All news and blog articles

The current state of flux from the novel coronavirus strain has resulted in a wave of combined national and EU funding being channelled towards R&D-performing companies, research institutes and universities who are generating tremendous innovative results at lightning speed. Last Friday 15, our multilateral call for solutions for COVID-19 echo period closed with 65 applications, with 12 countries involved. A second call launched the same day. But while plans to fund projects are highly reported on, I want to tell you more about the successes that have already come about from Eureka-backed companies who are flexibly redirecting their R&D in response to SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

As an international network supporting innovation beyond borders, we know that when people work together, extraordinary things can happen.

In the past weeks, our colleagues across the network have been banging their virtual heads together to put in place support measures for businesses and researchers to find COVID19 solutions.

At Eureka, we are always at your service – and remain so as we temporarily work from home. I am here to reassure you that our collaborators remain 100% committed to supporting you in your R&D endeavours. “We” means not just the Brussels-based Eureka team, but our representatives in over 45 countries across Europe and the world.

We are confident that this moment will pass, but we and you must all take the recommended measures to protect everyone.

High blood pressure is responsible for almost 11 million deaths worldwide every year. 30% of adults develop hypertension and yet the majority of cases are either not diagnosed, or diagnosed incorrectly. Only one third of these cases are diagnosed correctly, but often accidentally.

Hypertension is also the cause for many other diseases and can lead to strokes and dementia. As our daily-lives gain more and more speed and stress becomes our routine, more than ever, we need an easy way to read and regulate our blood pressure. Eureka is doing its part to help.

Artwork kept under wraps at London’s Tate Britain and Tate Modern will be showcased using new 3D printing technology that can bring old masterpieces back to life.

From this spring, art lovers will be able to view copies of paintings locked away in Tate’s storage facilities in London, thanks to a new state-of-the-art 3D scanning and printing system developed through a Eureka partnership.

“It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.” Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory of evolution could also apply to organisations. As they adapt to changing circumstances, they adjust their responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency. And that is what is taking place across the world as digital technologies transform business models: they are either adapting or dying. But how is this digital transformation happening? What are the risks? And how is Europe doing?

John Higgins is the former director general of DIGITALEUROPE, the European tech industry association. He was President of the European Commission’s Policy Forum on Digital Transformation. He is a Senior Advisor in Brussels and London on digital for global communications company Burson, Cohn & Wolfe.