Between 1-2 June 2022, Frontex held a combined event in a hybrid format, with the Horizon Border Security Projects Workshop organized in the first day and the Research for Innovation Network (R4IN) meeting taking place in the second day.
During the first day, the activity was aimed at familiarising the European Border and Coast Guard (EBCG) community with the Horizon projects kicked-off in 2021, identifying the innovation insertion and operational testing possibilities, and providing feedback from the end-user perspective.
The Horizon workshop brought together experts from Member States and Frontex staff, as well as experts representing industry, academia, NGOs, Research and Technology Organisations, and end users (e.g. ministries of interior, police directorates, etc.), members of the projects’ consortia. DG HOME was also present and actively contributed to the discussions.
As part of the workshop, participants learned about the scope, objectives, and the scheduled trials and demonstrations of the newly launched projects (PROMENADE, NESTOR, AI-ARC, MULTISCAN 3D, SILENTBORDER and CRITERIA).
In the second day, the 2nd meeting of the Research for Innovation Network (R4IN) took place.
The R4IN meeting brought together representatives from Member States, DG HOME, and Frontex, responsible for enabling, monitoring, and coordinating technology research in the border security domain. The network’s main goals are to further enhance the collaboration within the EBCG community and to improve the quantity and quality of the EU Border Security Research and Innovation.
The meeting focused on the Frontex monitored Horizon projects and on the topics of interest for the EBCG community within the EU’s 9th Framework Programme – Horizon Europe. Additionally, Frontex Research and Innovation updated the network on its latest initiatives, such as the Border Management Innovation Centre (BoMIC - a Frontex lab-space designed to strengthen the European research and innovation capacity in the field of border security), the research grants programme, and also on one of the possible future research studies – the research study on emerging technologies.
You can find the minutes of the meetings and the keynotes presented during the combined event here:
