Discussion:

“The maintenance and evolution of the department led by the ERA Chair holder
in a post-pandemic era”

The ERA Chair holder’s way to secure CREATE project’s sustainability was to raise funds further to grow a new centre of excellence at IPC PAS. Requirements of the granting schemes led to developing a subunit of IPC PAS–the International Center for Translational Eye Research (ICTER). ICTER aims to develop new therapies and diagnostic tools to detect and cure various visual dysfunctions of ageing populations.

The pandemic and the recent changes in the research funding ecosystem may significantly impact the ERA Chair's research agenda. It raises issues that the ERA Chair holder would like to discuss with the Advisory Board members, such as:

• The current situation of the financial market – the aptitude to invest in science and/or launch new high-tech products
• The post-/pandemic reality in science (e.g. collaboration, mobility, science funding and science management)
• Development of future funding strategies to fit in key orientations of the Horizon Europe and Green Deal, National Development Plan