European Forum for ICST
The platform of the European Societies in Information and Communication Sciences and Technologies
The European Forum for Information and Communication Sciences and Technologies (ICST) was established on November 7th, 2011 in Milan by a joint action of leading organizations and societies in ICT in Europe. The Forum is intended to be an open platform for cooperation among the scientific ICT societies in Europe.
Mission statement:
The development of common viewpoints and strategies for ICST in Europe and, whenever appropriate or needed, a common representation of these viewpoints and strategies at the international level.
Members
- ACM Europe
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per l’Informatica (CINI)
- European Association for Programming Languages and Systems (EAPLS)
- European Association of Software Science and Technology (EASST)
- European Association for Theoretical Computer Science (EATCS)
- European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI)
- European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM)
- INFORMATICS Europe (Informatics Europe)
- Informatics Europe
- Société Informatique de France (SIF)
Societies/associations wishing to join the Forum are kindly invited to contact the Executive Board.
See also the list of ICT societies in Europe and national societies.
Coordinating committee & Executive board
Coordinating committee:
- Aceto (EATCS), M. Cosnard (ERCIM), C. de la Higuera (SIF), P. Doherty (ECCAI), K. Jeffery (ERCIM), F. Gagliardi (ACM Europe), C. Ghezzi (Informatics Europe), D. Laforenza (president, ERCIM), T. Margaria (EASST), P. Prinetto (CINI), M. Shapiro (ACM Europe), P. Spirakis (EATCS, ACM Europe), M. van den Brand (EAPLS), Jan van Leeuwen (Informatics Europe), P. van Roy (EAPLS).
Executive board:
- Laforenza (president), K. Jeffery (vice-president), P. Spirakis (vice-president).
Past events & Documents
- Next Forum, February 24, 2014.
- Details for members, see under `Upcoming Events and Working Documents'.
- Forum, October 22, 2013 - Paris (Université Pierre et Marie Curie).
- Endorsed: (to follow).
- New members:
- -- CINI - Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per l'Informatica,
- -- SIF - la Société informatique de France.
- Forum, June 10, 2013 - Potsdam (Uni Potsdam - Institut für Informatik)
- President 2013- 2015: Domenico Laforenza.
- Endorsed: Informatics education: Europe cannot afford to miss the boat (Informatics Europe & ACM Europe)
- Forum, February 12, 2013 - Paris (INRIA)
- Endorsed: Strategy 2013-2015 (European Forum for ICST)
- Forum, October 26, 2012 - Sophia Antipolis(INRIA SA Méditerranée)
- Endorsed: Software Technologies - The Missing Key Enabling Technology (ISTAG).
- New member:
- -- ECCAI - European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence.
- Forum, May 9/May 10, 2012 - Pisa (CNR - IIT)
- New website: www.eficst.eu, also www.eficst.org
- Forum, February 2, 2012 - Paris(INRIA)
- Constituting meeting.
- Forum, November 7, 2011 - Milano (ECSS 2011)
- President 2011-2013: Jan van Leeuwen.
- Milan agreement.
- Extended Panel, Task Group 2011
- Task Group report (2011)
- Extended Panel, March 17, 2011 - Brussels (CEPIS)
- Panel report
- Project SMART 2009/0061 - ASM Market Research and Analysis / Apintech Ltd (Role & Impact of Professional & Scientific Societies in ICT Research, Education and Innovation)
- ICT professional societies in Europe (project home)
- Survey (ASM/Apintech, 2011)
- Strategic options - position document (ASM/Apintech, 2011)
- Workshop report (ASM/Apintech, 2011)
- ECSS 2010 - Prague
- Panel report (J. van Leeuwen/C. Pereira, 2010)
- Digital science and its impact on scientific societies (Accordino, 2010)
- The role of learned societies in the digital age (Hall, 2010)
- EC Report 2008
- ICT scientific societies at the dawn of the 21st century: which opportunities for Europe (2008)
Links
Other Forums
- Digital Enlightenment Forum
- Digital Europe
- European e-Skills Association (EeSA)
- European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC)
- IST Advisory Group (ISTAG)
- Computing Leadership Summits (CRA, US)
General
- ICT societies in Europe (List of European and national societies)
EC
- DG Connect (Communications Networks, Content and Technology).
- Horizon 2020
- Innovation Union - Key Initiatives
- Digital agenda for Europe
- Digital futures
- Futurium
- Research & Innovation
- ICT Research & Innovation: a driver for growth
- Key Enabling Technologies
- ICT research in FP 7
- Common Strategic Framework for future EU Research and Innovation Funding (Green paper)
- European Research Area (ERA).
- Coordinating ICT Research across Europe.
- European Research Council (ERC).
- European Science Foundation (ESF).
- European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)
- NoE: Games and learning alliance
- European e-Competence Framework
- ICT Partner Search Network - Ideal-ISt
Institutions
- EIT ICT Labs
- Euresearch (CH)
- European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT)
- European Technology Platforms (ETPs).
- -- in ICT
- Innovation Value Institute (Ireland)
Other organizations
- CEPIS
- CIO-Net
- European CIO Association (EuroCIO)
- European Schoolnet (EUN)
- European Universities Association (EUA)
- Initiative for Science in Europe (ISE)
- Pan European ICT & eBusiness Network for SME (PIN-SME)
- Science Europe
- World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA)
About the Forum
Europe has many professional and scientific societies in Informatics and Computing (IT), the area referred to as ICST: Information and Communication Science and Technology. The European Forum for ICST answers to the widespread realization that, through its societies, the European ICST community needs to join forces.
In 2008, the EC asked ERCIM to organise an expert group to discuss the issues at ICT Conference that year. A report was produced that outlined the needs (ICT scientific societies at the dawn of the 21st century: which opportunities for Europe). ERCIM was asked to organise another session at ICT 2010, now also including the outcome of a SMART project that had reported on the many options for greater cooperation.
At the European Computer Science Summit (ECSS 2010) in Prague a special panel led by Jan van Leeuwen, then VP of Informatics Europe, assessed the situation of the scientific societies and their possible evolution in "the changing landscape" (cf. "Future of the European Scientific Societies in Informatics"). The panelists from ACM Europe, CEPIS, EAI, ERCIM, EAPLS, EATCS and Informatics Europe agreed to take a next step towards the possible realization of a platform organzation.
On March 17, 2011 at the CEPIS office in Brussels, the panel (in extended form) met again and decided to form a `strong but low overhead' platform organization, in the interest of all societies present and the ICST field in general. A Task Group was formed to design a blueprint for an open platform for all (scientific) ICST societies in Europe. The Group consisted of: V. Baltac (CEPIS), B. Bigalke (EAI), Chr. Choppy (Informatics Europe), K. Jeffery (ERCIM), M. Shapiro (ACM Europe), P. van Roy (EAPLS), and J. van Leeuwen (Informatics Europe, ACM Europe, and EATCS, moderator). The Task Group delivered its report to the Extended Panel in July 2011.
On November 7th, 2011 and co-located with the European Computer Science Summit (ECSS 2011) at the Politecnico di Milano, the panel met again for a final meeting. The panel decided unanimously to establish the European Forum for ICST as a joint, open platform for further cooperation, as described in the blueprint report (see Milan agreement). In 2012, CEPIS left the initial group, but ECCAI joined the Forum. In 2013 more societies are expected to join. Early 2013 the Forum issued its Strategy 2013-2015 report, outlining the next steps in its development as the cooperative platform of ICST societies in Europe.
Contact
For any questions concerning the European Forum for ICST, please contact:
Prof. Domenico Laforenza, President EFICST , IIT-CNR, Pisa (IT), email: domenico.laforenza -- at -- iit.cnr.it
or
Dr Adriana Lazzaroni, IIT-CNR, Pisa (IT), email: adriana.lazzaroni -- at -- iit.cnr.it