ERC at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos
The European Research Council (ERC) will bring the science perspective to the discussions at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, from 21 to 24 January. ERC President Maria Leptin will speak in two live-streamed WEF sessions on the outlook for AI and science together with Max Tegmark, and on the interplay between research security and openness.
Prime Minister of Belgium Alexander De Croo, two Nobel Prize laureates, the ERC President and other leaders will share their insights in an ERC side-event on Europe's competitivenes.
Several ERC grantees will also take part in WEF sessions, including Professors Anna Fontcuberta i Morral, EPFL President; Joyeeta Gupta, University of Amsterdam; Edith Heard, EMBL President; and Johan Rockström, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. In a side event at the AI House in Davos, ERC grantees Marta Kwiatkowska, University of Oxford, and Piotr Sankowski, Institute of Informatics, University of Warsaw will take part.
The theme of this year’s edition of WEF is 'Collaboration for the Intelligent Age'.
ERC programme
ERC President - Maria Leptin will take part in the following live-streamed WEF sessions:
23 January 9.00 - 9.45 | 'The Purpose of Science'
with Maria Leptin, Max Tegmark, MIT; Michael Hengartner; ETH Board
From the development of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to life-saving vaccines, the history of innovation shows that fundamental science plays a critical role.
With AI tools rapidly transforming data-driven science and industry research funding outpacing academic spending, what is the outlook for fresh directions in scientific explorations?
24 January 9.00 - 9.45 | 'Free Science at Risk?'
with Maria Leptin; Kimberly Budil, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Jonathan Brennan-Badal, Opentrons Labworks
In today's polarized geopolitical landscape, balancing security concerns with the need for collaborative innovation is growing more complex, while the lack of policies that protect intellectual property and international security is increasingly clear. How can businesses, governments and institutions foster safe yet open research environments essential for scientific advancement?
ERC session hosted at the Belgium House in Davos:
23 January 11.15 – 12.15 | 'Shaping Tomorrow: Boosting European Competitiveness Through Pioneering Science and Innovation'
For the first time since the Cold War, Europe 'must genuinely fear for our self-preservation,' according to the former ECB President Mario Draghi's recent report 'The Future of European Competitiveness.' The European economy requires urgent action to tackle the increasing gap with the US and China in terms of economic growth. How can the right investment in cutting-edge science and innovation boost European competitiveness and spark new ideas to unlock Europe's full potential for growth and prosperity? In this session with the European Research Council, prominent voices from the European political arena and industry, as well as two Nobel laureates will discuss possible strategies to address this.
Speakers:
- Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium
- Michael Spencer, Nobel Prize laureate in Economics
- Ardem Patapoutian, Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine
- Piotr Sankowski, ERC grantee in the field of AI, Chief Science Officer at MIM Solutions
- Solveigh Hieronimus, Senior partner McKinsey
- Maria Leptin, ERC President
Moderation: Ana Rovzar
