‘EU Horizon 2020’ brings opportunities for Bangladeshi researchers, innovators

The Delegation of the European Union in Bangladesh together with the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has organised a seminar to raise awareness about 80 billion euro research and innovation programme.

'Horizon 2020' is a flagship research and innovation programme of the EU for the period 2014 to 2020.

The seminar on Tuesday at the MCCI office was intended to raise awareness amongst Bangladeshi research and business communities about the Horizon 2020,  the EU office in Dhaka said.

It is the biggest EU research and innovation programme ever making available almost €80 billion to fund collaborative research projects by researchers from Europe and beyond including Bangladesh.

With the idea of taking great ideas from the lab to the market, the programme is inviting collaborative research from across the world in science, technology to societal challenges involving both public and private sectors.

Speaker of the Parliament Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury, Minister for Science and Technology Architect Yeafesh Osman and Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon and MCCI President Nihad Kabir were present at Tuesday’s event at the MCCI auditorium.

It brought together participants from business, academia, research institutes, think tanks and the government and discussed the key issues on Horizon 2020, its rules of participation and partnership.

It also discussed the Horizon 2020’s R&I funding opportunities to address global societal challenges such as agriculture, food, health, aquaculture, water, climate change and energy.