New online seminars with emphasis on the largest financial program of the European Union (EU) "Horizon Europe", with a budget of €95.5 billion, are organized by the Research and Innovation Foundation (IDEK). Participation in the Seminars is free of charge.

Aiming to strengthen the domestic research and Innovation ecosystem in terms of submitting competitive proposals under the Horizon Europe Program and the COST Program, IDEK is holding three new webinars for the month of June. Specifically, the opportunities that arise through the European programs and services offered by the Foundation, which can be used by the Cypriot institutions, will be presented.

The webinars will be conducted by the IDEK National Contact Points for Horizon Europe and the COST Program, with the participation of speakers from the European Commission and the Secretariat of the COST Program, as well as researchers who will present their experiences to the participants.

The next webinar is scheduled for June 28, as follows:

• 28/6: Widening Participation & Strengthening the ERA

The seminar concerns the Program "Widening Participation & Strengthening the ERA" of the "Horizon Europe" Program. Existing and new tools of the Widening module will be presented (Teaming, Twinning, ERA Chairs, Excellence Hubs, European Excellence Initiative, Hop-on facility, ERA Fellowships, ERA Talents), while information will be provided regarding the funding opportunities in the section "Strengthening the European Research Area" (Strengthening the ERA) by Dr. Stefan Weiers, Head of Sector - Senior Expert, DG Research & Innovation of the EU.

Other June webinars already conducted were the following:

• 02/06: COST: Building Networks and Sharing Ideas – Opportunities to Participate

The webinar concerned the COST (European Cooperation in Science & Technology) Program and was welcomed by the Director of the Organization, Dr Ronald de Bruin. Participants were briefed by officials of the European Agency on the networking opportunities offered, as well as the ways in which they could participate in existing Actions and / or submit proposals for the creation of new ones. At the same time, three researchers from Cyprus who participated in COST Actions talked about the experiences and benefits they gained.

• 10/06: «MSCA – DOCTORAL NETWORKS»

The purpose of the seminar was to provide information on the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks Action and to present the innovations and new elements introduced under the Horizon Europe Program. During the webinar, the representative of the European Commission, Mr. Ioannis Bitsios, analyzed to the participants the procedure and the rules of participation while Professors Dr. Constantia Alexandrou and Dr. Timotheos Papadopoulos talked about their personal experience regarding the process of writing a proposal. In addition, Dr. Christos Panagiotidis addressed the interested parties, through the point of view of the evaluator of proposals.

It is worth noting that through its institutional role as the organization that coordinates the activities for the participation of Cyprus in "Horizon Europe", IDEK offers through the National Contact Points, personalized information and support regarding funding opportunities. In addition, it provides a wide range of free support services for all the activities of the Program, such as the organization of info days and workshops, support for finding external partners, funding for participation in Networking Conferences, preview of proposals as well as support for proposal writing and project implementation.

For any additional information interested parties can contact the IDEK website www.research.org.cy.