IMPULSE Project launched!

IMPULSE, an ambitious project financed under Horizon 2020 to support organisational development, sustainability and excellent science at ELI, was kicked off on 16 December 2020 with participation of representatives of 14 Consortium partners from 10 European countries.

IMPULSE (Integrated Management and Reliable Operations for User-based Laser Scientific Excellence) is a 42-month project supporting the transition of ELI to sustainable operations. As ELI enters a crucial phase with the establishment of ELI ERIC and the gradual opening of the ELI Facilities to users, IMPULSE addresses the key scientific, technical, organisational, and management requirements of this transition, building user communities and expanding the ELI member consortium. IMPULSE is supported by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant agreement No. 871161) with a budget a close to 20 million EUR.

The project is inclusive and open. It relies on the collective effort of a wide consortium involving 15 key institutions of the European science community from 10 countries, including the ELI host countries. IMPULSE focuses primarily on ELI, but its results must have impact beyond the ELI Facilities.

The meeting, held online, started with a keynote speech by project coordinator Allen Weeks, an address by Roberta Zobbi, from the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, and introductions of all project partners. It was followed by presentations by the Project Management Team on the governance, planning, and reporting duties involved in the project and overview presentations of each Work Package. In the afternoon, break-out sessions were held to kick off each Work Package with the participants.

Source: ELI-DC