Opinion

The challenge of tackling some diseases is too great for just one institution, company or country. The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is showing that by bringing people together, real progress can be made, according to Professor Michel Goldman, the initiative’s executive director.  

Dr Phil Reeves, managing director of Econolyst, a global 3D printing consultancy, believes research needs to be coordinated across the EU to push forward 3D printing and give us mass-personalised goods made locally, on demand.

Bunker Roy is the founder and director of Barefoot College, a non-governmental organisation offering training to rural communities. He believes that establishing a sense of community, as well as a culture that encourages people to learn from failure, can help drive innovation and productivity. Roy, who was selected as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential figures, will be speaking at the EU’s Innovation Convention on 10 March, 2014.

As the northern route opens, the melting ice will have a significant impact on the transportation of goods around the world, and the consequences are manifold, said Didier Schmitt, a scientific adviser at the European Commission.

Dr Marc von Hobe, from the German Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH research centre, is coordinator of the EU-funded RECONCILE project. The project contributed to the first detection in 2011 of a hole in the ozone layer over the Arctic. Dr von Hobe believes more work needs to be done to control greenhouse gas emissions.

Professor Bruno Siciliano specialises in control and robotics at the University of Naples Federico II and is a past president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Robotics and Automation Society. He believes that robots can make Europe more competitive, creating jobs.

Dr Tim O'Higgins, coordinator of the EU-funded KnowSeas project, based in Oban, Scotland, argues that implementation of the EU Integrated Maritime Policy will require a delicate balance between the use of Europe’s seas and conservation of the maritime ecosystem.

Dr Conor O’Carroll, Research Director at the Irish Universities Association, argues that the Scientific Visa pioneered by France and implemented as a European Directive in 2005 is in itself a really effective method for attracting researchers to Europe.

Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, urges global collaboration to stop the epidemic. Diabetes currently affects more than 350 million people around the world.

Economist and author Mariana Mazzucato argues that for innovation to flourish in Europe, its governments must become more entrepreneurial and invest in technologies that private investors consider too risky.