The UK has launched a Horizon Europe campaign across print, online, and podcasts in Italy and Spain to encourage firms and researchers to work with UK researchers.
The UK associated to Horizon Europe at the start of 2024, with around £80bn in grants available to bidders from the UK, Italy, Spain, and beyond.
As home to four of the world’s top ten universities, the UK is a compelling partner to Italy and Spain’s brightest minds.
The new Horizon Europe campaign will highlight the opportunities for collaboration with the UK’s world-leading researchers and their Italian and Spanish colleagues – from the UK’s best-in-class expertise in fields like space and life sciences to the potential to access new markets and clients.
The importance of Italy and Spain’s UK partnerships
Italy and Spain are integral partners to the UK through international scientific organisations, such as the Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and through our shared interest in issues like climate change and quantum physics.
UK, Italian, and Spanish scientists have also collaborated to bring potential HIV-AIDS vaccines to the clinical trial stage as part of the European AIDS Vaccine Initiative, which Horizon’s predecessor funded.
The new Horizon Europe campaign is set to build on those already strong links.
It will advertise across print, podcasts, and a range of digital platforms, including LinkedIn, to encourage new partnerships between the brightest minds of Italy and Spain and their UK counterparts.
Science Minister Andrew Griffith said: “From Italian talent in space and physics to Spanish prowess in renewable energy, our southern European neighbours are research powerhouses in their own right.
“But working together through the Horizon Europe campaign gives us the chance to achieve even more – and the UK’s brightest and best stand ready to do that.”
The UK’s association to Horizon Europe can maximise new opportunities
Firms across the UK are already benefitting from Horizon funding, including Nova Innovation, whose consortium won over £17m to develop tidal energy in Orkney, and South Yorkshire tech firm The Floow, who are part of a project awarded just under £3m, looking into road safety.
The campaign launched today urges Italian and Spanish firms, scientists and researchers to maximise the new opportunities available thanks to the UK’s associate status in Horizon Europe.
Shining a light on the benefits of the programme, the communications blitz encourages businesses, particularly smaller firms and researchers with no previous experience, to apply for funding alongside UK colleagues.
Further information, including practical support on how to apply to the campaign, is available on Innovate UK’s website.
Innovate also hosts regular events that help guide businesses and researchers through the opportunities on offer and the application process.
