SMEs in the EU R&D context Dr Marta MARTÍNEZ-VÁZQUEZ Dinner 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?

DatesCOST ActionCountries : Aerial network with phase control : Phased array antennas and their novel applications : Electronically steered antennas for future satellite and terrestrial communications in the 90s : Active arrays and array fed reflector antennas : Smart Antennas: Computer Aided Design & Technology : Innovative Antennas for Emerging Terrestrial and Space-based Applications 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 signal and viceversa The engine The tyres !! The track

Antennas are everywhere… Source: BMW Source: Airbus

Wireless systems of tomorrow Cost-efficient Reconfigurable Frequency agile Adaptive Multifunctional MIMO Cognitive Radio Wireless Sensor Networks SatCom THz Imaging & Radar Intra/on/ off body comm.

Vision of VISTA WG2 WG4 WG1 WG3 HOW Systems & Applications Information harvested and delivered: whenever needed wherever needed however needed Understand & predict the possibility modelling & 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) Industrial forum for practical input

VISTA participants

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 PROSCONS No direct benefits Heavy weight of university “Academic thinking” Limited toolsNetworking 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-VÁZQUEZ IMST GmbH COST Action IC1102 ‘VISTA’ Thank you and Hasta la !