As you know, one of the basic
ideas behind the publishing of EoIs on the Cordis Web Site is to
enable researchers to create new initiatives and/or larger
consortiums.
I am therefore inviting potential partners to extend their
respective areas of interests into a mutual partnership for
applications within a concrete interdisciplinary framework programme.
It may sometimes be useful to exchange ideas in a broader context...
and this in turn may help you in your own research. On the other
hand, your own experience would certainly benefit to us all.
I have submitted the Expression of Interest (EoI) NewPOL that falls
within the "European Commission" 6th Framework Programme. The title
is: "The Physics of Life and the Neuroimmunoendocrine System: an
integrated understanding of diseases and healing potential in the
human being explored using novel approaches to therapy". The
corresponding url is
http://eoi.cordis.lu/dsp_details.cfm?ID=30219 and can be found
on the Cordis Web Site.
I am also the founding director of the International
Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Research Center. The Center is
presently a non-profit organisation that serves as a dynamic
platform for an exchange of ideas within an interdisciplinary
framework. [Please note that the term "Neuroscience" is not to be
considered as neuroscience "strictu sensu" but rather as a way to
introduce the notion of dynamic interactive interfaces and links in
the Life Sciences]. Once the Center is constructed, its status is
likely to change.
The Center's objectives and philosophy are quite unique: not only do
these have little in common with "conventional"
institutions/universities but at the same time they seem to appeal
to an increasing number of individual researchers in conventional
establishments who wish to work in an integrated interdisciplinary
framework and contribute to creating something completely new. The
participants on our list are such people: highly determined, strong
personality and not afraid of doing research between the
conventions. The Center is thus independent and shall remain so.
Preparations are being made for a very ambitious International
Multidisciplinary Neuroscience Research Congress: a gigantic
integrated and quite unique "consortium" inspired from the NewPOL
attachment (cf url above): "Physics of Life: The Awakening of
Intelligence".
I have tried to convince many colleagues in the scientific and
medical community of the necessity to "rethink" research in order to
go beyond the deadlocks that we are faced with in the future and
create a new structure that shall enable an integrated understanding
of the Life Sciences in the Universe. What is Disease? What is
Health? What is Life? What is Information? The vertical integrated
cooperation between the participants (clinicians, computer
scientists, immunologists, biochemists, biophysicists, neurologists,
psychiatrists, mathematicians, experts in bio and nanotechnology,
etc...) on the Academic and SME Lists shall undoubtedly lead to
concrete innovative approaches in dealing with these issues.
I have tried to make some kind of order out of the chaotic inflow of
EoIs. The Congress - which could be called "Ideas without Frontiers"
- is a Research Congress aimed at understanding the Life Sciences by
integrating interdisciplinary approaches. The Congress shall be a
dynamic interactive platform exploring (and confronting) new/old
ideas. It shall last at least two/three weeks during which multiple
workshops (in series/parallel: the shorter the meeting, the greater
the number of parallel workshops that must be crammed in a short
period and the greater the frustration) shall be held and organised
according to the plan elaborated in the Call for Programme
Coordinators file N° 4. A quite unique Space Life Sciences Programme
is also included. One of the characteristics of this Congress is
that it (or part of it) shall be open to the General Public: just
how this last could be managed on a practical basis shall have to be
discussed during the Organisation Committee Meeting in Brussels (cf.
below).
The Programmes are just outlined at this stage for obvious copyright
reasons and shall be used as a source of inspiration. I have kept
very close to the initial presentation (cf. NewPOL attachment) in
order to convey the same atmosphere. I have deliberately insisted on
certain expressions for obvious reasons. Finally, I have tried to
make these programmes accessible to a wide public with different
backgrounds.
Every potential participant is encouraged to see how he/she can
suggest (a) workshop theme(s) than can fit within any of the
above-mentioned Programmes. This can be done by first contacting any
of the researchers on our List and/or writing to the relevant
Programme Coordinator. Workshop themes may also be former (adapted)
or new lecture/poster titles: there won't be any lectures of course,
but the theme shall be dissected - with innovative and personal
contributions - by everyone in the group participating in the
workshop. If a potential participant has already prepared a focussed,
conventional or more experimental project (NoE/IP/Other/Non-Commission),
so much the better: he/she can also bring it over if she/he wishes.
If no project is ready but your Workshop Theme is accepted, you can
create your workshop and prepare your project directly during the
Congress. All combinations are possible: for example, a completed
project + another one under preparation, ...
The ideal maximum number of participants/workshop (cf. Congress)
should turn around 10. However, this may have to be increased to an
absolute maximum of 30 if the total number of participants for the
Congress is very large. Workshop Coordinators are potential (or
previous / actual) Principle Coordinators for "EU" 6FP proposals.
During the whole Congress, a special information unit reserved for
our members shall help out and even enable projects to be prepared
and presented directly to the Commission.
Conclusions at the end of each workshop shall be mandatory. These
shall be presented by each Workshop Coordinator for ALL to hear in
PART II of the Congress.
ALL conclusions shall be compared and worked on: new
ideas/initiatives and practical suggestions are obviously expected.
These and the final conclusions shall then be published in the
Center's (first!) Journal (cf. PART III ): copyright! The
participants shall also be able to meet company directors/delegates
directly (and vice-versa) for possible collaboration in a pleasant,
less formal and creative atmosphere. Of course, companies are also
on the lookout for original ideas. So some solution shall have to be
found. The workshops shall remain private and confidential until
results are published. This could be done directly so as to
safeguard intellectual property and enabling biotech delegates to
discuss possibilities at the end of PART II of the Congress(??). The
final transcription can then be presented later in the Center's
Journal (cf. PART III).
In other words, the Congress shall be anything but passive and
therefore promises to be very exciting!
As one Nobel Prize winner rightly said during the November
conferences in Brussels, in many cases of fundamental research you
CANNOT specify (as is required by the Commission) what the outcome
of your research is going to be. The Congress shall reflect the same
basic philosophy and shall be largely exploratory: we cannot know
what the "specific" outcome shall be at this stage.
This last part shall deal with the design and conception of both the
actual construction of the Center itself and the Center's Journal.
My suggestion is that SMEs and other potential partners (non SMEs,
Academics, ...) may wish to get in touch with some of the
researchers on the List and take part in the preparations for the
Congress. We are also looking for Industries/Biotech/Nanotech...
companies that would like to sponsor the Congress. Finally, there
shall definitely be opportunities not only to develop but also to
create(!) new SMEs.
The Congress (PARTS I & II) is something every researcher can fall
back on to encourage new perspectives. There are two facts to keep
in mind:
i) There is no guarantee that any given project shall automatically
receive funds.
ii) The administrative task of actually preparing a project for the
Commission is very tedious, discouraging and time-consuming
Furthermore, I am not at all satisfied by the "EU" selection process
(I personally reject it). I have been told that this has always been
a highly controversial and difficult problem. Indeed, how are
evaluators evaluated?
I am quite certain that similar problems abound in far too many
other institutions and universities. How many ideas are maybe stolen
during any "selection" process? How many projects have been rejected
but thereafter used by unscrupulous academics during application
procedures? Are all their achievements/degrees necessarily deserved?
How many may have exploited brilliant assistants (or students?) like
Rosalind Franklin - the dark lady of DNA - to their own ends?
Now, the "selection" process for the Congress is much simpler and
straightforward.
You have an original theme for a workshop that fits in within the
overall framework programme? You can support your new, innovative
ideas on a theoretical and/or practical basis? Come along! Create
your workshop! Discuss your ideas with SMEs/Industries
etc...directly! That's the idea!
The Congress is a platform where researchers are invited
irrespective of whether their project has been "selected" by the
Evaluators or not. Research does not begin/stop with the Commission.
Our objectives are to develop the "EU" 6FP but on a more ambitious
and concrete multidisciplinary framework programme and perspective:
it is a scientific, educational, social and political challenge, and
should therefore be given maximum publicity. As mentioned in PART I
above, the Congress is also absolutely ideal to prepare projects
"for" the European Commission, but this can be achieved only if it
can be held before(!) Call for Proposal deadlines. If we could get
everything together by the second EU Call, this would be fine.
As I wrote in one of my communications to our group, a reasonable
way to integrate this initiative with the 6FP is to work on three
fronts: IPs/NoEs, SMEs, and Congress. I am obviously all for the
continued submission of focussed IPs/NoEs to the Commission, but at
the same time I strongly encourage everyone to see how their
respective projects could be extended/adapted to the much more
ambitious forthcoming Congress and what it stands for.
Finally: funds. I wrote to the Commission to ask for funds regarding
this initiative. I received 'encouraging' news, but I became
allergic to words long ago. I have examined the possibilities (cf.
file N° 3). This shall be discussed during the Organisation
Committee meeting (cf. below).
I do not wish to have to depend too much on the Commission, however.
This is why I urge participants to try to find parallel sources of
financial support: telethon, press, media, concerts, public
lectures, etc...all FOR the Congress. I do indeed find these "Calls
for Proposals" and underlying bureaucracy (with everyone getting het
up and scrambling all over the place begging for funds whilst the
Master sits comfortably in Brussels) somewhat distasteful.
I don't see why our initiative couldn't take off from the 6FP on a
parallel basis, develop independently and - why not? - take over? I
deeply feel that a fundamental change in the overall educational,
political and social systems is urgently needed: these must be
entirely rethought.
The "European Union" and "United Nations" have unfortunately both
lost a great deal of their political credibility and respectability.
This does NOT mean that I am against the basic idea behind these
institutions: I just feel that these institutions have had their
time (and chance...), and that the moment has come to go beyond and
create a new democratic(!!!) World Union on a completely new basis
that has yet to be defined.
I do believe that internal dysfunctions and perhaps the very
infrastructure of the "EU"/"UN" have both largely contributed to
their present difficulties. Distinguished colleagues at the European
Commission have had excellent ideas and initiatives, but I feel that
many of their collaborators seem to have disserved their peers more
than anything else.
The "EU" is now preparing to extend its "Union" by integrating more
countries: this is a good idea, but not if they use the same
outdated and inefficient model. This could well bring further inner
(and therefore outer) chaos for international relations and world
trade, simply put because of communication and interface problems.
Extending the European Union to a democratic World Union, certainly.
But based on another more open, mobile, flexible, interactive and
less bureaucratic/technocratic (infra)structure. This is also one of
the objectives of the Congress.
The Organising Committee [Programme Coordinators (file N° 5) and
National Coordinators (file N° 6)] shall meet in Tervuren/Brussels
to discuss all the important issues related to the Congress (cf.
file N° 5). This meeting can only be held once all the Programme
Coordinators are known (cf. files N° 4 & 5).
Should you be interested in taking part in this initiative, please
send me an abstract of your work, your full professional address,
e-mail and the very short outline of your ideas that you would like
to see under "Area of Interest" (cf. Academic List). Should your
profile be appropriate for the Congress, your details shall be
inserted in the Academic/SME List. This shall make you eligible to
attend the Congress. You shall then be included in the mailing list
and receive a copy of the most recent developments.
If you would like to be considered as a Programme Coordinator (cf.
file N° 5) or National Coordinator (cf. file N° 6), please say so.
The meeting between PCs (and possibly NCs) in Tervuren/Brussels is
essential (and urgent) because the task at hand - although very
stimulating - is an enormous amount of work.
The sooner I can set up the List of PCs and NCs (i.e. the Organising
Committee), the sooner can colleagues start sending out their
Workshop Proposals to "their" PC, the sooner the Organisation
Committee meeting can be held and the sooner we can get everything
going.
The Congress promises to be a very exciting and challenging venture.
As I wrote in file N° 5, this may also help to set an example to
all: breaking the barriers between those who "know" and those who do
not "know", between what is "known" and what is not "known".
The search for a potential common denominator through the study of
interfaces, networks and missing links in the Life Sciences may lead
to a new paradigm for improving the Quality of Life and achieving
harmony on this Planet.
