1st meeting of all Greek ERA chairs

Date: Sept 26 2023 11:00 am

Location: FORTH – Heraklion, Crete

Description : The inaugural Greek ERA chair meeting that included all 7 Greek ERA chairs [link]  of the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation for an overview) was a great success.
The meeting was attended by the Director of FORTH, Prof. Nektarios Tavernarakis, the Director of the Institute of Computer Science at FORTH, Prof. Dimitris Plexousakis, and the Director of the institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at FORTH, Prof. John Vontas (also the coordinator of one of the ERA chair projects).
It was also attended by the following policy makers: Deputy Minister of Development, Mr. Maximos Senetakis, General Secretary for Higher Education, Prof. Em. Odysseas Zoras, and Deputy Regional Governor for the Primary Sector, Mrs. Eirini Giakoumaki.n terms of actionable items, the 7 Greek ERA Chairs decided to
– Establish the “Greek ERA Chair Network” in order to ensure a continuous flow and exchange of ideas with an emphasis on policy issues and reforms (to this end, a mail list was set up, that includes all current and shall include all future ERA Chair holders and coordinators).
– Hold an annual Greek ERA Chair meeting – the 2024 meeting will be held at the National Hellenic Research Foundation in Athens (P. Kastritis), the 2025 meeting will take place at the Biomedical Sciences Research Center “Alexander Fleming” (G. Skretas).
– Integrate new Greek ERA Chairs from upcoming calls into the ERA Chair Network
– Provide support and expertise to upcoming ERA Chair proposals
– Jointly work on a prioritized list of research policy reforms
– Intensify contacts with the General Secretariat for Research and Innovation, with the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Development.