerships, creating better access to resources, and addressing disparities in research policies across the region. A crucial theme was tackling the region’s ‘brain drain,’ emphasizing the need to make Southeast Europe a more attractive destination for researchers through improved facilities, funding, and collaboration opportunities.
The President of UNICA, Prof. Sorin Costreie, contributed with a speech during the closing session, leaving the audience with a philosophical conclusion about the future of research in Europe.
Prof. Costreie started by stressing that ideas are the driving force behind scientific progress. “Everything follows ideas (…) What may seem impossible today could be tomorrow’s breakthrough”, evidencing that the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) became a reality after starting as a bold idea. He urged the audience to dare to think beyond conventional limits and recognize the importance of failure as part of the learning process in science.
He then introduced the metaphor of a “foggy bridge,” symbolizing the often unclear and challenging path that connects different parts of Europe—both in terms of geography and mindset —when it comes to research and innovation. “From one side of the bridge, you can’t see the other,” he noted. “If you’re coming from the West and looking toward this region, you might ask yourself, ‘Why go there to do science? They don’t have the labs, they don’t have the infrastructure.’ But they do have ideas, and people.” He also emphasized that the ‘brain drain’ is not just a regional problem, but a pan-European one. “This isn’t a challenge for the Balkans alone; it’s a challenge for all of Europe.“
In his closing thoughts, Prof. Costreie also urged the audience to embrace Europe’s diversity as a source of strength rather than division. Drawing on the motto “Unity in diversity,” he praised the Southeast Europe’s potential to spark innovation through creative tensions. “We need to value ideas and collaboration, as science is a profoundly collaborative enterprise,” he concluded.
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