Ingemar Pongratz

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Det skrivs mycket just nu

August 27, 2019 by Ingemar Pongratz

Det skrivs mycket just nu

Av Ingemar Pongratz

ARN av Ingemar Pongratz

ARN av Ingemar Pongratz

Det skrivs mycket just nu och mycket av det är kopplat till klimat, och klimatångest.

I Sverige har en ung flicka, som bara är 16 år gammal, rört om ordentligt och fått en hel del människor att prata klimat.

 

Det är en konstig tid, för märkligt nog så finns det väldigt mycket människor som är väldigt upprörda. Dels finns det mycket folk som håller med och väldigt mycket folk som är emot. Så resultatet är: Det skrivs mycket just nu

Flyger över Sverige av Ingemar Pongratz

Flyger över Sverige av Ingemar Pongratz

I sak är det inte så mycket att orda om, man kan ha åsikter om det är temperaturhöjningar som är den stora risken införframtiden eller om det är miljöförstöringen som är hotet, men det är ju inte så viktigt i sak. Jag personligen tror att miljön är viktigast, förlusten av olika arter, vara sig det är stora djur eller insekter som vi måste prioritera, och det är kopplat till överutnyttjande av resurser. Plast i havet till exempel.

 

Men det händer ändå väldigt mycket positivt, EU har förbjudit användning av engångsplast, användning av plastpåsar minskar och det är väldigt bra. Men det är inte egentligen det som förvånar mig mest. Det är hur diskussionen går.

Himmel mellan Thailand och Vietnam av Ingemar Pongratz

Himmel mellan Thailand och Vietnam av Ingemar Pongratz

En 16 åring flicka har startat en massiv rörelse bland ungdomar i världen, och det finns massor av vuxna som fyller sociala medier med svordomar och förolämpningar. Helt otroligt.

Och det märkliga är att finns politiker och andra beslutsfattare som följer med. Kanske inte i det värsta svordomar men dom är med och sprider lögner och falska uppgifter.

 

När 16 åringen har som sagt rätt i sak. Lyssna på vetenskapen säger hon. Det är viktigt. Varför är det så provocerande?

Himmel över molnen av Ingemar Pongratz

Himmel över molnen av Ingemar Pongratz

Men trots att hela diskussionen är så polariserat, så tycker jag att trenden är positiv. Ungdomar idag har utvecklats! För inte så länge sedan ville de flesta vara med i olika Dokusåpor och bli stjärnor där. Nu vill ungdomar idag rädda planeten. Det måste ju ändå vara positivt, framför allt inför framtiden.

 

Det skrivs mycket just nu om flyg och sånt men det är så väldigt överdrivet. Svårt att sluta flyga tycker jag. Jag flyger mycket, mest i jobbet men även med familjen.

Semester kan vi förstås diskutera men jobbresor är inte så lätt att låta bli.

Mot Bangkok och Thailand av Ingemar Pongratz

Mot Bangkok och Thailand av Ingemar Pongratz

Men att ungdomar har åsikter om hur det påverkar klimat och miljö är i sak inte fel, tvärtom.

Jag hoppas att alla industrier och näringar utvecklar nya lösningar som skonar miljön. För det är viktigt att resa tycker jag. Att träffa folk från olika länder är viktigt, det öppnar sinnet och får oss alla att inse att vi är en del av en större värld. Det minskar främlingsfientlighet och xenofobi. Det får alla att inse att människor i alla länder har drömmar och kämpar för att förbättra sin vardag. Och vi bidrar förstås till deras ekonomi.

Så det är inte bara dåligt det finns viktiga positiva effekter att resa och möte nya kulturer. Men det gäller att tänka till

Mer om Ingemar Pongratz finns att läsa på:

http://ingemarpongratz.se/

 

Storm över Sverige av Ingemar Pongratz

Storm över Sverige av Ingemar Pongratz

 

Horizon 2020 och Storbritanniens EU votering

August 2, 2016 by Ingemar Pongratz

Horizon 2020 och Storbritanniens EU votering

Av Ingemar Pongratz

 

En månad har nu passerat och Storbritanniens EU omröstning har verkloige skapat en hel del tumult. Effekterna av Brexit som resultat kallas verkar kunna bli rätt stora och omfattande och ingen vet riktigt vad som kommer att hända. Men det är helt klart att mycket kommer att förändras.

 

UK har inte formellt ansökt om utträde ifrån EU vilket kanske inte är så märkligt. Konstigt nog verkar myndigheterna i Storbritannien helt oförberedda på valresultatet. Kanske inte så konstigt med tanke på att det finns en ny regering som skall samla resterna. Vidare har Skottland hotat med att lämna Storbritannien vilket skapar ännu mer förvirring. Enligt de senaste nyheter vill Storbritannien’s regering försäkra sig om tillgång till EU inre marknad innan den formella ansökan om utträde lämnas in vilket verkar helt verklighetsfrämmande.

 

Tillgång till EU inre marknad innebär också att andra länder kommer att erbjudas tillgång till Storbritannien’s marknad vilket var en stor del av motståndet mot EU i Storbritannien. Så risken är att det kommer att ta lång till innan förhandlingarna överhuvudtaget kommer igång.

 

Detta är förstås olyckligt, eftersom det skapar osäkerhet. Storbritannien’s ekonomi har redan tagit stryk och finansmarknaden är orolig. Det brittiska pundet har tappat betydligt i värde gentemot andra valutor vilket naturligtvis påverkar den inhemska köpkraften negativt.

 

För Horizon 2020 betyder denna osäkerhet att brittiska partners möts med skepsis. Ingen vet vad resultatet av förhandlingarna mellan EU och Storbritannien kommer att gå och vilket status brittiska universitet kommer att få. Kommer de att ses som tredje part eller som associerade partners. Ingen vet hur det kommer att sluta. Positivt förstås är att Storbritannien regering har uttryckt att deltagandet i Horizon 2020 kommer att prioriteras vilket är bra för både EU och Storbritannien.

Så mycket lite substans och mycket osäkerhet. Hoppas läget klarnar snart.

Ingemar Pongratz är forskare och entreprenör. Ingemar Pongratz etablerade Fenix Scientific AB och Pongratz Consulting AB. Vi hjälper företag och universitet att söka Horizon 2020 finansiering. För att komma i kontakt med använd gärna vår online kontaktformulär eller skicka en epost till

Ingemar.Pongratz (a) pongratzconsulting.com

Molnspel over Nacka av Ingemar Pongratz

Molnspel over Nacka av Ingemar Pongratz

Reflections on Horizon 2020 and Marie Curie

December 27, 2015 by Ingemar Pongratz

Reflections on Horizon 2020 and Marie Curie

By Ingemar Pongratz

 

Ingemar Pongratz from Fenix Scientific AB / Pongratz Consulting has participated in several meetings focused on Marie Sklodowska Curie projects, part of Horizon 2020, organized by the European Commission, NCP’s and other stakeholder throughout 2015 and it is interesting to note that there seems to be a rather interesting view on the role of industry.

In most workshops the important role for industry as a partner in different types of Marie Curie actions is highlighted and many workshops state over and over again that industry and in particular SME play a critical role in Marie Curie projects.

However, it is rather strange that at many of the workshops, SME and Industry are not taking part. Does it mean that this sector in not interested?

I had a couple of discussions with SME owners and there seems to be consensus that the structure of Marie Curie is interesting. The SME representatives are also well aware of the purpose of Marie Curie actions to provide training and improve the career opportunities for researchers.

In general the feeling among these SME’s owners is that this is OK, and they do not see this as a major issue. In fact, many SME are interested to collaborate with Universities and they see Marie Curie projects as a natural way in.

So where is the problem?

In one of the Marie Curie workshops I participated, University representatives expressed suggestions such as “Industry should pay to join these projects” or “Is it advisable to involve industry in Marie Curie?” I do not believe this is the European Commission position, however the feeling that the Academic Community does not see the possible contribution of industry and SME as valuable may clearly be part of the answer why industry and SME are better represented in Horizon 2020 Marie Curie projects.

Clearly, it will be important to educate Universities and other organizations that industry are very important participants and should therefore not be excluded from Marie Sklodowska Curie projects in the future. Clearly, Industry participation should be a very important evaluation point in future Marie Curie proposals as well.

Night Sky over Nacka by Ingemar Pongratz

Night Sky over Nacka by Ingemar Pongratz

First Results of Horizon 2020

October 1, 2015 by Ingemar Pongratz

First Results of Horizon 2020

By Ingemar Pongratz

The European Commission has published an analysis on the Horizon 2020 funding scheme. The publication includes a number of interesting facts about the outcome of the 2014-2015 calls and in many ways a very interesting way of reading the statistics.

The Commission has recently shown considerable concern regarding the low success rate for Horizon 2020. The report puts the figure to a success rate to 14%.

The basis according to the report is based on the following numbers, which they Report calls Key Concepts:

  • The Commission has funded 4315 proposal in total
  • The Commission has received almost 37.000 proposals

Based on these figures the success rate is indeed 14%, which should be compared to close to 20% for the previous Framework FP7.

However, the Commission bases this success rate on full proposals only (one stage proposals and second stage full proposals). The Commission writes that in fact the total number of proposals including the applicants that submitted the applications for the first stage is above 120.000 submitted proposals.

Considering this number the success rate drops considerably, to around 3%.

We assume that the report is under the impression that since the first stage of the Two-Stage approach is rather short (7-15 pages depending on the topic), this stage does not represent an added workload for the applicants.

This is simply completely incorrect. In fact the time required to write a “short” proposal is quite considerable and the work to gather the partners, structure the proposal and integrate the proposed work into a cohesive proposal is very demanding.

In addition, the evaluation process of these short proposals has received a lot of criticism in different forums. At best, the evaluation summary reports includes 1-2 lines which do not provide any constructive criticism.

This is of course problematic as the applicants are more and more loosing confidence in the process.

On the positive side it appears that the Commission is aware on the problem, however it is important to work on the actual figures and not overly positive interpretation.

If you want to contact Ingemar Pongratz from Pongratz Consulting please use the Online Contact Form and send your comments.

View from Tyreso Slott by Ingemar Pongratz

View from Tyreso Slott by Ingemar Pongratz

Ingemar Pongratz stödjer CCG (CCG – Creative Communities Group)

November 10, 2014 by Ingemar Pongratz

Ingemar Pongratz

Dr Ingemar Pongratz, CEO av Fenix Scientific AB / Pongratz Consulting har blivit tillfrågad av det Brittiska Organisationen Creative Communities Group (CCG) att ingå och stödja CCG olika aktiviteter.

Ingemar Pongratz kommer framför allt att stödja CCG och dess strävan att öka sin Europeiska och Internationella profil, till exempel genom att planera olika EU ansökningar och Horizon 2020 projekt. [Read more…]

Background On Pongratz Consulting

March 5, 2014 by Ingemar Pongratz

Pongratz Consulting and Eurida Research Management Workshop

March 1, 2014 by Ingemar Pongratz

Ingemar Pongratz Consulting

The Pongratz Consulting–Eurida Research Management second workshop, “En Route to Horizon 2020”, has been finalized. This time the workshop was organized with the help of EUCOPE (European Confederation of Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs) who also hosted this event on their premises in Brussels.

The speakers of the Second workshop included Ingemar Pongratz, Rita Clancy additional EU experts, namely John Stringer and Daniel Schubart.

John Stringer provided a presentation about the administration issues that will accompany Horizon 2020 project. Stringer also highlighted the need to include expertise and experienced EU project administrators into Horizon 2020 proposal and a questions was raised for the audience: “Simplification for whom…for the Commission Officer or for project participants?” It is noteworthy that the simplified New Horizon 2020 Core Contract is expected to be over 100 pages long, which raised a lot of concern among SME owners.

Daniel Schubart provided key insights in his presentation about the submission process, and very practical insights on the practical details of writing a Horizon 2020 proposal.

Ingemar Pongratz and Rita Clancy made several presentations regarding the future possibilities in the different Horizon 2020 pillars and as well as policy. The pair also brought forth expectation that the European Union has on Horizon 2020 projects and the increased requirement to conduct efficient and well planned communication activities within the project.

In addition, the workshop included official presentations from the European Commission and Eureka, Eurostars officials.

Dr. Strohmeier provided very interesting information regarding novel possibilities for Pharmaceutical Industry in the coming IMI scheme, in particular for larger organizations which are too large to be considered SME according to the EU SME definition. Dr. Strohmeier also presented several novelties that we can expect in the future, provided the legislative process proceeds as planned and pointed out that the Commission services expect large number of Horizon 2020 proposal to be submitted.

The workshop itself was centered around two intensive days and we are very pleased to note that at least two Horizon 2020 proposals will be submitted as a clear outcome of this workshop.

In addition, it is very rewarding that to see the overall positive comments that Pongratz Consulting and Eurida Research has received after the workshop. In fact the only criticism we received is that we were not clear enough about the services that Pongratz Consulting and Eurida Research can provide to support project proposals.

 

Researchers Closing in on Causes of Childhood Diabetes

January 29, 2014 by Ingemar Pongratz

Diabetes_Research

Researchers may be nearing information on the cause of childhood type 1 diabetes.

Researchers have been working for decades to find a cause for diabetes in children to no avail, but according to a recent article in SVD.se, the answer could be forthcoming.

An international study that included Swedish researchers may be on the verge of yielding fruit as to the causes of type 1 diabetes.  Professor Ake Lernmark from Lund University believes the end result of the study could be a vaccine that virtually eradicates type 1 diabetes in children.

One of the main theories that has scientists excited is the revelation that children who develop type 1 diabetes often produce autoantibodies that attack the cells which produce insulin.  Most children who develop these autoantibodies show signs of illness about six months before they are detectable.  The crux of the remaining research surrounds finding out whether this illness and these destructive autoantibodies are caused by a virus or bacteria.

Swedish researchers are particularly interested in the results of this study since Sweden has the second highest rate of type 1 diabetes diagnosed with children.  Lernmark believes researchers may have actionable results from the study by this summer and will be able to develop a vaccine over the coming years.

New US Study Shows Coffee Can Help Memory

January 29, 2014 by Ingemar Pongratz

Coffee_Beans

Improved memory appears to be another benefit of the globally popular caffeinated beverage.

Coffee drinkers rejoice!  It seems as though every new study on the wildly popular caffeinated beverage that comes out reveals some new positive effect.

This time, a United States-based study showed that coffee can actually help improve memory.  SVT.se has all the details in this recent article.

The study, published in Nature Neuroscience was headed up by the University of California.  The experiment asked test subjects to identify photos of various objects and return the next day to see how many of the objects they remembered.  The first half of subjects were given 200 mg of caffeine, while the second half of subjects were given placebo.

When the subjects returned the day after the study to recount the images they saw, the group that received the caffeine pill remembered details far better than their non-caffeinated counterparts.

This new study comes in the wake of several other studies over the past few years which have made it more and more difficult to be a coffee detractor.  Recent studies have debunked the myth that coffee stunts growth in children, can act as an antioxidant, and may have a host of other health benefits.

Oxygen Present on Earth Earlier than Once Thought

September 26, 2013 by Ingemar Pongratz

Atmosphere

Scientists believe oxygen may have been present in the Earth’s atmosphere earlier than once thought.

Scientists have long thought the prevalence of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere began around 2.3 billion years ago with what is now known as The Great Oxidation Event.  A recent Live Science article discusses some new research which suggests that oxygen could have been present much earlier than that widely accepted time period.

Scientists in South Africa studying ancient rock samples have discovered high levels of chromium which they view as evidence of a reaction between oxygen and minerals found in Earth’s rocks.  Stunningly, these samples date back to around 600 million years earlier than The Great Oxidation Event.

So what’s the big deal?  The findings suggest that photosynthetic organisms were present on earth much earlier than previously thought.  The team that made the discovery is convinced that the levels oxygen that were present on Earth are far too high to be the product of natural chemical reactions in the atmosphere.  Most scientists agree that the jump in oxygen levels at the time of The Great Oxidation Event were caused by the development of cyanobacteria, which photosynthesize energy from the sun, producing oxygen.  The fact that oxygen levels were higher than once thought before the Great Oxidation Event most likely means that some type of organism was performing photosynthesis much earlier in Earth’s lifespan than previously believed.

Not only do the findings further our understanding of the development of life on our planet, they also change our perception of how long a complex process like photosynthesis takes to develop.  While purely speculative, Sean Crowe of the University of Vancouver believes that the findings could have implications on other planets.  If oxygen producing life forms can develop relatively quickly, it follows that there could be more planets in the universe which have oxygen in the atmosphere and oxygen breathing life forms.  In short, this new research means there could be a larger number of planets which are habitable to humans than we once believed.

How and when any of this research can be applied remains to be seen, but it certainly is an exciting development.

Ingemar Pongratz

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  • Horizon 2020 och Storbritanniens EU votering
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