LIP´s participation in European Computing projects highlighted at Ciência 2022
"The session ´Researchers in Horizon Europe´ took place in the first day of Encontro Ciência 2022, and included the sharing of three testimonials in different areas - one of them from LIP "
Jorge Gomes, coordinator of LIP's Computing Group, was invited to tell his journey and experience since he applied, for the first time, to projects at European level. In the panel was also Cecília Roque, professor at Universidade nova de Lisboa, in the Chemistry department, and Vera Aldeias, geoarchaeologist and researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center of Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behavior, University of Algarve. Both awarded Starting Grants from the European Research Council (ERC). The three unveiled all the challenges and tips associated with European funding.
Both researchers had their first ERC grant proposals rejected. In fact, Vera Aldeias achieved it very recently. LIP achieved relatively easily its first participation in a European project, but, on the other hand, did not receive any funding. Failure was common to all three, but they guarantee that it becomes easier as experience and knowledge are gained. "The first project is a leap in the dark, but today it is easier, because we already know all the tricks," stressed LIP's researcher.
"We were a small group and without the participation in European projects it wouldn't have been possible to grow so much," he recognized, giving as an example the creation of the National Infrastructure for Distributed Computing (INCD), of which he is technical coordinator.
The beginning of Jorge Gomes' path, and that of LIP, goes back to a time when, as far as scientific computing was concerned, there was a whole world to be explored in the country. The participation in the developments made in distributed computing (GRID) played a preponderant role. In 2006 a partnership was established with Spain from which IBERGRID was born. The role of Gaspar Barreira (1940-2019) in all this path has not been forgotten. Since then, participation in infrastructure tenders has multiplied and the numerous projects that have been developed serve as a bridge fto others. Today the stakes also include Cloud computing and Supercomputing, areas in which they are now involved in several projects, such as EuroCC, which is dedicated to promoting high performance computing.
For all those present, who carefully noted down the tips of the three success stories in acquiring European grants and projects, there are four general conclusions: don't do science alone, have a good network of contacts, write proposals by sharing knowledge with others, and, above all, apply fearlessly. "Don't be afraid. Take the risk. It may not work right away, but it will work," stressed Jorge Gomes.
Session video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggvNppytBsQ