At a time when the world faces increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, from climate change and antimicrobial resistance to digital transformation and sustainable industry, international research collaboration has never been more vital.
This eBook brings together a compelling collection of stories that demonstrate how Horizon Europe, the European Union’s flagship research and innovation programme, is serving as a powerful catalyst for global cooperation, discovery, and impact.
What is Horizon Europe?
Horizon Europe is the EU’s most ambitious research and innovation funding framework to date, with a budget of more than €95.5bn running from 2021 to 2027.
Designed to strengthen Europe’s scientific excellence and industrial competitiveness, the programme supports collaborative, multidisciplinary research across three pillars: Excellent Science; Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness; and Innovative Europe.
Crucially, Horizon Europe also reaches far beyond the EU, enabling associated and partner countries worldwide to participate in projects that tackle shared societal, environmental, and economic priorities.
Here’s a taste of what to expect in this publication:
Expanding horizons: Australia and Horizon Europe
The opening articles explore Australia’s growing engagement with Horizon Europe and the strategic importance of a potential association. Readers are guided through the policy context, priority research areas, and the mutual benefits of closer EU–Australia collaboration.
Professor Anne-Laure Mention offers an expert, first-hand perspective on why Horizon Europe is not only a funding opportunity, but a platform for long-term capability building, innovation leadership, and science diplomacy.
Canada’s gateway to European collaboration
Canada’s relationship with Horizon Europe takes centre stage in a series of articles highlighting talent mobility, institutional excellence, and international partnerships.
An in-depth feature on the ‘Choose Europe for Science’ initiative reveals how EURAXESS is positioning Europe as a global destination for researchers, while illustrating the growing appetite in North America for deeper collaboration with EU-funded programmes.
Education, talent, and societal impact
Several articles showcase how Horizon Europe-aligned collaboration supports education and workforce development.
Centennial College demonstrates how applied research, entrepreneurship, and sustainability are shaping the next generation of hospitality leaders.
Trent University highlights a people-centred approach to artificial intelligence, balancing technical expertise with ethics, governance, and social responsibility.
Tackling global challenges through research excellence
The eBook also delves into research tackling some of the world’s most urgent challenges. McGill University’s Antimicrobial Resistance Centre illustrates how multidisciplinary, ‘One Health’ approaches are translating laboratory discoveries into real-world solutions.
PRIMA Québec’s profile reveals how advanced materials innovation – spanning energy, health, defence, and digital technologies – is being accelerated through international collaboration under Horizon Europe’s Pillar II.
Innovation in action: Sustainability and the circular economy
Innovation at the intersection of sustainability and industry is further explored through the work of the X-Food Research Laboratory, where microbial fermentation is transforming seafood waste into biodegradable packaging materials.
This article offers a powerful example of how Horizon Europe-aligned research supports circular economy principles and environmentally responsible manufacturing.
A shared vision for the future
This is just a snapshot of what to expect in this publication. Together, these articles paint a vivid picture of Horizon Europe as more than a funding programme.
They reveal it as a global ecosystem – one that connects researchers, institutions, industry, and policymakers in a shared mission to deliver knowledge with impact.
As you turn the pages, you will discover how international collaboration is shaping solutions for today’s challenges and laying the foundations for a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable future.
