On December 6, a webinar was held on the 4th Brazil-European Union Coordinated Call in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The purpose was to give more information and to ask questions about the international announcement. Researchers, students and other stakeholders in submitting project proposals.

Who represented Brazil at the meeting was the Coordinator of Projects of the Research and Development Center on Digital Technologies for Information and Communication (CTIC/RNP), Wanderson Paim (photo), which addressed the conditions for organizations to participate in the program. One of the most important rules is the need for proposals to be submitted in English language to both sides. The difference of the uploaded files should only be in the budget. On the European side, the values should be in Euro and on the Brazilian side, in Reais.

He also addressed the specific issues in Brazil, as the need for the budget to consider at least 44.45% for Brazilian institutions, with headquarters or principal place of business located in the regions of Sudam, Sudene and the Midwest. In addition, although any institution may compose the consortiums for proposal submission, only research centers or institutes or Brazilian teaching entities, official or recognized, accredited by the Information Technology Area Committee (Cati), or by companies incubated in incubators accredited by the committee. To find partners, Paim pointed out the search for eligible institutions in the Cati's website, of Incobra or in Plataforma Lattes. There is also the possibility of having the support of the Brazilian contact point, Moacyr Martucci.

The scientific director of European Commission, Jorge Pereira, led the other half of the webinar and highlighted the specific challenges of the bidding, its scope and expected impact. The call focuses on three topics: Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G Networks. In the first theme, the purpose is to select projects aimed at developing innovative technologies for the next generation of cloud infrastructures and services, focusing mainly on critical aspects related to security, privacy, reliability, data management and traceability, virtualization and Hybrid systems. It is expected that the solutions can be evaluated in intercontinental experiments, considering different domains of application in business and social contexts.

In IoT, stakeholders should direct the project to one of five sub-themes: Intelligent Manufacturing: Customization, Smart Living Environments for Aging Well, Energy Management at Home and Buildings, Intelligent Water Management and Environmental Monitoring. On the other hand, those who choose the topic of 5G Networks should focus on developing innovative core technologies or access to the 5G network and provide solutions for the demands of relevant industries or for the coverage of low-density regions.

One of the recommendations on the European side is to send the proposals for a preliminary analysis of the national point of contact. In addition, Pereira stressed to the stakeholders the importance of not submitting the proposals in the last minutes foreseen in the bidding.

Are you interested? Access the recording of the webinar and the presentations.