Envisioning the research centres of the future

To watch the recording of the conference, visit our YouTube channel here.

Abstract

Science is at a crossroads. New scientific challenges can only be faced by multidisciplinary teams in environments that promote creativity and empower researchers in their careers. However, scientists encounter a lot of obstacles regarding limitation of funding and operational hurdles. EU-LIFE focuses on improving and designing conditions (operational, cultural, financial, political) to do the best possible research for the benefit of humankind. Our partner institutes strive for excellence not only by identifying and optimising best practices, but also by encouraging discussion and putting new ideas into action.

To celebrate our 10 years of existence and successes we conceive a conference in which we exercise and tease our ability to explore beyond what we can already foresee as the new state-of-the-art for science. We want to rise to the challenge of imagining how the future places of science should be to promote the most ground-breaking discoveries and a stronger engagement with society. We want to think bigger and go beyond best practice into aspired best practice.

At least at the inspirational level, this conference provides the opportunity to imagine an ideal place for research and science. It will also be a space to think about how to be better researchers, more creative, sustainable, fair, compassionate, bold, inclusive, equitable, happy. We expect that the exercise will give us insight into the characteristics and values of such ideal places, and some of strategies to design and implement them.

We invite the scientific community, including researchers, professionals at the interface of science and scientific leaders, as well as policy makers, to dream up the research places of the future with us.

Confirmed speakers

Maria Leptin, President of ERC — **Maria Leptin**
President of European Research Council (ERC)

Manuel Aleixo, Head of Unit for ERA Governance and Implementation — **Manuel Aleixo**
Head of Unit for European Research Area (ERA) Governance & Implementation, European Commission

Edith Heard, Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory — **Edith Heard**
Director General of EMBL and Professor of College de France

Elvira Fortunato, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal — **Elvira Fortunato**
Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal

António M. Feijó, President of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation — **António M. Feijó**
President of Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Wolf Reik, Director, Cambridge Institute of Science, Altos Lab — **Wolf Reik**
Director, Cambridge Institute of Science, Altos Lab

Stefano Boeri, Architect & Professor of Urban Planning at Milan Politecnico ©Michelangelo Foundation — **Stefano Boeri**
Architect and Professor of Urban Planning at Milan Politecnico

Henrique Leitão, Senior Researcher and Head of Department for the History & Philosophy of Science, University of Lisbon — **Henrique Leitão**
Senior Researcher and Provost (Pro-Reitor) of the University of Lisbon

Amos Abolaji, Associate Professorat University of Ibadan and Funder, Drosophila Research & Training Centre — **Amos Abolaji**
Associate Professor at University of Ibadan and Founder of Drosophila Research & Training Centre

Alex Jordan, Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior — **Alex Jordan**
Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

Mónica Bettencourt-Dias, Chair of EU-LIFE and Director of IGC — **Mónica Bettencourt-Dias**
Chair of EU-LIFE and Director of Instituto Gulbenkian Ciência (IGC)

Giulio Superti Furga, Co-Chair of EU-LIFE and Scientific Director of CeMM — **Giulio Superti Furga**
Co-Chair of EU-LIFE and Director of Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM)

Luis Serrano, Director of CRG — **Luis Serrano**
Founding Chair of EU-LIFE and Director of Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)

Jo Bury, Managing Director of VIB — **Jo Bury**
Founding Chair of EU-LIFE and Managing Director of Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB)

André Rendeiro, Principal Investigator at CeMM — **André Rendeiro**
Principal Investigator at Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM)

Marta Agostinho, Executive Director of EU-LIFE — **Marta Agostinho**
Executive Director of EU-LIFE

Envisioning the research centres of the future @ Iris Joval

The 'Envisioning the research centres of the future' conference will be held on 6-7 June 2023 at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, Portugal. The conference is part of the EU-LIFE 10th anniversary celebrations.

Registration is closed.

PROGRAMME & SPEAKERS

SPEAKING UTOPIAN

Call for posters

Take this opportunity to showcase your work and your ideas for enhancing research organisations. This call is addressed to all professionals promoting and working on science in research institutes, universities, national agencies, funding agencies, NGOs, etc. Deadline extended to 22 February 2023!

More information

Essay contest: Utopia Institute of Research © Iris Joval

EU-LIFE / Nature Essay contest: Utopia Institute of Research

With the goal to encourage reflection and generate new ideas, EU-LIFE has joined forces with the prestigious journal Nature to launch the essay contest ‘Utopia Institute of Research’. The objective is to give everybody the chance to share their vision of how the places where research is conducted should be. The authors of the three best stories will obtain a cash prize and will be invited to present their essays at the EU-LIFE Conference 'Envisioning the research centres of the future' in Lisbon. Share your vision with us by 9 March 2023!