The NanoKTN supports EC’s investment in economic wealth of Europe

Citation

(2010), "The NanoKTN supports EC’s investment in economic wealth of Europe", Sensor Review, Vol. 30 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2010.08730cab.004

The NanoKTN supports EC’s investment in economic wealth of Europe

Article Type: News From: Sensor Review, Volume 30, Issue 3

€1 billion invested to improve European industry and ensure future global leadership

The Nanotechnology Knowledge Transfer Network (NanoKTN), one of the UK’s primary knowledge-based networks for micro and nanotechnologies, has announced its support for the €1 billion that has been made available by the EC for new projects, through its information communications technology (ICT) and nanoscience, nanotechnology, materials and new production processes (NMP) funds, as part of the Framework Programme 7. Over the next nine months, several funding calls have been scheduled to support and encourage the development of research and production in the micro and nanotechnology markets. The UK is widely expected to benefit greatly form this investment.

The EC has launched the funding opportunities to improve the competitiveness of European Industry and to ensure Europe is able to shape future developments to meet the demands of society and economy. The EC aims to strengthen Europe’s Science and Technology base and guarantee global leadership in the market. The Framework 7 Programme is the main mechanism to enable this through a combination of investments which harnesses the collective expertise of the EU member states and other participating countries.

“European Framework Programme 7 enables organizations, through collaborative research and development, to access new partners, skills and knowledge in the development of their future products and services”, explains the FP7UK National Contact Point for NMP, Dr Alastair McGibbon.

McGibbon continues, “Each year the European Commission awards more than €250 m to collaborative projects which are underpinned by nanotechnology. The European Commission has announced their calls for proposals launched this year, covering many important nanotechnology end-markets. The UK has a wealth of academic and industrial expertise and we are confident that the latest funding calls will help to bring together leading professionals in the micro and nanotechnology markets and develop European projects with impact on a global scale.”

The allocation for ICT challenge 3 is split between three contains topics, nanoelectronics (€35 million), photonics (€50 million) and microsystems and smart minitarised systems (€80 million). Proposals are called for large, small and SME focused collaborative R&D projects.

Established by the Technology Strategy Board, the NanoKTN is managed by Centre for Process Innovation Ltd, a leading technology development and consulting company.

For further information, please visit the web site: www.ktnetworks.co.uk