Transforming European Science through Information and Communication Technologies: challenges and opp

1
Transforming European Science through
Information and Communication Technologies
challenges and opportunities of the Digital
Agean independent experts working
paperproduced for the European Commission DG RTD
-APwithin the context of ETANSep. 1999
2
What is ETAN

• The purpose of ETAN is to promote communication
  and debate at the European level between policy
  researchers and policy makers on important
  science and technology (ST) policy issues. ETAN
  convenes expert working groups that review,
  synthesise and consolidate socio-economic
  research results and identify issues and options
  for discussion by experts, policy makers and
  other stakeholders. ETANs ultimate objective is
  to promote a shared understanding of the issues
  in order to facilitate, where appropriate, the
  development of more consistent, concerted and
  complementary European and national ST policies.

3
Why this Group

• falling within the ETAN objectives
• timely world-wide explosion of the Information
  Revolution
• huge impact on Science world

4
Rationale

• New technologies give unprecedented computing and
  communication power to researchers
• Complex modelling / simulation / Data-mining /
  Virtual Reality / High speed networking /
  Multi-party multimedia experiments /etc.
• The Collaboratories concept
• A New Working Environment
• new opportunities / new challenges

5
Grasping the big picture

• understand the methodology, the organisation and
  the growing underlying culture
• proceed to a SWOT analysis
• identify major trends
• draw relevant Science and Technology Policy
  options and recommendations for policy makers
• get the message across interested communities

6
Identifying the issues

• real magnitude / ICT penetration in ST
  communities in Europe
• organisation / implementation
• communities profile
• ethics
• risks
• challenges / opportunities

7
ST Policy implications

• addressing the new conditions of success /
  tackling disparities
• public versus private roles limits / forms of
  interaction / a new partnership?
• role of the academic and industrial communities
  revisited

8
Schedule (respected)

• December 1998 group formed
• January 1999 1st WG meeting
• March 1999 2nd WG meeting
• May 1999 3d WG meeting
• July 1999 4th WG meeting
• September 1999 final report
• November 1999 ETAN Workshop (Helsinki,
  Parliament of Finland, Committee for the Future)

9
Report Structure issues

• An evolving scientific community facing a
  changing world
• The ICT Global Change
• The Rise of the Networked Scientific Community
  towards a new paradigm in the science system

10
The Rise of the Networked Scientific Community
towards a new paradigm in the science system

• science as a lead ICT user
• creating the global scientific community
• integrating scientists
• changing collaboration patterns
• virtual collaborations
• access to electronic resources tools and data
• remote access to shared databases
• remote access to scientific instruments
• electronic publishing of scientific papers
• preservation of digital information
• the cultural legacy
• the record of the academic activity
• towards better productivity
• spread of skills in education and training
• socio-ethical and philosophical issues
• true knowledge and trust
• differential effects closing the gap?
• Participation of the public in scientific
  activity

11
Key findings

• A new emerging culture between scientists
• Need for the development of infrastructure, tools
  and network applications
• Need for upgrading ICT skills in Europe, and
  re-training researchers

12
Shifting paradigms

• Atoms Bits
• Hierarchy Emergence
• Co-location Virtual location

Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
13
The collaboratory vision
Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
people-to-people
Communication, Collaboration Services
groups-to-facilities
groups-to-information
Distributed, media-rich information technology
Digital libraries documents
Remote instruments
14
The SPARC project

• SPARC Space Physics and Aeronomy Research
  Collaboratory
• Support collaboration among space scientists
• Data from spacecraft, ground-based instruments
  and models

Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
15
(No Transcript)
16
Anyone, anywhere, at any time
Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
17
Great Lakes CFAR

• The first geographically-distributed Center for
  AIDS Research
• Participants include Northwestern Michigan,
  Wisconsin, and Minnesota
• A virtual center that combines complementary
  expertise

Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
18
Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
19
Challenges

• The next big thing can come from anywherebut
  ultimate impact is hard to forecast
• Progress requires learning by doing
• Err on the side of playfulness

Linus Torvalds
Courtesy Prof. Tom Finholt
20
How European Science can profit more from ICT

• By using powerful data processing with benefits
  for all scientific areas
• by creating better conditions for access to
  shared resources (distributed databases and
  digital libraries, broadband networking, digital
  collaboratories)
• by helping research communities to structure and
  integrate better into the global science
  community
• by creating appropriate conditions for less
  favoured regions to participate in the global
  innovation process

21
How we worked

• 5 face-to-face meetings
• Huge e-mail communication
• Restricted access Website on ISPO using GMDs
  BSCW collaborative software (http//bscw.gmd.de/)
  / Basic Support for Collaborative Work)

22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
On the Web

• ETAN-ICT Home Page http//www.cordis.lu/etan/src/
  topic-8.htmMore informationdimitri.corpakis_at_c
  ec.eu.int

26
Collaboratories slides courtesy Prof. Tom
FINHOLT, University of Michigan, USA
finholt_at_umich.eduwww.crew.umich.eduwww.si.umic
h.eduwww.crew.umich.edu/SPARCiceman.crew.umich
.edu/cfar/