"We need to keep working on connectivity...and improve equipment," says EU innovation chief

To what extent will the coronavirus pandemic shape European research, innovation and education in the future. Futuris spoke to Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth.

"Thanks to new technologies, we have proved that we are able to quickly reorganise our daily work and lives and ensure the continuity of educational processes. We have made it easier to stay connected,- the sharing of data - and we have also been able to advance research and innovation more quickly," Gabriel says.

Digital Education Action Plan

"Now, all this doesn’t mean we should forget to address other things that remain real challenges. We need to keep working on connectivity, especially in rural or isolated regions, where it is not optimal.

"We need to keep improving equipment. Even today in schools we see, for instance, children who don’t have access to tablets. "All this will be taken into account with the incoming Digital Education Action Plan, she says.

We want it to be inclusive; we want the plan to be able to show that, on the one hand, we need this connectivity and on the other hand, to show that digital competence must be acquired by students and also teachers."

"we need to continue our work on Artificial Intelligence"

The Commissioner summed up by saying: _"In research and innovation, we need to continue our work on Artificial Intelligence. A human centred approach that is ethical and faithful to our fundamental principles but, at the same time, Artificial Intelligence that will enable us to move forward in fields like precision medicine or precision agriculture. All this is accounted for in the next framework programme for research and innovation "Horizon Europe."