BRUSSELS: European Commission president José Manuel Barroso unveiled a plan to set up a flagship EU research centre capable of competing with the best universities in the world yesterday.
The proposed European Institute of Technology (EIT) would seek to attract the most talented students and scientists to undertake ground-breaking research. It would target research in fields such as energy, environment, information technology and nanotechnology, said Mr Barroso, who compared EIT to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston.
"We have a really urgent problem with our deficit, especially compared with the United States, in science, research and innovation," said Mr Barroso, who appealed to EU leaders to support his plan at the European Council meeting in March.
The plan to establish an EU research centre is considered a pet project of Mr Barroso, who first presented the idea in February 2005 as part of a mid-term review of the Lisbon Agenda, the EU strategy to boost innovation and economic growth.
The plan envisages a two-tiered institute composed of a central governing body and a system of "knowledge communities" that act to bring together research teams from partner universities and institutes. The central governing body would be responsible for budget and strategy and would be managed by a governing board made up of top personalities from the science and business sectors.
Mr Barroso did not propose any location or funding limit for EIT, likely to be controversial issues for member states. "If we start discussing the location now, we'll never have EIT," he said, adding that funding could be found if the concept was right.
Mr Barroso confirmed he had already mentioned EIT in conversations with business leaders such as Bill Gates, but said no private money had been pledged yet.
Endowments, private finance and public finance are all envisaged as funding sources.