Podcasts about resilience facility

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless TD has today announced the final 10 research teams to receive Grow Phase funding under the National Challenge Fund - a €65 million competitive programme which aims to deliver solutions for major environmental and societal issues. Minister James Lawless said: "I am delighted to announce the final 10 research teams to become finalists as part of the National Challenge Fund - a competition-based funding programme. These teams are working on innovative, solution-focused projects that will have a real and positive impact across society, the economy, and the environment. They are exemplars of the positive impact research and innovation funding can deliver. I look forward to seeing these research teams progress their projects over the next year as they continue to support Ireland's digital transformation and green transition." €6 million funding for National Challenge Fund The National Challenge Fund, a programme funded by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, has supported 96 teams to identify problems related to Ireland's Green Transition and Digital Transformation and collaborate directly with those stakeholders most affected by them to create real and tangible solutions. Today's announcement sees 10 teams become finalists in this competitive funding model. The teams selected today will have the opportunity for additional funding in the final phase of the programme, where prize funding of €2 million will be on offer to the most competitive teams under each Challenge. Celine Fitzgerald, Interim CEO, Research Ireland, said: "This announcement marks a key milestone for the National Challenge Fund as the final 10 research teams receive Grow Phase funding becoming finalists in this fast-passed funding programme. I wish all the finalist teams success as they continue to work towards delivering their ambitious solutions to key national challenges." EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, said: "I am delighted to see such innovative examples of the potential that EU funding can bring as the last cohort of National Challenge Fund teams progress to the finalist stage of this funding programme. These teams' work will help address some of the most pressing challenges for society and help ensure a just transition for all as Ireland and the European Union continue our journey to a carbon neutral future. I look forward to following their progress in the next phase of funding." The teams receiving funding today are split across two challenge areas. The Sustainable Communities Challenge seeks solutions to ensure a sustainable future for Ireland's urban and rural populations. The finalists in this challenge are researching solutions for key challenges in the areas of transportation infrastructure maintenance, waste polyester recycling, sustainable construction methods, mitigating bridge failure risk, and empowering communities to adopt more sustainable modes of transport. The Future Food Systems Challenge seeks solutions for sustainable, productive and resilient food systems. The teams in this challenge are researching solutions for key challenges in the areas of sustainable alternative protein sources, disease management in aquaculture, recycling critical raw materials for agrifood systems, mitigating crop losses due to fungal disease, and decision-support systems for food production in greenhouses. Each team is being awarded up to €500,000 funding for the next 12 months. They will spend the next year advancing prototyping activities and demonstrating how the solutions they are developing can create tangible value by addressing the specific societal needs identified and refined in the previous phases of the funding programme. The National Challenge Fund is a €65M research fund established under the Government of Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed by the Governmen...

Griechenlands Premierminister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stellt in dieser Folge seinen Vorschlag für einen europäischen Verteidigungsfonds vor. Er schlägt ein Modell mit 100 Milliarden Euro nach dem Vorbild des europäischen Fonds vor, der während der Corona-Pandemie geschaffen wurde – die „Recovery and Resilience Facility“. Mit gemeinsamen europäischen Krediten könnten nationale Verteidigungsbudgets ergänzt werden.Im Gespräch mit Michael Bröcker betonte Mitsotakis auch die Bedeutung von Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und weniger Bürokratie in Europa. Die Reduktion von Regulierungen sowie Investitionen in Stromnetze und Energiemärkte seien essenziell, um wirtschaftlich gegenüber den USA und China bestehen zu können.Er beschreibt Griechenlands wirtschaftliche Erfolge:„Wir haben die Steuern gesenkt, ohne unsere Haushaltslage zu gefährden. Wir haben dereguliert, den Staat digitalisiert, und das hat zu einem Wachstum geführt, das deutlich über dem Durchschnitt der Eurozone liegt, während wir gleichzeitig in der Lage waren, die Primärüberschüsse zu reduzieren und unsere Schulden abzubauen.“Table.Briefings - For better informed decisions. Sie entscheiden besser, weil Sie besser informiert sind – das ist das Ziel von Table.Briefings. Wir verschaffen Ihnen mit jedem Professional Briefing, mit jeder Analyse und mit jedem Hintergrundstück einen Informationsvorsprung, am besten sogar einen Wettbewerbsvorteil. Table.Briefings bietet „Deep Journalism“, wir verbinden den Qualitätsanspruch von Leitmedien mit der Tiefenschärfe von Fachinformationen. Professional Briefings kostenlos kennenlernen: table.media/registrierung.Audio-Werbung Table.Today: jan.puhlmann@table.media Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The National Challenge Fund is a €65M research fund established under the Government of Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), developed by the Government so that Ireland can access funding under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O'Donovan TD, has announced the first 9 teams to receive Grow Phase funding under the €65 million National Challenge Fund - a competitive programme aiming to deliver solutions for major environmental and societal issues. Funded by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Fund calls on researchers to identify problems related to Ireland's Green Transition and Digital Transformation and work directly with those most affected to solve them. Minister O'Donovan said "I am pleased to announce the first cohort of the National Challenge Fund project teams that are now finalists in this competition-based funding programme. This innovative, solutions-focused programme is a key driver in delivering research and innovation that makes a real and positive impact across society, the economy, and the environment - not just here in Ireland, but across Europe and around the world." "I look forward to following the progress these teams of leading researchers make over the next 12 months as they continue to progress their projects that will unlock the transformational potential of digital technologies and support Ireland's commitment to becoming climate neutral. I am working to ensure continuity on funding calls previously run by SFI and IRC over the coming months, as Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland commences its operations." Since its launch, 96 teams have been funded through the National Challenge Fund, and today's announcement sees the first nine teams become finalists in this competitive funding model. The nine teams selected today will have the opportunity for additional funding in the final phase of the programme, where prize funding of €1 million will be on offer to the most competitive teams under both the 2050 and the Future Digital Challenges. Dr Ciarán Seoighe, Acting Director General, SFI, said: "The National Challenge Fund is a fast-paced funding programme that supports research teams to work directly with the key stakeholders most impacted by their research. I am excited to see these nine teams continue to develop their real-world, tangible solutions in concert with the societal impact champions who have helped shape their research focus." EU Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, Mairead McGuinness, said: "I am delighted to see the progress of the National Challenge Fund teams over the last 18 months. They're showing what benefits EU funding can bring. The teams are working directly with those most impacted by the climate and digital transitions, to come up with the innovative solutions that we need for a more sustainable future - which will help both Ireland and the European Union as a whole. I wish these teams every success as they progress to the next phase of funding." The teams receiving funding today are split across two challenge areas. The 2050 Challenge seeks transformative, forward-looking solutions to current and future challenges for Ireland in becoming climate neutral and resilient by 2050. The finalists in this challenge are researching solutions for key challenges in the areas of nature restoration and renewable energy generation, improving electric vehicle technology, enabling safe, energy-dense hydrogen storage, and developing more sustainable approaches to green hydrogen production. The Future Digital Challenge seeks to realise transformational societal and economic impact from disruptive digital technologies. The finalists in this challenge are focusing on sustainable peatland management, developing AI-powered bioprinting with industrial reproducibility and scalability, creating an easily deployable collaborative robotic s...

Working with HEAnet, Ireland's national education and research network, Enet is now connecting 361 post-primary schools, nearly half of all post primary schools in Ireland, and 301 primary schools. Ranging from a minimum of 200 Mbit/s up to 1 Gbit/s, these connections are divided between fibre (419) and wireless (245) technology. The connections are allowing even more students and their teachers in all four corners of the country to utilise valuable and engaging online educational resources. They also facilitate the quick upload and download of material, instant connection to the internet, and the increased and varied use of online applications, whiteboards and iPads in the classroom, offering the opportunity to transform the educational landscape and establish Irish schools as world class centres of e-learning. The location of the schools across Ireland are as follows: Munster: Cork: 95 schools Tipperary: 49 schools Kerry: 30 schools Waterford: 30 schools Limerick: 29 schools Clare: 9 schools Leinster: Dublin: 47 schools Wexford: 26 schools Offaly: 22 schools Wicklow: 21 schools Louth: 20 schools Kilkenny: 17 schools Meath: 15 schools Longford: 13 schools Carlow: 13 schools Kildare: 11 schools Westmeath: 10 schools Laois: 7 schools Connacht: Mayo: 52 schools Galway: 38 schools Sligo: 12 schools Roscommon: 9 schools Leitrim: 8 schools Ulster: Donegal: 47 schools Monaghan: 34 schools Cavan: 27 schools Peter McCarthy, Group CEO of Speed Fibre Group, the home of Enet, said: "Enet is delighted to work with HEAnet to deliver high speed connectivity to 650+ schools across Ireland, some of which are in quite remote locations. These connections are vastly improving the overall learning experience for students, as well as their teachers, to ensure they have access to the vast array of educational resources available online. We're very proud that our service is helping to equip a whole new generation of students with the skills they need for an Ireland that is fast becoming technology and digital driven." Dónal Ó Cearbhaill, Schools Network Director at HEAnet, said: "At HEAnet, our vision is to enable Ireland's digital ambition. Our collaboration with Enet marks a significant achievement in delivering high-speed internet connections to over 650 schools in Ireland. This milestone not only reflects our commitment to providing shared service ICT solutions but also emphasises the crucial role technology plays in shaping the future of education. By bridging the digital divide and connecting schools nationwide, HEAnet continues to contribute to a more equitable and digitally enriched learning environment, empowering both students and educators to thrive in the digital era." The Department of Education secured funding under Ireland's National Recovery and Resilience Plan supported by the NextGenerationEU Recovery and Resilience Facility for a Broadband Enhancement Project for Primary schools through the Department's Schools Broadband Programme. Enet, which is part of the Speed Fibre Group, operates the largest alternative wholesale telecoms network in Ireland, which comprises of over 5,600 Km of fibre infrastructure, including the Irish State's Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), proprietary metro networks, a unique dark fibre backhaul infrastructure, as well as one of the largest licensed wireless networks in the country. Taken together, Enet's infrastructure creates a fully integrated nationwide telecommunications network that is truly open access in nature, enabling retail service providers and network operators to deliver world class data connectivity services to their customers throughout Ireland and enabling them to connect internationally. Enet also offers carriers a wide and innovative range of world-class fibre and wireless wholesale products and services, ranging from Managed Connectivity, Infrastructure Access, Direct Internet Access and white label broadband. About Speed Fibre Group: Speed Fibre Group, the home of telecommunicati...

The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which was first agreed amid the COVID-19 crisis, serves as temporary instrument designed to swiftly and substantially support the economic recovery of Member States. Financed through the issuance of bonds, the RRF offers an innovative approach to EU funding, disbursing funds based on the progress in achieving reforms and investments. In his address to the IIEA, Tony Murphy, President of the European Court of Auditors, provides insights into the RRF's implementation progress, which encompasses grants and loans with a maximum total value of €723 billion. He addresses the associated challenges and risks from an auditor's perspective as we approach the instrument's midway point. About the Speaker: A native of Cabra, Tony Murphy currently serves as Irish Member and President of the European Court Auditors (ECA), the EU's independent external auditor based in Luxembourg. He has served as Irish Member since March 2018 and was elected to lead the Institution in October 2022 for a three-year term. With over 40 years of experience in public sector auditing, Mr Murphy began his career with the Office of Comptroller Auditor General (OCAG) in Dublin in the late 1970s. After two decades with OCAG, he took up a role with the European Commission in Luxembourg. In 2013, he joined the ECA where he served as Head of the Private Office of an ECA Member and as Director prior to his nomination as Member by the Irish Government.

Tibor Tóth and Péter Banai, state secretaries of the Hungarian ministry of finance, joined Christopher Garnett, senior adviser to OMFIF's Sovereign Debt Institute, for a conversation on the economic outlook in Hungary. They cover labour market reform, increasing and diversifying foreign direct investment inflows and export diversification and fiscal consolidation following the pandemic. They also discuss developments in the disbursement of European Union structural and Recovery and Resilience Facility funds.

Democracy in Question? is brought to you by:• Central European University: CEU• The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: AHCD• The Podcast Company: Novel Follow us on social media!• Central European University: @CEU• Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: @AHDCentreSubscribe to the show. If you enjoyed what you listened to, you can support us by leaving a review and sharing our podcast in your networks!  DiQ S6 EP9Daniela Schwarzer on Europe's Strategic Conundrums (Part 1)GlossaryWhat is the Visegrád Group?(20:22 or p.5 in the transcript)The Visegrád Group, Visegrád Four, or V4, is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries – the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, that are members of the European Union (EU) and NATO – for the purposes of advancing military, cultural, economic and energy cooperation with one another along with furthering their integration in the EU. The Group traces its origins to the summit meetings of leaders from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland held in the Hungarian castle-town of Visegrád on 15 February 1991. Visegrád was chosen as the location for the 1991 meeting as an intentional allusion to the medieval Congress of Visegrád in 1335 between John I of Bohemia, Charles I of Hungary and Casimir III of Poland. After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic and Slovakia became independent members of the group, thus increasing the number of members from three to four. All four members of the Visegrád Group joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. sourceWhat is the NextGenerationEU?(25:44 or p.6 in the transcript)NextGenerationEU is the EU's €800 billion temporary recovery instrument to support the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and build a greener, more digital and more resilient future. The centrepiece of NextGenerationEU is the Recovery and Resilience Facility- an instrument that offers grants and loans to support reforms and investments in the EU Member States for a total of €723.8 billion in current prices. Part of the funds – up to €338 billion – are being provided to Member States in the form of grants. Another part – up to €385.8 billion– funds loans to individual Member States. These loans will be repaid by those Member States. Should Member States not request the full envelope of loans available under the facility, the remaining amount of loans will be used to finance REPowerEU, a programme to accelerate the EU's green transition and reduce its reliance on Russian gas. Funds under the Recovery and Resilience funds are being provided to Member States in line with their national Recovery and Resilience plans – the roadmaps to reforms and investments aimed to make EU economies greener, digital and more resilient. Part of the NextGenerationEU funds are being used to reinforce several existing EU programmes. source

IDA Ireland, in partnership with Microsoft and LinkedIn, has today published its latest Labour Market Pulse, which provides an overview of the current insights and trends across the Irish labour market to help inform decision makers across business, academia and public policy. Green Talent required to meet Irish climate targets This edition of the Labour Market Pulse takes a closer look at the skills needed to support the transition to the green economy. This is particularly relevant off the back of the recent COP27 conference, where attendees called for more ambitious climate targets and stronger commitments to tackling climate change. This Labour Market Pulse shows the rising importance of green skills among today's workforces. The latest data from LinkedIn, based on analysis of the skills added by the platform's 875+ million members globally over the past seven years, reveals that the share of green talent on LinkedIn has risen from 9.6% to 13.3% between 2015 and 2021. Ireland mirrors global and European talent trends, with 13% of LinkedIn members in Ireland considered ‘green talent' in 2021. This includes LinkedIn members that work in green jobs, requiring skills that enable the environmental sustainability of economic activity, and those that have these skills listed on their profile. The increase of green talent on LinkedIn has been driven partially by new sustainability-focused jobs but predominantly by jobs in other sectors with sustainable elements, such as compliance managers or data scientists. The most popular green skills groups added on LinkedIn in Ireland last year were Sustainability, Environmental Awareness, Renewable Energy, Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) and Environmental Science. Green work In 2021, approximately 10% of LinkedIn Ireland members hired were in green jobs or jobs that benefited from green skills. Hiring for green jobs almost doubled from 2016 figures. Green jobs have particularly grown since 2019, coinciding with the implementation of climate targets and policies such as the Climate Action Plan. The continuation of this growth since 2020 has been encouraged by the focus on sustainability as a critical component to economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. This focus has been implemented at all levels, for example through the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility's requirement for Member States to focus plans on sustainability and digitisation. It is estimated that the Irish economy will need to fill over 20,000 jobs by 2030 just to support leading green economy sectors. Although new entrants to the labour market will fill some of these gaps, investment in lifelong learning, training and upskilling initiatives will be key to ensure future demand for green skills is met. Employment Meanwhile, the report also looks at employment rates in Ireland and highlights a decline in the hiring rate from post-pandemic highs. However, this 2022 figure is still above hiring rates in both October 2019 (+6.3%) and 2020 (+6.75%). Amid several economic headwinds, uncertainty dampened consumer spending in Ireland during the first quarter of the year. However, the labour market continued to perform strongly throughout 2022, with CSO data showing that the total number of people employed in Ireland reached record levels of 2.55 million people in Q2 of 2022 and maintained them in Q3. Overall Ireland is approaching current economic challenges from a position of high employment, strong economic growth and robust public finances. IDA Ireland has seen a strong flow of foreign direct investment with several major announcements across sectors and regions and IDA's recently announced annual results showed further growth in investment and employments in the multinational sector in 2022. Foreign direct investment is also growing rapidly in the green economy. The renewable energy sector was the biggest recipient of FDI globally in both 2020 and 2021, taking over from Coal, Oil and Gas which had been ...

Una economia in corsa verso il futuro quella dell'Irlanda europea che continua a macinare strada, e va avanti ben oltre i call center. A Dublino il Pnrr guarda soprattutto al domani. È stato approvato il 16 luglio e si basa su quasi un miliardo in sovvenzioni a titolo del RRF (Recovery and Resilience Facility). Ci sono alcuni settori in cui l'Irlanda è già un terreno ed ecosistema fertile dove far crescere rapidamente nuove PMI e startup. Ad alimentare questo successo è il sistema della cosiddetta tripla elica: imprese, università e istituzioni governative come l'Enterprise Ireland l'agenzia governativa per lo sviluppo, 1° Venture Capital d'Europa che collaborano insieme con lo stesso obiettivo. Da considerare in ogni settore la rapidità di crescita delle nuove imprese: Agri e Food Tech, Smart Mobility, Salute, Cyber Security. E c'è un nutrito numero di italiani che si sono trasferiti in Irlanda per lanciare la loro impresa, investire, oltre che fare ricerca in Università. Prospettiva per gli studenti irlandesi e non ma anche per il mondo accademico, che raccoglie professionalità da tutto il mondo per progetti concreti, come nel campo della mobilità sostenibile cui si dedica un docente di origine italiane Francesco Pilla, che insegna Smart Cities & Urban Innovation ed è project leader di Smart Dublin. I settori chiave di espansione per i prossimi anni sono la digitalizzazione e la green economy con l'obiettivo di rendere le imprese irlandesi sempre più sostenibili e innovative. Baricentro in Irlanda e in Europa, Leo Clancy, CEO Enterprise Ireland ci spiega come l'Ente supporta PMI innovative e startup nello sviluppo e globalizzazione. Anche idee italiane, come quella che ci racconta Tom Grizzetti CEO di HT Materials Science, che con il nanofluid termovettore Maxwell™ rende i data center sostenibili, quelli in Europa concentrati soprattutto a Dublino, a rendere i loro sistemi di raffreddamento più efficienti dal punto di vista energetico, riducendo significativamente i costi e le emissioni di carbonio. Nato in Puglia nel 2018, cresciuto al Trinity College di Dublino con Enterprise Ireland, ora è globale e vicino a Lecce è sorto un nuovo stabilimento produttivo. Inoltre l'Irlanda è in prima linea per trovare soluzioni alla crisi energetica,a che grazie al vento dell'Oceano. Quest'anno è nato il Gael Offshore Network con 65 aziende e startup irlandesi specializzate già impegnate con soluzioni innovative nei maggiori parchi eolici del mondo, in particolare nel Regno Unito. Progetti e idee che possono essere condivisi con tutti, come spiega Liam Curran, Gael Offshore Network, Enterprise Ireland's Senior Technologist. Le aziende e startup irlandesi del network sono già impegnate nei maggiori parchi eolici del mondo con soluzioni innovative, come quella che ci spiega Andrea Phillps Chief Compliance Officer, di XOCEAN: un catamarano senza equipaggio, controllato da remoto e alimentato da energia solare, fornisce servizi di raccolta dati per le installazioni eoliche offshore: che ad oggi sono una opportunità concreta di sfruttare un'immensa riserva di energia come il mare.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has today launched a €65 million fund to drive solutions to the green transition and to digital transformation. The National Challenge Fund consists of eight challenges, three in digital transformation and five in green transition. The first two challenges are now open for proposals: 2050 Challenge – To develop transformative, forward-looking solutions for Ireland to become climate neutral by 2050; and — Future Digital Challenge – To address the challenge from disruptive digital technologies. Announcing the National Challenge Fund, Minister Harris, said: “I am delighted to announce the €65m National Challenge Fund. “These areas are among the greatest challenges our country and our world face. This fund will help each and every one of us by navigating the best way forward. “When we launched our new strategy Impact 2030, I outlined the need to put research and innovation at the heart of addressing Ireland's social, economic and environmental challenges. The National Challenge Fund is a tangible example of this strategy in action. “I encourage everyone to consider the 18,000 submissions put forward by the public as part of Creating Our Future as we want to respond to issues that matter to people. “Challenge teams will be interdisciplinary with scientists, engineers and researchers working together with government bodies to develop solutions to problems of national importance, partnering with stakeholders to develop, test and trial solutions.” The National Challenge Fund is an initiative under the Government's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility and managed by Science Foundation Ireland. Commenting on the new National Challenge Fund, Ciarán Seoighe, Deputy Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, said: “We are delighted to have this new funding made available under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility. We look forward to working in partnership with government departments and agencies to define the challenges and help to build partnerships with the wider research community to develop research solutions to these challenges.” “This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity for research teams to work in partnership with stakeholders to provide solutions to tangible problems that will benefit our society and economy.” Teams will be provided with additional opportunities to grow and scale their activities with opportunities for follow-on funding in future phases, ranging from €500k to €2 million for the most competitive teams. Each challenge incorporates four stages. The model of the competition means that researchers will receive increasing funding at each stage of the process. Research teams and ideas will be evaluated by an independent, international panel of experts. Awards for each phase will be made from 2022 to 2026.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has launched a €65 million fund to drive solutions to the green transition and to digital transformation. The National Challenge Fund consists of eight challenges, three in digital transformation and five in green transition. The first two challenges are now open for proposals: 2050 Challenge – To develop transformative, forward-looking solutions for Ireland to become climate neutral by 2050; and Future Digital Challenge – To address the challenge from disruptive digital technologies. Announcing the National Challenge Fund, Minister Harris, said: “I am delighted to announce the €65m National Challenge Fund. “These areas are among the greatest challenges our country and our world faces. This fund will help each and everyone us by navigating the best way forward. “When we launched our new strategy Impact 2030, I outlined the need to put research and innovation at the heart of addressing Ireland's social, economic and environmental challenges. The National Challenge Fund is a tangible example of this strategy in action. “I encourage everyone to consider the 18,000 submissions put forward by the public as part of Creating Our Future as we want to respond to issues that matter to people. “Challenge teams will be interdisciplinary with scientists, engineers and researchers working together with government bodies to develop solutions to problems of national importance, partnering with stakeholders to develop, test and trial solutions.” The National Challenge Fund is an initiative under the Government's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility and managed by Science Foundation Ireland. Commenting on the new National Challenge Fund, Ciarán Seoighe, Deputy Director General, Science Foundation Ireland, said: “We are delighted to have this new funding made available under the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility. We look forward to working in partnership with government departments and agencies to define the challenges and help to build partnership with the wider research community to develop research solutions to these challenges.” “This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity for research teams to work in partnership with stakeholders to provide solutions to tangible problems that will benefit our society and economy.” Teams will be provided with additional opportunities to grow and scale their activities with opportunities for follow on funding in future phases, ranging from €500k to €2 million for the most competitive teams. Each challenge incorporates four stages. The model of the competition means that researchers will receive increasing funding at each stage of the process. Research teams and ideas will be evaluated by an independent, international panel of experts. Awards for each phase will be made from 2022 to 2026. See more stories here. More about Irish Tech News Irish Tech News are Ireland's No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland's No.1 Tech Podcast too. You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: If you'd like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss. Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience. You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD and the Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, Robert Troy TD have welcomed the announcement by the European Commission that CeADAR based in UCD, Dublin and the FactoryxChange consortium in the Midlands are one step closer to being fully approved as European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs). The European Union is investing over €700m to co-fund an EU-wide network of hubs. Each Irish hub is set to receive annual funding of €1.9m from both the EU and the Irish Government under the National Recovery and Resilience Facility. These new hubs will work with local SMEs and public sector bodies to help them ‘go digital', incorporating the benefits of digital technology in their operations, no matter what stage they are currently at. The hubs will provide help with training, research and testing and advice on funding. They will be up and running by the end of this year. Subject to the outcome of the next phase of national due diligence and evaluation, the successful Irish candidate hubs which are eligible to be co-funded under the Digital Europe Programme are: CeADAR led by Ireland's EI/IDA Technology Centre in Applied Data Analytics and Machine Intelligence (based in UCD) which will focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) transformation in SMEs and public-service organisations. FactoryxChange (FxC), a consortium led by the EI/IDA Technology Centre Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR) in Mullingar, which will accelerate factories to become ‘Factories of the Future' integrating ecological, digital, and societal solutions into their core business models. Two digital innovation hubs from Ireland awarded ‘Seal of Excellence' Through the evaluation process conducted by the European Commission a further two candidate hubs from Ireland have been deemed eligible to join the EU-wide network of Digital Innovation Hubs having been awarded the Commission's ‘Seal of Excellence' for the quality of their proposals as follows: DATA2SUSTAIN, a consortium led by Atlantic Technological University, Sligo which will develop a comprehensive service programme to increase the transformation capacity and transformation speed of SMEs with a focus on circular economy, operations and sustainability areas. ENTIRE, a consortium led by Tyndall National Institute, Cork which will help SMEs in the Agriculture, Energy and Transport sectors to become more competitive in their business or production processes using digital technologies such as sensors. The Seal of Excellence is a quality label awarded by the Commission to projects which have been assessed in a call for proposals and are deemed to comply with the quality requirements of the call but could not be funded due to European Commission budgetary constraints. These projects may receive support from national sources of funding, subject to additional due diligence and evaluation at member state level. It is intended that all of the above EDIHs, which will be either co-funded or fully funded by the Government under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, will now go through the remaining evaluation, approval and contract negotiation process before their formal establishment. Welcoming the Commission's announcement, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, said on June 17 in his announcement: “How businesses interact with their customers, how citizens access public services and how we communicate and work with one another is all being transformed by digital technology. We need to make sure we are prepared for what will surely be an acceleration of this trend and that our SMEs especially, are assisted to make the most of new technology and stay ahead of the curve. We are doing this in many ways, including through direct grant funding, but these European Digital Innovation Hubs, EDIHs, will certainly be a welcome boost to the areas they are placed in and I hope all o...

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone's Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer, talks to Paul Adamson about the EU's Digital Decade strategy, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the impact of technology on the war in Ukraine.

Joakim Reiter, Vodafone's Chief External and Corporate Affairs Officer, talks to Paul Adamson about the EU's Digital Decade strategy, the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the impact of technology on the war in Ukraine.

Un quadro completo dell'attuazione del Dispositivo europeo per la ripresa e la resilienza (Recovery and Resilience Facility – RRF): ce lo fornisce il primo rapporto annuale della Commissione Europea presentato il 1° marzo scorso. Ecco cosa emerge dalla relazione: a che punto siamo con l'adozione dei Piani di ripresa e resilienza e con l'avanzamento finanziario.---Leggi l'articolo su https://www.forumpa.it/programmazione-europea/recovery-and-resilience-facility-a-che-punto-siamo-il-primo-rapporto-annuale-della-commissione-europea-sullattuazione-dello-strumento/

Gloria Bartoli, professor of public management at the LUISS Guido Carli in Rome, speaks with Taylor Pearce, economist at OMFIF, about debt sustainability and fiscal reform in the European Union. Drawing on her extensive experience in international organisations and the design of international policy and regulatory frameworks, Bartoli provides her view of the debt landscape in Europe and analyses the possibility of returning to a pre-pandemic status quo. The discussion explores how the Next Generation EU fund and Recovery and Resilience Facility – introduced as part of the European Union's emergency pandemic relief measures – can lay the groundwork for more robust reform of the European fiscal framework, Stability and Growth Pact and debt rules.

The EU's post-pandemic Green Recovery is laying the foundations for a new understanding of buildings and construction processes. The needs of people and systems are being reconsidered, while new implications of construction work are taken into consideration, such as energy production and efficiency, recycling of materials and sourcing of raw materials, transportation of tools and materials.Buildings are responsible for about 40% of the EU's energy consumption, and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions from energy. But only 1% of buildings undergo energy efficient renovation every year.The Commission aims to at least double building renovation rates in the next ten years and make sure renovations lead to higher energy and resource efficiency. This will enhance the quality of life for people living in and using the buildings, reduce Europe's greenhouse gas emissions, foster digitalisation, and improve the reuse and recycling of materials. By 2030, 35 million buildings could be renovated and up to 160,000 additional green jobs created in the construction sector.A carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), announced in the European Green Deal, will also serve as an essential element of the EU toolbox to meet the objective of a climate-neutral EU by 2050. The CBAM will equalise the price of carbon between domestic products and imports and encourage producers in non-EU countries to green their production processes. It will initially apply only to a selected number of goods at high risk of carbon leakage: iron and steel, cement, fertiliser, aluminium, and electricity generation.Given the scale of emissions produced by the construction sector, cleaning it up will be a challenge for EU policymakers and Member States, particularly when addressing entire global supply chains.Relisten to this EURACTIV Virtual Conference to find out about the new economic and environmental challenges for the construction sector, particularly for South-Eastern Europe. Discussed questions include:- What will be the new implications faced during, before and after construction - from conceptualising, planning, designing, constructing and maintaining?- How can the global supply chain crisis be navigated by South-Eastern Member States?- What role can the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility play?- What are the implications of higher construction materials and energy prices?- Would there be an increased demand for recycled (secondary) construction materials and products? And, is there a lack of adequate recycling facilities?- What form can the 'renovation wave' take in less economically advanced Member States, and what will the costs be for the construction sector?- How to make construction a cornerstone of CBAM?

In November 2020, the European Commission launched the Pact for Skills – a shared engagement and approach to skills development. The Pact is aimed to maximise the improvement of existing skills (upskilling) and training in new skills (reskilling). It calls on industry, employers, social partners, chambers of commerce, public authorities, education and training providers and employment agencies to work together and make a clear commitment to invest in training for all working age people across the European Union.The Pact builds on the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EU's compass for a social and inclusive recovery. It emphasises the promotion of lifelong learning for all, building strong skills partnerships, monitoring skills supply/demand and anticipating skills needs, and working against discrimination and for gender equality and equal opportunities. As reskilling is part of the National Recovery and Resilience Funds, taking account of regional, national and European developments is imperative for a fair and resilient recovery. Join this EURACTIV Virtual Conference, the third event of the 'Future of Work Lab debate series', to discuss where we stand one year after the launch of the Pact for Skills and how skills are becoming 'the currency of the future'. Questions to be addressed include:- How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted concepts like lifelong learning and skills partnerships?- What lessons can be drawn from the pandemic regarding skills supply/demand and anticipating skills?- What are national systems doing to enforce upskilling of their workforce in the framework of National Resilience and Recovery Plans?- What role can industry play in ensuring a fair and efficient upskilling of the workforce?- What role can the EU play in skills demand and supply needs for workforce and companies at regional, national and European level? How is this foreseen in the NRRPs?- Can the Recovery and Resilience Facility play a role in the implementation of the EU Pact for Skills?

In ogni convegno, discorso, o documento programmatico che si occupa di descrivere la reazione alla crisi generata dalla pandemia di Covid-19, la parola che risuona con maggiore insistenza è “resilienza”. In inglese “resilience”. Una parola suadente e misteriosa, poco familiare nel linguaggio quotidiano, ma ritenuta indispensabile per tratteggiare le caratteristiche del cambiamento economico e sociale che ci apprestiamo a vivere. Persino il Piano nazionale si chiama appunto Piano di ripresa e “resilienza”. Recovery and Resilience Facility, Facile e rassicurante. Ma cosa significa veramente? Le parole scelte per accompagnare un'epoca storica sono il primo indizio che occorre esaminare se si vuole capire la rotta che una generazione ha deciso di percorrere. Sono tante le nuove parole del lessico post pandemia: resilienza, sostenibilità, economia circolare, transizione “in tutte le salse forme”, digitale-ecologica-giusta, inclusione, coesione. Dopo lo shock iniziale del primo lockdown, che ci ha lasciato ammutoliti nelle nostre case, il primo segno della ripresa è il fiorire di nuove parole. Come scriveva Natalie Ginzburg: “Ora c'erano di nuovo molte parole in circolazione e la realtà di nuovo appariva a portata di mano”. Abbiamo pensato quindi, all'inizio di ogni episodio, prima di addentrarci nei contenuti del PNRR, di familiarizzare con una parola chiave del cambiamento. Partiamo subito allora dalla “resilienza”.>> Leggi anche l'articolo: https://bit.ly/3DLBOrY>> Scopri tutti i podcast di Altalex: https://bit.ly/2NpEc3w

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the digital transformation and can significantly bolster the European economy. Automation of processes will reshape workplaces across industries, increasing efficiency and productivity and creating new opportunities for innovation and professional development. Conversely, these changes also raise legitimate concerns about potential job losses and the need to help upskill and reskill workers in the sectors which will face the most significant disruption. The EU AI Act will set out the regulatory framework for the way AI will be used across all industries. The legislation, combined with investments into AI and skills through mechanisms such as the Digital Europe Programme and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, could prove to be a game-changer for Europe, helping it to amplify its ambitions and become a global leader in developing cutting-edge, trustworthy AI. The AI Act will need to balance considerations of the benefits of AI to European workers and the economy with concerns on the potential widening skills gap and social inequalities. This second EURACTIV virtual conference of the 'Future of Work Lab debate series' will focus on the opportunities and risks posed by AI to the workforce and the development of standards for AI. Questions to be addressed include: -How can AI be regulated to be true to the EU's core values?-How can innovations in AI contribute to workforce development?-How can policymakers ensure AI implementation in the workplace is ethical and fair?-Is there scope for a digital social contract to ensure an inclusive future of work? 2.12.0.0

Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the digital transformation and can significantly bolster the European economy. Automation of processes will reshape workplaces across industries, increasing efficiency and productivity and creating new opportunities for innovation and professional development. Conversely, these changes also raise legitimate concerns about potential job losses and the need to help upskill and reskill workers in the sectors which will face the most significant disruption. The EU AI Act will set out the regulatory framework for the way AI will be used across all industries. The legislation, combined with investments into AI and skills through mechanisms such as the Digital Europe Programme and the Recovery and Resilience Facility, could prove to be a game-changer for Europe, helping it to amplify its ambitions and become a global leader in developing cutting-edge, trustworthy AI. The AI Act will need to balance considerations of the benefits of AI to European workers and the economy with concerns on the potential widening skills gap and social inequalities. This second EURACTIV virtual conference of the 'Future of Work Lab debate series' will focus on the opportunities and risks posed by AI to the workforce and the development of standards for AI. Questions to be addressed include: -How can AI be regulated to be true to the EU's core values?-How can innovations in AI contribute to workforce development?-How can policymakers ensure AI implementation in the workplace is ethical and fair?-Is there scope for a digital social contract to ensure an inclusive future of work? 2.12.0.0

The main focus of this episode will be the EU's NextGenerationEU Plan, especially the new Recovery and Resilience Facility as the centrepiece of this newly created instrument. With a total volume of 750 billion euros, the reconstruction fund represents the largest investment program in the 70 year history of the "European project". How does it work, what are the main goals and what timeline is foreseen for its implementation? But also, how ambitious is the EU Commission's political agenda, what are its intentions and will the fund fulfil its purpose? Anja Richter, the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation's UK Director, is joined by Dr. Thomas Gstädtner, President of the Supervisory Board of the European Banking Institute, a European financial think tank based in Frankfurt am Main and the Chairman of the Hanns Seidel Foundation Markus Ferber, a long-standing member of the European Parliament and spokesman for the EPP Group in the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). /// Next Generation EU – Wiederaufbau für Europa Im Mittelpunkt dieser Folge steht der NextGenerationEU-Plan der EU, insbesondere die neue Recovery and Resilience Facility als Herzstück dieses neu geschaffenen Instruments. Mit einem Gesamtvolumen von 750 Milliarden Euro stellt der Wiederaufbaufonds das größte Investitionsprogramm in der 70-jährigen Geschichte des "europäischen Projekts" dar. Wie funktioniert er, was sind die wichtigsten Ziele und welcher Zeitrahmen ist für seine Umsetzung vorgesehen? Aber auch: Wie ehrgeizig ist die politische Agenda der EU-Kommission, welche Absichten verfolgt sie und wird der Fonds seinen Zweck erfüllen? Anja Richter, Projektleiterin der Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung im Vereinigten Königreich Großbritannien und Nordirland, spricht dazu mit Dr. Thomas Gstädtner, Präsident des Aufsichtsrates des European Banking Institute, eines europäischen Finanz-Think-Tanks mit Sitz in Frankfurt am Main, und dem Vorsitzenden der Hanns-Seidel-Stiftung, Markus Ferber, langjähriges Mitglied des Europäischen Parlaments und Sprecher der EVP-Fraktion im Ausschuss für Wirtschaft und Währung (ECON).

Member States are in the process of submitting their recovery and resilience plans that set out a coherent package of reforms and public investment projects. To support them in their emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission presented its plan for a more resilient European economy: the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This key instrument, at the heart of NextGenerationEU, is expected to mitigate the economic and social impact of COVID-19.Because of its magnitude (€672.5 billion), rapid deployment (6 years) and innovative financing and implementation mechanisms, the RRF will pose significant new challenges to the EU and Member States, namely in terms of oversight and fraud prevention and control. It also raises important questions about how far conditionality should go and whether such large amounts of money will contribute to true reform.How will the funds be used? How to ensure that they will be implemented in a transparent way?

Member States are in the process of submitting their recovery and resilience plans that set out a coherent package of reforms and public investment projects. To support them in their emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Commission presented its plan for a more resilient European economy: the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). This key instrument, at the heart of NextGenerationEU, is expected to mitigate the economic and social impact of COVID-19.Because of its magnitude (€672.5 billion), rapid deployment (6 years) and innovative financing and implementation mechanisms, the RRF will pose significant new challenges to the EU and Member States, namely in terms of oversight and fraud prevention and control. It also raises important questions about how far conditionality should go and whether such large amounts of money will contribute to true reform.How will the funds be used? How to ensure that they will be implemented in a transparent way?

Despite a spectacular economic reaction to the pandemic crisis, which stands in stark contrast to the austerity-driven response to the 2008 financial and economic crisis, Bart Vanhercke and the co-authors of Bilan Social express concerns about the so-called ‘social affairs players' being sidelined in the new Recovery and Resilience Facility, the fuzzy EU commitment to gender issues, the EU response to rising in-work poverty and the setting a new social-ecological contract. The pandemic's longer-term economic consequences are not clear at this stage. No one can exclude that a real social crisis will quickly follow the vaccination campaign in the headlines. For the time being, however, it's the unprecedented –and unexpected coordinated response by the EU's and its 27 Members States and the European Commission that stands out. The EU's response indeed contributed to mitigate the impact on unemployment (compared to the rest of the world) and demonstrated that the EU can react quickly and forcefully. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/etui/message

Nel mese di novembre in tutta Europa sono state immatricolate 1.047.409 auto, il 13,5% in meno dello stesso mese del 2019. Negli undici mesi le immatricolazioni sono 10.746.293, in calo del 26,1% rispetto allo stesso periodo dello scorso anno.Continuano a salire le quotazioni del Bitcoin: la criptovaluta sale ancora del 9% e tocca il record di 23.256,92 dollari, per la prima volta in 11 anni , giungendo a raddoppiare il suo valore da settembre ed a guadagnare oltre 184% dall'inizio dell'anno.Il commissario europeo all'economia, Paolo Gentiloni, commentando l'accordo raggiunto tra il Parlamento europeo e la Presidenza tedesca del Consiglio dell'Unione Europea sul meccanismo del Next Generation Eu, ha dichiarato che lo strumento del Recovery and Resilience Facility apre la strada alla ricostruzione e alla trasformazione dell'economia europea: non solo per la sua rinascita dopo la pandemia, ma anche per la sua trasformazione.

The European Union recovery fund could greatly increase the stability of the bloc and its monetary union. But the fund needs clearer objectives, sustainable growth criteria and close monitoring so that spending achieves its goals and is free of corruption. In finalising the fund, the EU should take the time to design a strong governance mechanism.In this episode, Guntram Wolff, director of Bruegel, is joined by MEP Luis Garicano, vice president of Renew Europe, who is also an economist and was heavily involved in the discussion on Next Generation EU, the new recovery instrument that the EU proposed for the Recovery and Resilience Facility. On this topic, they discuss the key concerns on how to ensure EU-borrowed money will be well-spent by the member states. MEP Garicano shares his insights from the Parliament of where this debate currently stands.Read the Opinion of Guntram wolff on the topic: https://www.bruegel.org/2020/09/without-good-governance-the-eu-borrowing-mechanism-to-boost-the-recovery-could-fail/

As policymakers turn their attention to the economic recovery post-COVID, there is a risk that investments in a green recovery may be side-lined.The European Commission maintains that the recovery and future growth of the EU must be sustainable. Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, insisted that the new Recovery and Resilience Facility, comprising up to €310 billion in grants, will be awarded to those Member States investing in public projects facilitating the green and digital transitions.An informal alliance has been launched in the European Parliament on the back of calls from 12 EU environment ministers who have signed an appeal for a green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Ministers appealed for the European Green Deal to be placed at the heart of the EU’s post-pandemic recovery plan. Signatories come from across the political spectrum and also bring together industry CEOs, civil society groups, business associations, trade unions, and think-tanks.MEP Pascal Canfin remarked: “There will be a before and after COVID-19 crisis. We are choosing to accelerate the ecological transition when the time comes to reinvest in the economy.”