European Funding for Research: What Opportunities Does It Present and How Does It Work? Professor Peter W. McOwan Vice Principal Public Engagement and External Partnerships Queen Mary University of London

Outline Process: the mechanics of developing and successfully delivering a large EU project People: an indication of the key people involved and the challenges Professional development: a discussion of how I feel such projects advance the individuals involved Perks: those unexpected extras that can arise

My story… Prof. Peter McOwan Project Coordinator Queen Mary, University of London

Process Call for proposals (EC) 2007 Lots of hard work, version control, wiki, finance, submission and success! 2008 EU Negotiation and 1 March – Kick off 2012 Timesheets, deliverables, milestones, reviews, recommendations, finance reporting, audits… travel & research, 31 August - End

10 partners, 2 companies, 7 countries Queen Mary, University of London Heriot Watt University University of Hertfordshire UK Swedish Institute of Computer Science Sweden INESC-ID Cnotinfor Portugal University of Bamberg Germany Wroclaw University of Technology Poland Eotvos Lorand University Hungary FOAM Belgium Total budget €10,760,966

Objectives... Developing technologies Getting inspiration from human- human and human-dog companionship behaviours Analyse ethical issues and impact Test the LIREC developments in real social settings Long-term relationships/friendship

NEF!!!

Project timeline Milestone 1: Formulation (M12) end of year 1 Phase 1 Milestone 2: Prototype(M24) end of year 2 Milestone 3: Prototype evaluation (M36) end of year 3 Phase 2 Milestone 4: Final version evaluation (M52) Milestone 5: Migration evaluation (M52) Milestone 6: Final reporting (M54) Phase Foundations Building companions Understanding companions LIREC Review 3, Porto Salvo, May 2011

Outcomes... multidisciplinary Technologies Migration Emotion tracker System architecture Embodiments FLASH/EMYS SUNFLOWER CHARLY SPUTNIK My Pleo iCat – my Friend Guidelines Human dog companionship Human-human companionship Human-robot interactions Design Ethics

Prototype robots

A Polish Wedding

Studies and expertise All publications available (free) Report guidelines available (free) Videos on LIREC developments and researchers’ expertise! Design Ethics Ethology Psychology Emotional robots Expressive behaviour Educational software Human robot interactions

Robot Road Run... Fun LIREC Robot Game app for dissemination Game using some ideas from LIREC developments For iPhone LIREC legacy app

Germination X... Social game developed by FoAM Uses Lirec technology to control its in-game characters. About agents (or "plant spirits") to help you learn about companion planting and connect you with other players.

Little Mozart game and app... new generation social companion for game- based learning virtual companion - facial expressions - memory of past interactions to support children in learning how to compose a melody

Why faces are special? Royal Society Summer Exhibition, Science Museum, Secret Cinema. LIREC made the official selection of the International Film Festival at CERN, Cineglobe Among the 55 selected out of 1450! (Youtube) Cineglobe 2012

Social impact 156 events 120,000+ people exposed to LIREC 6 trade fairs 22 industry-oriented events Numerous public events and media

Academic Impact & significant network development

Other EU Schemes

European funded project TEMI kick-off meeting, London, 9-10 April FP7CapacitiesScience in Society Coordination and Support Action

TEMI concept MYSTERIES To train and support teachers to transform science and mathematics classroom practices TEMI kick-off meeting, London, 9-10 April

13 Partners, 11 countries, 3.1 Million Euro TEMI kick-off meeting, London, 9-10 April

Final Thoughts - considerable admin overhead in preparation and delivery but big funds - politics in consortium makeup - EU project officer, local manager and finace support is key - interdisciplinary favoured - significant research impact & networking - develop early stage researchers - increased cultural understanding & travel - hard work, but fun…

Questions?