Universities in Australia want to affiliate the EU research financing program: “We need a place at the table”

The main organization representing the interests of Australian universities asked the Federal Government in Canberra to join a major financing program of the European Union for Research and Innovation, informs the Xinhua press agency, taken over by Agerpres.

University Australia representatives said on Saturday that their country's accession to the “Horizon Europe” program would give local researchers access to a “mega-pond” that supports international collaborations on complex and difficult to solve and would also stimulate the economic resilience of Australia.

Luke Sheehy, executive director of Universities Australia, said in a press release that accession to “Horizon Europe” will unlock productivity and social and technological progress.

“If we really want to build a prosperous and productive economy, we need a place at the table, especially in a changing global environment and becoming more complex,” he added.

“Horizon Europe” is the main financing program of the EU for research and innovation, with a budget of 95.5 billion euros for the current seven -year cycle, which will end at the end of 2027.