Boosting IT research excellence in Romania
Partners on the EU-funded project ERRIC(opens in new window) (Empowering Romanian research on intelligent information technologies) helped to boost A&C's research potential and make it more visible in the European Research Area (ERA). They achieved this through high-quality scientific events across Europe, enhancing old collaborations and establishing new contacts for an extended scientific network. New researcher hires, 76 transnational 2-way secondments (with 12 partnering organisations from 5 EU countries), and laboratory upgrades contributed to fulfilling ERRIC objectives and strengthening A&C's research excellence. One example is the new, fully functional Laboratory of Ambient Intelligence. Launch of the ERRIC portal, ERRIC Knowledge E-Environment and A&C Alumni database have facilitated networking, community building and strategic partnerships. Partners established an ambitious research agenda and the Roadmap of A&C RTDI, as well as thematic priorities for A&C research. Scientific events helped to promote A&C work in a wide range of IIT domains, and ERRIC leveraged media and other events to rebrand the faculty and raise awareness. Twenty-one cooperation agreements were realised with universities from the EU and Romania, plus fifteen partnerships with universities from Asia and the EU, and over ten project proposals in cooperation. Four A&C Brokerage Events hosted the participation of 48 companies. Cooperation agreements have been signed with 15 companies, including Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Thales, Google, IBM, Microsoft and CISCO. Such achievements lay the groundwork for better collaboration with high-tech companies and future valorisation of high-potential research results. The team published 22 journal papers reporting ERRIC-supported work, 102 conference papers, book chapters, and over 300 papers reporting results in ERRIC domains. Nine books have also been published. Project work and outcomes were presented at 43 dissemination events. The team produced an A&C Research and Excellence Flyer and an A&C Research Book, as well as promotional materials and a short movie. More information (including reports, flyers, papers and brochures) is available on the project website. ERRIC has fostered high-quality research in A&C areas of expertise and help to boost European cooperation. ERRIC's successes have also strengthened opportunities for participation in internationally and EU-funded research, contributing to its integration in the wider ERA context.