SMEs in the EU R&D context

Dr Marta MARTÍNEZ-VÁZQUEZDinner Debate, European Parliament, 29 January 2013

A personal experience

Presentation Overview About me About IMST VISTA: another COST Action on

antennas?! IMST’s COST & EU experience Wishes for future R&D Conclusions

About me... PhD Electrical Engineering, UP Valencia

(Spain) Senior Engineer & Project Manager at

IMST GmbH (Germany) Chair of IC1102 VISTA Previously: COST Actions 260, 284,

IC0603 EU Projects Networking & teaching activities

About IMST Foundation: 1992 Staff: 180 Headquarters: Kamp-Lintfort,

Germany

IMST Services

Research & development Design of RF components &

systems Transfer to manufacturing Test services & type approval

IMST

Public funded research projects

Customised design

of radio systems, antennas,

microelectronics

Products& Services

Target markets Telecom / IT Automation Automotive Medical devices Security

IMST & publicly funded R&D Strategy:

Know-how through targeted R&D projects Technology transfer in industrial projects

Germany Regional (NRW) National (BMBI/BMBF)

EU FP6/FP7IP: STREP, NoE, Coordinating Actions,

InterRegio Eureka/Medea+ ESA

COST 259 “Wireless Flexible Personalized Communications” COST 260 “Smart Antennas” COST 273 “Towards Mobile Broadband Multimedia Networks” COST 281 “Potential Health Implications from Mobile Communication

Systems” COST 2100 “Pervasive Mobile & Ambient Wireless Communications” COST IC0603 “Antenna Systems & Sensors for Information Society

Technologies (ASSIST)” COST IC1004 “Cooperative Radio Communications for Green Smart

Environments” COST IC1102 “Versatile, Integrated, and Signal-aware Technologies for

Antennas (VISTA)”

IMST & COST Actions

Once upon a time… in 1998

What is COST?

Dates COST Action Countries1973-1977 25-1: Aerial network with phase control 5

1980-1984 204: Phased array antennas and their novel applications

8

1984-1988 213: Electronically steered antennas for future satellite and terrestrial communications in the 90s

12

1993-1997 245: Active arrays and array fed reflector antennas 17

1997-2001 260: Smart Antennas: Computer Aided Design & Technology

18

2002-2006 284: Innovative Antennas for Emerging Terrestrial and Space-based Applications

20

2007-2011 IC0603 ASSIST: Antenna Systems & Sensors for Information Society Technologies

27

COST IC1102 VISTA…Yet another COST Action on Antennas?!

Still needed?

RF-Electronics:(Microwaves, optoelectronics)Signal Processing…)

“Interfacing” activity

Channel propagation, Navigation systems, Global Integrated Networks , Atmosphere; Meteorology

Antennas:From guided to radiated signaland viceversa

The engine

The tyres !!

The track

Antennas are everywhere…

Source: BMW

Source: Airbus

Wireless systems of tomorrow

Cost-efficientReconfigurableFrequency agile

AdaptiveMultifunctional

MIMO

Cognitive Radio

Wireless Sensor

Networks

SatCom

THz Imaging & Radar

Intra/on/off body

comm.

Vision of VISTA

WG2

WG4

WG1 WG3HOW

Systems & Applications

Information harvested and delivered:whenever neededwherever neededhowever needed

Understand & predict the possibilitymodelling &

characterisation

Create the possibility

People and society

Make it physically possible

Enabling technologies & applications

VISTA & industry

Human resources

(researchers, networking)

Exchange of ideas (blue sky research)

VISTA participants

Industry (incl.

SMEs)

Research centres

University European Bodies

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1812

58

1

1

5

Industry9%

SMEs9%

Academia66%

University66%

European Bodies1%

VISTA outputs• Mobility through STSM (>15/year)• Courses• Teaching material

Training and education

• Industry-University• Spin-off projects

Durable cooperation

• Recommendations for future applications• Technical documents• Algorithms & measurements• Benchmarking activities

Technical outputs

Societal

aims

Attract female

students

Capture the attention:

events for & with children

Correlate education efforts with industrial

requirements

Improve MSc and PhD students mobility

COST experience for IMST

PROS CONS

No direct benefits

Heavy weight of university

“Academic thinking”

Limited tools

Networking

Reputation/Excellence

Links to academia / HR aspects

Flexibility

IMST experience in EU projects

Good support for internal R&D Long-term projects International presence Financial security during project

lifespan

IMST experience in EU projects Complete system solution expected ‘Academic thinking’: expectations, planning,

etc. Too high-tech / ‘fashion-driven’ Consortium building: who to call?

- i.e.: Linknovate, a ‘LinkedIn for science' On-line information confusing Proposals: costly procedure Accounting issues

Wishes for future R&D Exploitation: product definition, business cases, market

introduction Gap research/product:

Industrialisation Standard conformance, testing etc. 

Possibility of small proposals (small consortium/single partner)

Short proposal cycles / quick start Limited time for innovation Support in IP protection

Stable financial basis: funding schemes that match SMEs’ costs over the project time

Conclusions

COST as ‘way of life’ SMEs need more attractive

conditions EU-funded project vital for SMEs Framework should be improved

Dr Marta MARTÍNEZ-VÁZQUEZIMST GmbHCOST Action IC1102 ‘VISTA’www.cost-vista.eumartinez@imst.de

Thank you andHasta la !

www.cost.eu