<p>On Thursday, September 13 last, eight participants attended the first seminar in the series ‘Prepare for Horizon 2020’. During this series, all participants gain the necessary knowledge for an optimal preparation for Horizon 2020. With this research programme the EU encourages economic growth and employment, research, innovation and competitiveness in Europe. The grant programme has a value of around 80 billion euros and runs from 2014-2020.</p> <p>Seminar Series ‘Prepare for Horizon 2020’<br /> September 13 was the first seminar of the series ‘Prepare for Horizon 2020’. We felt the afternoon was highly interactive. The participants had ample time to ask their questions regarding Horizon 2020.</p> <p>This afternoon following key topics were on the agenda:</p> <p>The creation and organization of the EU<br /> The EU funding landscape<br /> Information on the framework programmes<br /> Horizon 2020<br /> Tailored advice for the participants. How can EU grants support the goals and ambitions of the participants?</p> <p>We ended with a success story. We learned how a (small) SME business successfully gained access to the ‘big European Seventh Framework Programme.</p> <p>New data, new opportunities Horizon 2020<br /> The second seminar in this series of 3, will take place on March 31, 2013. Then we will discuss actual developments in Horizon 2020. In addition, we also look at some other grant programmes, like for instance COSME, Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs 2014-2020. On top of this, we will discuss issues like Intellectual Property Rights, consortia building and we will further delve into topics which are relevant for the participants.</p> <p>Because of the importance of Horizon 2020, we have also decided to start a new seminar series, on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. To enable you to prepare for the opportunities which this new European grant programme can offer.</p>