COST Action IC1303 Algorithms, Architectures and Platforms for Enhanced Living Environments (AAPELE)

Transcription

1 COST Action IC1303 Algorithms, Architectures and Platforms for Enhanced Living Environments (AAPELE) Sofia, 2 July 2015

2 My Talk Title What is the added value and impact of participating in a COST Action? Examples of the experience and best practices 2

3 Members Dr. Kiril Belov, COST Action MC Member, Institute of Systems Engineering and Robotics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, BG Asst. Prof. Rossitza Goleva, COST Action MC Member and Vice Chair, Technical University of Sofia, Sofia, BG 3

4 Outline Motivation to participate in COST Action How I started my participation? My first COST Management Committee meeting My first COST Action Next COST Actions participation Writing COST proposals Pros and Cons while writing a proposal Your proposal won Planning your participation Kickoff meeting 4

5 Outline National level activities International level activities COST participation and your own research activities and interests Management Committee meetings Workgroup meetings Workshops Industry days Training schools Budget Short Term Scientific Missions 5

6 Outline Books and book chapters Joint publications Standardization work Special issues in journals Dissemination instruments Bulgaria part of inclusive countries group Gender issues Are you convinced to participate? 6

7 COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology Motivation to participate: Networking between the researchers and industry Need to find colleagues working in the same field Necessity to cooperate in on going research Necessity to publish results worldwide Necessity to publish quickly and being properly reviewed Necessity to do work on standards, patents Developing ideas for research dissemination Necessity to look for project partners Necessity to form a team on specific topic Necessity to explore new topic Be yourself and cooperate at the same time 7

8 My First Management Committee Meeting COST 290 as a substitute Hosted by University of Coimbra, Portugal Together with a nice conference First impression for excellent organization and nice people Friendly environment for discussions Possibility to publish good paper at the cost of a conference fee Excellent ideas exchange opportunities Perfect opportunity to look for: project partner paper co-author industry collaborator Starting point for professional and personal friendship 8

9 My First Management Committee Meeting Outcomes I started to wander how to enter the programme We continue with Erasmus programme and student exchange We apply for at least 3 cooperative proposals for different EU calls We continue with 2 more COST actions I read Vademecum 9

10 My first COST Action as Management Committee Member IC0703 Traffic Monitoring and Analyses Enter as second MC member after the beginning of the action This is the easiest way to enter the action but you have to look for such opportunity Documents preparation goes through: COST National representative COST Action Chair Your institution Developing new hot topics Presenting on going research 3 workshops one book in the action 10

11 My first COST Action as Management Committee Member Outcomes We found new friends to cooperate in: Long term research Proposals for different EU programmes like Erasmus, COST, FP 7, H2020 Paper cooperation 3 in three years Book chapters 2 in two years 2 journal papers in 3 years The consortium for the next COST action was ready and we apply 6 times 2 H2020 applications in two years 11

12 Two Successful Applications ICT COST Action IC Algorithms, Architectures and Platforms for Enhanced Living Environments (AAPELE) Dr. Belov MC member Rossitza Goleva MC member and Vice-Chair ICT COST Action IC High-Performance Modelling and Simulation for Big Data Applications (chipset) Rossitza Goleva work group member and MC applicant 12

13 IC0703 Lessons Learned Do not hesitate to ask COST Action Chair to include you to her/ his team Be proactive Write to participants with questions Enter the common documents issued by the action Ask for time slot for presentation of your research in progress Think how to cooperate Ask for cooperation Be reciprocally cooperative and flexible Some activities may fail 13

14 Pros in Writing Proposals You are in the action from the beginning The place is reserved for you You participate in consortium formation Could make consortium more proper for your research You could plan your work in a better way You have more opportunities to propose: Hot topic New proposal New special issue for a journal New special series for a book New workshop New research area New networking instrument 14

15 Pros in Writing Proposals You could define fundamental topic You could define practical topic You could balance between fundamental and practical science You could balance with industry almost without risk The risk in COST Action participation is relatively small The freedom in research is high Any COST Action member is free to take decisions concerning her/ his research Possibility to plan traveling Possibility to plan proposal Possibility to manage your results dissemination 15

16 Pros in Writing Proposals Combination to H2020 Short Term Scientific Missions planning Early Career Investigators cooperation Possibility to have high level of citations Training school: Good opportunity to everybody Trainers and trainees all together Invited talks Nice place for good discussion and experimenting 16

17 Cons in Writing the Proposal Difficult to define hot topics Difficult to pass the threshold High probability to fail Need to invest time in writing, checking, presenting The proposal may fail and you should be ready to edit and reapply There is no payment for writing proposals There will be a lot of documents to be read There will be a lot of s Timing could be critical Participation means work 17

18 Proposal Defense The proposal is on the border line There is a need for defense Invitation is sent to the proposal coordinator The entire consortium should help to prepare the presentation Question & Answer session is very important In case of fail think about resubmission Ask COST officers and experts during defense how and what to resubmit Prepare your team for resubmission Be open to the criticism 18

19 Writing Proposal Define precise aim of the proposal Think about the aim while writing Try to explain shortly ideas Look for similar COST Actions Point your ideas among existing COST Actions Try to propose hot topic Think about competition Check against reviewers recommendation Think about reasonable work load covered by core team Plan and promise only the things you could work on 19

20 Writing Proposal Keep member s list clear Plan activities that will attract people to be active Plan activities that will help people to integrate Think about national level activities Think about international level activities Think about activities with new member countries Think about activities with International Partner Countries Try to cover all type of activities expected from the COST Action Think about novel part of the proposal Position novel part of the proposal well 20

21 Writing Proposal You will need good references coming from: Partners World wide Industry Standards Position the topic precisely The proposal is team work The proposal editing is a work of a single person Very often the editor of the proposal is the coordinator and future Chair of the COST Action Map expertise of all core team participants Total length expected pages with tables slides for defense Short answers to all questions 21

22 Proposal Writing Include book issues as output from the COST Action Plan special issues for journals Plan workshops Plan cooperation with industry, i.e. industry days or similar activities Plan wiki pages Plan google docs Plan web page Plan other tools usage like basecamp Plan flagship conferences to attach your workshops, MC meetings, Work Group meetings 22

23 Proposal Writing Plan joint papers between core team members Plan standard s drafts Plan surveys issue Plan white papers issue Plan dissemination activities Make your research visible Show your research results worldwide Show the results of the consortium as a complete work on the topic Explore hot topics Develop hot topics 23

24 Proposal Writing Plan training school Think about: Work Group level COST action level Interest groups level European dimensions World wide dimensions Try to expand the team Your budget depends on the team size and planned activities 24

25 You Won Memorandum of Understanding issued Check the text carefully There is still a small room for changes and editing Try to be realistic in planning No need to promise more than necessary Think about the workload annually in terms of: Two MC meetings One workshop One industry day Few work group meetings Total budget of less than euro Think about the research already done by your partners The topics should be updated every year The time between proposal submission and kickoff meeting is about an year 25

26 You Won Find your national coordinator during the proposal writing and submission Contact national coordinator immediately after you won Plan your participation in: Management Financial operations STSMs White papers Reports Workshops Training schools Work groups Cooperative papers Joint proposals Go to the kickoff meeting prepared 26

27 Documents Collect your documents Apply to National Contact Coordinator Complete the procedures on e-cost web page Become an COST expert, H2020 expert Update your data regularly on the e-cost web page Keep track on the correspondence Some mails are urgent 27

28 Kick Off Meeting Listen carefully Be prepared to propose yourself for specific activity Try to position yourself and your research properly Be open to introduce yourself Be open and flexible to the proposals from other people Clear your plan for at least one year ahead Support all good ideas 28

29 MC Meetings Always plan activities for at least one year ahead Possibility to present research in progress Possibility to plan STSM Possibility to find partner for H2020, other COST Action, Erasmus programme Possibility to propose an idea, hot topic, training school, conference, journal, book, Think how to enhance your research using people networking MC meetings are more administrative than scientific Important decisions are taken during the MC meetings 29

30 Work Groups Main driving forces from science point of views Working on hot topics Covering main topics from the MoU Planning and encouraging joint publications Report the level of cooperation by means of graph Promotes the research done at national level Promotes the unique research done in International Partnering Countries Are responsible for surveys, deliverables, reports, experiment planning, other work group coordination 30

31 Workshops Driving force for joint publication among MC members You could always apply only your own research paper and think how to cooperate for the next workshop It is usually attached to good conference There is a possibility to participate covering expenses for traveling from COST programme You pay only workshop fee Reviewing papers will help you to understand other participant s ideas The participants are friendly and supportive for your research Proceedings are usually with good publishing house 31

32 Paper on Workshop You show your results to broad audience People will come with recommendations People may join your research You could join somebody else research Could be followed by STSM invitation Probability to be cited is high People will know you during the next workshop Workshop organizers usually have workshop fee discount The probability to have next paper accepted is increasing The probability to have joint paper accepted is also high 32

33 Industry Days Good opportunity to stay on the ground with your research Industry partners are looking for unique products ready for the market Industry partners are usually active in: Patents Innovations Experiments Product or service development Papers with industrial partners are better accepted Project proposals with industry partners are also better accepted You see the implementation of your research 33

34 Training Schools They are for everyone: Early Career Investigators PhD students Professionals from industry and academia This is the place to show details in your experiments and results as a process This is a way to train the COST Action participants on the topics from your MoU including hot topics This is the way to develop: Master curricula PhD curricula Certification programme 34

35 Budget It is usually between and euros depending on the number of countries At least half of the budget should go to inclusive countries e-cost platform is not stable yet Plan enough for STSMs Try to keep budget for MC meetings low Try to spend money for training school at university premises Usually there are less participants than we have in the list Usually there are invited talks that need money The budget left at the end of the year are lost The money for local organization support should be paid faster First months of the financial year are lost 35

36 Work Group Meetings Driving force for science and research work Discussion of: White papers Deliverables Surveys Hot topics Fulfilment of topics required in Memorandum of Understanding Careful planning within 4 years Joint paper publication planning Careful planning of H2020 proposals 36

37 Steering Committee Meetings Administrative meeting against Memorandum of Understanding All topics from MoU should be covered within 4 years Coordination between work groups Number of planned joint papers and STSMs should be fulfilled Proposals for MC meetings discussion Proposals for industry day and training school International partner countries invitations management Book, journal, workshop, industry days planning Reports planning and discussion New hot topics planning Budget discussions Dissemination planning 37

38 Skype Meetings Could be netview or similar Necessary for smooth work load and reporting Very important within work groups for topic discussion and joint publications Very important for standard work Coordinated discussions with newcomers in the COST Action Coordinated invitations to possible industry partners Coordination with International Partner Countries candidates Other administrative issues like e-cost management, invitations, payments, reports, reimbursement, etc. 38

39 E-instruments Very important for good coordination between partners 40 participants from about 20 countries need e-instrument for mapping We use but not limit to: Google documents Basecamp Web site Wiki Could go for ResearchGate, Academia, Facebook, Most of the work is done via e-instruments 39

40 Google Documents Shared documents will allow many users to: Add material Comment Add References Ask Questions Mark unclear parts Cons - there is a need of structuring Cons lack of Internet connection will not allow access Pros - sharing could be navigated through access lists The work flow is obvious to the participants Some of the documents could be open 40

41 Books Final book expected as written in Vademecum We try to have at least one book annually to allow people to publish Big consortiums could have more books There are not so strict requirements to the length of the chapters Long research activity with many results could be published The competition is strong and depends on the number of applications When the consortium has many publishing options it is easier for participants It is difficult to contract with good publishing house 41

42 Journals Special issues in Journals are essential for partners from academia Big consortiums could apply also for a journal with impact factor We try to explore both options in our consortium annually Usually extended versions of workshop papers or fundamental part of the research go to journal Application is not long but the competition is high to get a Special Issue Getting SI is easier on behalf of the consortium COST Action should ensure paper flow 42

43 White Papers White papers or surveys Open access documents to position the main results from the Action Nice overviews for broad audience Good introductory material for training school Excellent for joint work and publication Good for introductory chapter of a book Could go to magazine Could be used for COST action dissemination and final report Could be used for H2020 proposal or other COST proposal 43

44 Deliverables Deliverables are not directly applicable in COST Actions The same is valid for prototypes Have the form of: White papers Surveys Open access documents Dissemination material As useful as white papers and surveys Could contain more results from the ongoing research Could contain more data from experiments 44

45 Web Site Dissemination instrument Should be supported all the time Like a face of the consortium Difficult to collect data from all participants all the time Collection of data goes on point-to-point manner Time consuming to update The status after the end of the COST action is not clear It is better to be combined with other tools like: Basecamp Wiki Google Facebook 45

46 Proactive Management Usually there are variety of people in the consortium Chair and vice-chair could be proactive to part of participants and passive to others COST Action management is soft The rights of the MC members are the same as the rights of the management people Proactive behaviour is necessary when the MoU is not fulfilled In most of the cases the management should navigate and encourage work group coordination and joint work Gender issues and inclusive countries participation need more proactive management too 46

47 Passive Management Applied in all cases when the people are active enough to fulfill MoU The management people could be just part of the consortium and collect data for reporting Activities outside the COST Action could be more than activities inside the consortium Allows better expression of ideas from the members More concentrated on collection of data and its analyses Allows better distributed management based on the activities of the work group leaders 47

48 STSM Committee Rules needed It is better not to be managed directly by the chair and vicechair The rules should be published annually There is a need of scheduling Between 7 working days and 9 months Grant between 500 and 2500 euro Does not cover all expenses Aims to produce joint papers as a result from joint research Could be used also for research coordination only No limits like Erasmus programme 48

49 Editorial Committee Responsible for: MC meeting places Workshop places and organization Industry day places Journal applications Book applications Call for papers, chapters dissemination Usually up to 6-7 people depending on the work load It is honorable to be part of this committee Should keep track on the conferences, journals and publishing houses all the time 49

50 Industry Liaison Responsible for industry day places and organization Keeps track on industry partners existing and possible Invites industry partners for meetings Organizes exhibitions, industry panel during workshop etc. Looking for new opportunities Positions the COST Action in the industry Promoted standards when applicable Describes use-cases Supports testing 50

51 Training School Committee Works on the training school organization Works on the trainer collection Prepares the curricula using existing trainer applications Invites speakers in order to fulfill the gaps in the curricula Organizes all activities like labs, lectures, agenda, trainee collection, management Issues certificates Established new curriculum at master/ PhD/ certification level when applicable Tries to enrich the curriculum as much as possible 51

52 Workshops If possible attach to flagship conference Make negotiation for the proceedings with good publishing house Try to extend papers for special issue of a journal or book chapters Try to convince STSM recipients to apply joint papers Usually one day before the MC meeting Could be together with industry day Could be together with training school Could be standalone Should be open to the broad audience worldwide Local organizer gets financial and administration support 52

53 Budget Spending MC meetings Workshops Industry days Exhibitions Dissemination visits and tools Work group meetings STSMs Final book No money at the beginning of financial year No way to transfer money between financial years 53

54 Reporting Financial report Administrative report Science reports Joint papers H2020 proposals STSMs Details against MoU like milestones, topics covered Activities as workshops, training schools, industry days Intermediate reports Final report 54

55 Inclusive Countries Why Bulgaria is a member of inclusive countries group? - Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Republic of Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey How to improve the situation? by applications Become part of the COST Action management Electronic system for Grand Holder and management How COST actions could keep track on this issue? There is a need of additional education for e-cost management platform 55

56 Gender Issues Is it applicable for Bulgaria? How to improve the situation? Let us encourage our colleagues By populating the science among young women we also do work in this direction It is especially valid for engineering Propose your colleague for a management position in the Action Invite your colleague for joint research COST Action management is just one possibility out of many others 56

57 Are you convinced to participate? Do you like to travel 2-3 time annually and being in a position to discuss your research Cooperative work is 2-3 times faster than working standalone Are you ready to be part of big consortium coming from different nationalities Are you ready to network people in your country? You will represent your country society in the field Are you ready to edit, review, propose, correct, check, calculate, simulate, coordinate locally and internationally different activities? Go on 57

58 thank you Thank you very much! My colleague Dr. Kiril Belov will explain you about writing H2020 proposals Questions & Answers 58