Luke Georghiou: “To Stay at the Forefront of Research”
Luke Georghiou, Vice President for Research and Innovation, University of Manchester, UK is one of the key speakers at the HSE Annual Conference on "Foresight and STI Policy" which takes place in Moscow on October 30-31st, 2013. He gave a special interview for the HSE news service before the conference.
— What's different in the Conference 2013 in comparison with the last year meeting? Is there a new focus of research and reports?
Luke Georghiou
— I cannot really tell you what is new until I have heard the presentations but the agenda looks very promising.
— How can you evaluate the progress made since the last meeting of experts in Moscow?
— I can only speak for European experiences. For me it has been an interesting year in which the highest level foresight advisory committee in the European Union’s structures, EFFLA, has managed to convince senior policymakers that a new approach is needed to the construction of major research and innovation programmes — essentially a four step process beginning with Strategic Intelligence, followed by Sense-making and then the two more traditional policy stages of selecting priorities and implementation. There will also be a Foresight Hub established in the Commission to take this forward.
— What are your expectations from discussions with international team of colleagues?
— It is always stimulating to hear of the latest developments in foresight around the world and to have a special focus on new developments in Russia. Apart from new methodological approaches it also allows us to understand our own experiences better when we have the chance to compare them with others and to get a fresh view from international colleagues.
— Your cooperation with the HSE experts had been developing successfully. What's next within this cooperation framework?
— We have a deep cooperation between HSE and Manchester with joint appointments and frequent interchange of ideas. I am sure this will continue. A particular opportunity comes with the launch of the new European programme Horizon 2020. This will require high quality analytical studies in science and innovation policy.
— As a final question may I ask what should we be expecting soon? At least, in your area of expertise...
— If I speak as a University manager I think the pressures of competition will only increase and that it will become increasingly important to stay at the forefront of research. At the same time there are very high expectations made of us in terms of our contribution to the economy and society. We will have to examine our own activities and find more efficient and effective ways to carry them out. Research has experienced enormous productivity gains through innovation in equipment but we are only just beginning to understand the potential of the newest developments in ICT.
Anna Chernyakhovskaya, specially for the HSE news service