The Minister of University and Research spoke at the Research Day ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma. Among the Government's objectives, at the start of the Italian Presidency of the EU, is the strengthening of public funding for research, including those linked in partnership to private initiatives. It is also important to concentrate resources on a few major thematic challenges, with more linear strategies. Strong attention to the biomedical sector, "which alone represents almost half of scientific research"
Rome, 2 July 2014 - "The Government's priority is a great hiring plan. Between universities and research institutions, we must have the ambition to enroll at least 2 plus 4 young researchers, a total of 6 each year for at least four years. Without, with all good will, speeches of a political, institutional or scientific nature remain a noble book of dreams which, however, is destined to remain so”. So the Minister of Education, University and Research, Stefania Giannini, speaking at the Research Day ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma. "That is - added the Minister – it means a few hundred million euros. The Prime Minister had indicated a precise figure, 600 million, for this need. At this point, I believe and hope that the Government will answer for its will and its possibilities of intervening in this sense".
Words much appreciated by the Rector of the host University, Prof. Andrea Onetti Muda"I am particularly pleased with what the Minister told us regarding investments and the government's programmatic guidelines on the research front. These are important words for an institution like ours, but also for the entire Italian scene”. Onetti Muda emphasized, in his speech, the theme of research doctorates. “Our university – as he explained – has structured the projects and research products deriving from its doctorates in an integrated way, uniting two branches usually not very easy to link, biomedicine and bioengineering. Furthermore, he has come up with a specific growth proposal, the graduate programme, a five-year course that combines the specialist two-year period with the doctorate, ensuring that the carefully selected people who will follow it starting from the 2014-2015 Academic Year can professionalize in close collaboration with companies in the sector, to reach the end of the five-year period with a double title that can be used immediately in the world of work".
A significant figure if, as Minister Giannini underlined, in terms of number of researchers, funding quotas, technological development and discoveries made the field of biomedical and bioengineering research, particularly similar to the Campus Bio-Medico, today it accounts for almost half of all scientific research. A crucial sector, therefore, in the European scientific context. Giannini also said "happy to be here today, in Rome, in a center that represents 'non-Nordic' excellence in the field of biomedical research, whereas our country, on the other hand, shows an imbalance between its internal components in a geographical sense: among the 48 IRCCS currently present in Italy, in fact, as many as 18 are located in Lombardy and obtain a total of just under 50 percent of the total funding".
Three points highlighted by the Minister to reorganize national research: development and attraction of highly qualified human capital that can be inserted into the productive fabric of the country simplifying the call path, possibly making it direct; identification of a limited number of major thematic challenges, to be financed on a preferential basis, with a strong impact on the life of European citizens, the big challenges of the program Horizon 2020, to be tackled in a truly international key; awarding of innovative and competitive capacity of the industrial system, especially the one in virtuous interaction between public and private.
The last idea launched by the Minister in his speech in the Aula Magna of the Campus Bio-Medico was that on the governance of national research. “Perhaps - he said – Italy also has need to create a tool for coordination and reflection of research policies nationwide. I am thinking of Canada, which has a Superior Research Council which becomes a advisory board of the current government. So not a new agency, but a tool for coordinating activities and addressing major objectives, to avoid dystonia, fragmentation and dispersion of the research action".
The 77 billion European plan for research and innovation
The new European framework program for funding research and innovation, Horizon 2020, is worth over 77 billion euros and follows the 7th Framework Programme, which ended last year. A strategic plan, because it is called to support both basic and applied research, with the ambition of creating innovation, social and economic development in Europe over the next six years. Indeed, for the first time Horizon brings together in a single program three important Community initiatives, which until yesterday marched separately: the Research Framework Programme, the CIP Program (Competitiveness and Innovation Program) which supports activities in the field of innovation and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
Of the 77 billion Horizon, 29,7 are intended for Social Challenges, a multidisciplinary research programme, oriented towards long-term sustainable solutions to face the social challenges facing Europe: the protection of health in relation to the aging of the population and the new concept of well-being; food security and the bio-economy; clean, safe and efficient energy; intelligent and therefore non-polluting and integrated transport; the security of Europe and its citizens. Another 24,4 billion will go to the Programme Excellent Science which aims to strengthen European excellence in science through the achievement of four objectives: 1) to support the most promising and creative researchers in carrying out frontier research; 2) finance research groups involved in so-called "intelligent technologies"; 3) guarantee training and careers for the most promising researchers; 4) support network infrastructures, first of all electricity ones. Third pillar of Horizon 2020 is to rely onIndustrial leadership, the program which aims precisely at creating a European industrial supremacy. Ambitious goal, to which just over 17 billion are allocated, which will serve to make Europe a slightly more attractive place to invest in research and innovation, including through better access to credit and support for investment in new technologies. Especially in the more advanced ones, such as information and innovation technologies (ICT, Information & Communication Technology), bio and nanotechnologies.
A crucial challenge, that of innovation, with respect to which Europe has decided to play the card of unitary planning, to avoid the dispersion of ideas and resources. Precisely what has characterized the Italian approach to European research tenders in the past.
The data published by the European Research Council: in 2013 the organization awarded 287 scholarships to young researchers. Well, only 17 of these went to Italians and, what makes us think more, only eight of these have chosen a research institution Made in Italy to carry out your projects. Conversely, England attracted 60 and Germany 46. Un gap competitive in its ability to attract brainpower which, according to many Italian researchers, depends above all on bureaucratic constraints and the lack of propensity to bring together public and private research. Without forgetting that those who do research abroad not only have efficient laboratories in which to develop ideas, but also all those "unconventional" tools, such as equipment, software, training packages, accommodation and travel bonuses. An "all-inclusive" formula that has proved successful and that some would also like to encourage in our country.
Campus Bio-Medico of Rome: over 120 research projects, 40 percent from national and international tenders
The Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma has an Integrated Research Center (CIR) within which all scientific research activities are carried out. It has over 40 Operational Units, with 20 research laboratories and 104 researchers employed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research.
The 2013 data on the scientific production of the Campus Bio-Medico of Rome indicate a 8 percent growth in the number of publicationsa 7 percent increase inimpact factor, i.e. the internationally recognized indicator of the quality of scientific publications. In particular, compared to 2012, the value of the IF of each professor on the Campus Bio-Medico has grown by over 15 points.
Despite being a young university with a relatively recent history of research, theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma features 11 teachers in the current ranking of Top Italian Scientists: Prof. Antonio Persico, Prof. Giorgio Minotti, Prof. Paolo Pozzilli, Prof. Vito Fazio, Prof Giuseppe Tonini, Dr. Claudio Pedone, Prof. Stefano Bonini, Prof Laura De Gara, Prof. Mauro Maccarone, Prof. Vincenzo Di Lazzaro, Prof. Giuseppe Avvisati.
In the last twelve months, the University has activated over 120 projects, obtaining the 40 percent of the budget overall research activities through competitive tenders, national and international. Currently, more than €3 million in funding has already been raised. Furthermore, 50 requests for funding are underway presented in international (3), European (14), national (32) and regional (1) competitive tenders for a total of almost 30 million euros.
In particular, the Evaluation of Research Quality promoted by MIUR for the period from 2004 to 2010, published a few months ago, rewarded the area ofIndustrial and Information Engineering of the Campus Bio-Medico University with the third place in the general ranking of the 56 universities evaluated at national level and ranked fifth out of 58 universities in the field of research in the field of Biological Sciences.
