Travel Grant - Preparation for Participation in the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme

通过引入新的应用程序和服务获得的重大商机正在推动世界电信工程师以快速的速度开发和引入创新的尖端解决方案。为了保持欧洲在竞争激烈的电信市场上的领先地位，需要对研究和开发（R&D）进行重大战略投资，以支持工业界、公共当局、中小企业、研究中心和学术界之间的合作和跨学科伙伴关系。欧洲联盟（欧盟）启动的FP 7强调了这一点，根据该FP 7，2007-2013年期间将投入126.7亿欧元（约85亿欧元）的公共资金用于信息和通信技术（ICT）的研发。FP 7下所有活动的总预算为727.26亿欧元（约490亿欧元），这突出表明欧盟致力于建设一个世界领先的知识社会。在FP 7之前，欧盟委员会（EC）的框架计划始于1984年，持续五年，新框架的开始与其前身的结束重叠一年。FP 7分为四个方案，分别对应于：合作;思想;人员;和能力。合作方案为泛欧合作研究项目和网络提供了重点。FP 7下的一个新方法是欧洲技术平台倡议，该倡议旨在让与欧洲增长和竞争力特别相关的技术领域的所有利益攸关方参与进来。技术平台旨在由行业主导，其目标是确定研究政策的中长期方向，以满足行业需求并调动所需的人力和财力资源。迄今为止，30个欧洲技术平台正在开发中，包括：移动的和无线通信技术平台（eMobility）、网络和电子媒体（NEM）以及综合卫星通信倡议（ISI）。调查人员已经参加了这两个平台倡议的初步会议，并通过有限的内部资金提供便利，并有雄心参与与之相关的提案的编写，以及提案征集所涵盖的其他领域。调查人员是移动的和卫星通信研究中心（MSCRC）的主要成员，为十名学术人员和五十名研究人员提供了一个研究基地。该中心的许多成员十多年来一直参与欧洲合作研究，跨越四个框架。在此期间，欧洲的资金一直是调查人员的生命线。为了使MSCRC的调查人员和其他成员继续在国际层面上发展和工作，调查人员在以前的框架中奠定的基础必须通过参与FP 7征集建议书来建立。欧盟的扩大，以及旨在建立欧洲研究区的欧盟政策倡议，导致能够参与欧盟框架方案的组织数量大幅增长。因此，欧洲的合作研究现在往往汇集了以前没有合作的组织，在这方面，需要参加信息活动，并会见潜在的合作伙伴比以往任何时候都更加重要。本提案的目的是为调查人员和地中海安全与合作委员会成员申请旅行支助，以便利他们参加2007年4月1日至2008年3月31日期间的FP 7电话会议。研究领域将包括移动的、宽带、卫星和电子技术，与FP 7工作计划一致。

The significant business opportunities to be gained through introducing new applications and services are driving the world's telecommunications engineers to develop and introduce innovative, cutting edge solutions at a rapid pace. To maintain Europe's leading position in the highly competitive telecommunications market requires significant strategic investment in research and development (R&D) in support of co-operative, inter-disciplinary partnerships between industry, public authorities, small-medium enterprises, research centres and academia. This is underlined by the European Union's (EU's) launch of FP7, under which in the region of 12.67 billion (about 8.5 billion) of public money will be invested in R&D into Information and Communication Technology (ICT) over the period 2007-2013. The total budget for all activities under FP7 is 72.726 billion (in the region of 49 billion), underlining the EU's commitment to construct a world-leading knowledge society. Prior to FP7, the European Commission's (EC's) Framework Programmes, which began in 1984, have lasted for five-year periods, with the start of a new framework overlapping the end of its predecessor by one year. FP7 is organised into four programmes, corresponding to: Cooperation; Ideas; People; and Capacities. The Cooperation programme provides the focus for pan-European collaborative research projects and networks. A new approach under FP7 is the European Technology Platform initiative, which is intended to engage all stakeholders within an area of technology that is of particular relevance to European growth and competitiveness. Technology Platforms are intended to be industry-led and have the objectives of defining the medium to long-term direction of research policy to meet the needs of industry and to mobilise the required human and financial resources. To date, 30 European Technology Platforms are under development including: The Mobile and Wireless Communications Technology Platform (eMobility), Networked and Electronic Media (NEM) and The Integral Satcom Initiative (ISI). The investigators have already attended preliminary meetings of these two platform initiatives, facilitated through limited internal funding, and have ambitions to become involved in the writing of proposals associated with them, as well as in other areas covered by the Calls for Proposals.The investigators are leading members of the Mobile and Satellite Communications Research Centre (MSCRC), which provides a research base for ten academic staff and in the region of 50 researchers. Many members of the Centre have been involved in European collaborative research for more than a decade, spanning four frameworks. During this time, European funding has been the lifeblood of the investigators. For the investigators and fellow members of the MSCRC to continue to develop and work at an international level, it is essential that the foundations laid by the investigators during the previous Frameworks are built upon through participation in FP7 Calls for Proposals. The enlargement of the EU, together with EC policy initiatives aimed at establishing a European Research Area, have resulted in a significant growth in the number of organisations that are able to participate in EC Framework Programmes. Consequently, European collaborative research now often brings together organisations that have not previously collaborated and, in this respect, the need to participate at information events and meet with potential partners is more important than ever. The purpose of this proposal is to request travel support for the investigators and fellow MSCRC members to facilitate participation in the FP7 Calls, spanning the period 1 April 2007- 31 March 2008. The research areas will include mobile, broadband, satellite and e- technologies, in agreement with the FP7 work programme.