Some days ago the High Level Group on Maximising the Impact of EU Research and Innovation Programmes, led by Pascal Lamy, published its vision for the next Framework Programme (FP 9).
The Lamy report argues for a doubling of the budget of post-2020 EU research and innovation. Now it is incumbent on the political decision-makers to followup.
The ambitions embedded in the Lamy report are both welcome and timely. In a period where Europe is strained by turbulence and political unrest, research and education should be strengthened significantly. International academic collaboration forges strong links across borders, and student exchange builds trust and tolerance. Just as importantly, research and education are required to grapple with the challenges we see in the Europe of today. Simply put: there is a need for the deeper understanding that only research and academic exchanges canfoster.
The Guild of Research Intensive Universities is spot on when it in its response to the Lamy report includes a reference to Fridtjof Nansen - the Norwegian arctic explorer and Nobel Peace Prize laureate of 1922. The Europe of 1922 was very different fro
