2020 is the last year of Horizon 2020. If we look back at the past 6 years, where does public and private research in Luxembourg stand compared to the European research community in general?
Luxembourg’s participation in Horizon 2020 is a great success. While the average success rate for Horizon 2020 project proposals in Europe is 12%, the Luxembourg success rate is almost 17%. This places us 4th in Europe, just after Belgium, Austria and France.
Since the launch of Horizon 2020 in 2014, Luxembourg organisations have been granted €124.33 million in funding, twice as much as under the previous framework programme, FP7. These excellent results can be explained by the fact that the Horizon 2020 themes correspond better to the expectations of Luxembourg research and innovation stakeholders. They also indicate that the calls for project proposals are not as complicated as they may first seem.
The University of Luxembourg is the largest Horizon 2020 beneficiary in the country with €40 million of funding received for 73 projects. IT solution provider Intrasoft received €15 million with 47 participations, closely followed by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), whose 32 participations yielded €12.8 million in funding.
In total, 109 Luxembourg organisations have received funding under Horizon 2020 – and there is still one year left of the programme.
Horizon Europe is currently taking shape. What will the future of research in Europe be like? How does Luxembourg position itself regarding these future trends?
Horizon Europe is a continuation of Horizon 2020. The last year of the latter is a bridge between the two programmes.
There are still many opportunities to be seized in Horizon 2020, in particular from public-private partnerships such as EuroHPC (High Performance Computing), IMI (Innovative Medicines Initiative) and ECSEL (Electronic Components and Systems for European Leadership). We encourage the Luxembourg players to participate in the calls for projects of these partnerships, as they offer international opportunities in line with national initiatives as well as funding covering the bridge period between the two programmes.
In the context of its economic diversification policy, the Ministry of the Economy has recently adopted a data-driven innovation strategy for the development of a trusted and sustainable economy in Luxembourg. Horizon Europe plans to create groups and clusters offering concrete funding opportunities on topics with which the Luxembourg strategy is well-aligned. Luxembourg is therefore well prepared for the future trends of Horizon Europe.
How can Luxembourg players best benefit from this last year of Horizon 2020 and prepare for Horizon Europe?
Luxinnovation’s EU R&D and innovation support team is the National Contact Point for Horizon 2020. Our role is to provide information about opportunities and developments of the European framework programmes, both Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. Our objective is also to provide a clear overview and understanding of European funding. We offer several training courses throughout the year, as well as tailor-made support services based on your priorities and strategy.
do contact the EU R&D and innovation support team
My advice is: do contact the EU R&D and innovation support team. We can analyse your needs and identify the best opportunities for you under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe. Our team is composed of sector experts with specific expertise in European programmes.
We provide comprehensive support covering the whole application and project management process. We can also facilitate your contacts with relevant companies in your sector, thereby helping you find the project consortia that best fit your priorities.
Photos: Marie de Decker
