ERCIM Executive Committee 1995 to 1998
by Christos Nikolaou and Constantine Stephanidis
From September 1995 to August 1998, Christos Nikolaou chaired the
ERCIM Executive Committee, succeeding Bob Hopgood, the first chairman of
the committee. During this period, Constantine Stephanidis served as the
ERCIM Executive Committee Secretary.
ERCIM is
now a well-known actor in the European and international Information Technology
scene. In the past three years, five new European institutes have joined
ERCIM, expanding its geographical coverage and its scientific scope. But
there was also the withdrawal of AEDIMA, the Spanish consortium in ERCIM.
It is very much hoped and widely expected that a Spanish representation
will soon re-join ERCIM.
ERCIM has established co-operation activities at an international level,
has acted as a consultant to the European Commission, to international
organisations and national/local governments, and has contributed to the
strengthening of the European R&D in the Information Technology field.
This role should be maintained and encouraged.
The ERCIM Executive Committee has initiated a number of actions to improve
the organisational structure and strengthen the co-operation between the
member institutes. Along this line, specific responsibilities have been
assigned to members of the Executive Committee, resulting in a more co-ordinated
and team-oriented operation.
The ERCIM Working Groups and the ERCIM Office have emerged as engines
of ERCIM growth through competitive bidding and successful funding of ERCIM
proposals. There are now fourteen working groups (versus six in 1995) that
cover a wide scientific area, organising conferences and workshops, establishing
standard co-operation procedures and dissemination activities, and giving
birth to collaborative projects between the participating institutes. Both
ERCIM Office and Working Groups should maintain and strengthen their momentum.
In particular, the ERCIM Working Groups should be strongly encouraged to
seek ERCIM co-ordinated projects more aggressively.
The figures of the ERCIM overall budget have increased, rising from
1,5 MECU in 1995 to 3,3 MECU in 1998. The projection for this calendar
year is that ERCIM will attract over 2 MECU funding from the European Commission,
versus 600 KECU in 1995, and show a carry forward of 750 KECU in 1998.
ERCIM's visibility has grown significantly through the exploitation
of the Web, the improvement of ERCIM publications, and the involvement
of ERCIM in international bodies (such as W3C and VRML Consortia) and as
consultant in EC sponsored or co-ordinated technical and policy committees
and working groups.
An ERCIM Internet domain has been set up (ercim.org), providing the
electronic door to the activities and operation of ERCIM, while restricted
web sites have been established to support the internal activities and
co-operation between the ERCIM members. The ERCIM Web server has been re-structured,
and now offers a wide range of information, concerning working groups,
the digital library initiative, workshop sponsorship, fellowship programme,
the Cor-Baayen award, ERCIM co-ordinated projects, ERCIM events, and ERCIM
publications (ERCIM News, technical reports, workshop proceedings, strategic
reports, ERCIM members' libraries). The ERCIM News (both in paper and electronic
form) proved to be a very successful tool for the dissemination of information
about ERCIM research activities, views and policies.
The commitment to the provision of an ERCIM Virtual Laboratory was followed,
but not fulfilled. Lack of funding and inadequate European research networking
infrastructure have frustrated ERCIM efforts to become a Pan-European Virtual
Laboratory, where new technologies, such as the electronic marketplace,
digital libraries, distant learning, 'collaboratories', and virtual working
spaces can be tested, piloted and seeded. In the next three-year period,
ERCIM should become a more vocal and ardent advocate of the need for a
decisive upgrade of the European networking infrastructure.
The significant progress made during the last three years was only possible
because of the team spirit that prevailed in the Executive Committee and
the constant encouragement and support given to us by the ERCIM Board of
Directors and especially by ERCIM's President, Dennis Tsichritzis. We would
like to acknowledge the active support of the Editorial Board through the
ERCIM News, and the ERCIM European Liaison Officers Group for being a vital
link of ERCIM to Brussels. We would also like to thank the ERCIM Office
for the continuous efforts and commitment against growing overload. Finally,
we wish our two colleagues, Eckart Bierduempel and Gilbert Kalb, who take
over the chairmanship and secretariat of the Executive Committee respectively,
every success in their new role and exciting mission.
