103 ways to success ...
Dr Joao da Silva
Director Converged Networks & Services
DG Information Society and Media
European Commission
Preface
It’s exciting times these days! We’ve just finished the selection of the first batch of research proposals under Objectives 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and 1.5 of Challenge 1 of the information and communications technologies (ICTs) part of the 7th research Framework Programme.
The 103 proposals retained represent the cream of the crop, and are an excellent reflection of the ambitions and challenges to be overcome in the domains covered by the various Objectives within Challenge 1. Over the next few months these proposals will be turned into real operational projects, reinforcing research efforts in technologies vital to Europe’s future.
Many of them offer highly disruptive approaches that promise to offer innovative opportunities in the marketplace. Some €740 million will be invested in these projects by industry, research centres, universities and SMEs, of which the European Union will cofund about €440 million. But what exactly makes them the best and why? To understand this better we asked top-notch R&D industrial and academic experts from the field to analyse the portfolio of 103 proposals. Their answer is the analysis presented in this book.
Some extremely interesting trends became visible. While every proposal has its specific characteristics and objectives, a quite impressive number of 25 proposals take up the challenge to investigate the «Future of the Internet» – following both revolutionary and evolutionary approaches in their search for the Internet of tomorrow.
Another clear research trend arising out of the analysis is illustrated by clusters around service creation, discovery and composition, reflecting industrial needs to respond to customer expectations for flexible, real-time, mobile, context-aware and secure services – for which customers are willing to pay premium prices.
These are just two examples of a range of new project clusters now emerging. You are invited to browse through the book to discover what else the future may hold for us.
Of course this is just the beginning. While we, within the Commission, are working with the consortia to turn these 103 proposals into real projects, we have to move on to search for the «next big thing». Further calls, due in autumn 2008, will provide opportunity to review again what we missed out and what the research community and industry see as new key research trends.
You are invited to contribute to this process by availing yourself of the possibilities opened for a dialogue and information gathering. My colleagues and I would welcome very much your suggestions and constructive ideas for a new research agenda.
Read the book "103 ways to success ..."
