This project was about organising the 2015 EuroNanoForum conference (ENF 2015) in Riga as part of the Latvian presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference was successfully organised and was attended by the planned amount of participants. It focused on nano and materials technologies, strengthening European competitiveness and supporting the renewal and recovery from the economic crisis. The event reviewed the status of European nanotechnology, including the latest progress in nanoscience, nanotechnology, innovation and business.
The most relevant application fields and enabling technologies were discussed together with different aspects impacting the European competitiveness, including smart specialisation, public-private partnerships (PPPs), local support, and Horizon 2020 (H2020) as tools for not only creating new technologies but also nourishing collaborations within the technology areas. In addition, the content of the conference also covered the framework conditions like education, standardisation, regulations, IPR and safety issues, as well as entrepreneur and industry friendly decision making issues.
The event:
· Introduced the recent most important nanotechnology related research results, as well as incremental innovations and business news
· Covered all technical areas of the N+M (nano + materials) area of the KET Programme
· Provided a platform for discussions between nanotechnology providers from industries and research sectors and end users within different value chains – involving especially the clusters established within these areas
· Promoted and popularises the importance of nanotechnologies in developing solutions addressing grand challenges, and providing opportunities to substantially improve industrial competitiveness and growth
· Spotlighted the nanotechnology success stories, encouraging the projects to aim for breakthrough technological innovation with significant industrial or societal impact
· Discussed framework conditions affecting nanotechnology based businesses, including availability of skilled labour, public acceptance, access to funding, standardisation and regulation
· Boosted European innovation on a practical as well as a strategic level; helping companies to find partners both in research and industries, and talented researchers to identify collaborations, scientific challenges, assignments and employment in industry
· Enabled communication and feedback from the nanotechnology community towards authorities, policy makers and supporting stakeholders.
The event attendees were stakeholders involved in activities related to nano and materials technologies, including representatives of industry and SMEs, research centers and universities, representatives of the financial sector and investors, as well as policymakers at regional, member state and transnational levels. In addition, the attendees include Public Private Partnerships. The event provided frequent opportunities for bodies funding research (the EC, member states, industry) to discuss and share experiences with those carrying out research (universities, RTOs, SMEs), in order to share information about progress and priorities. It will offer the ideal setting to highlight leading edge research results, facilitate the take-up of these results in industrial application sectors, and initiate discussions on cross-sectorial challenges and future strategic research priorities.
