[ie-announce] ECSS 2024 Closing Statement & Next Steps

[Informatics Europe Office]

Dear Colleagues,

*Closing Statement of ECSS 2024: celebrating 20 years & looking ahead
*

As we conclude the 20th European Informatics Leaders Summit (ECSS 2024) 
in Malta, we are *filled with pride and a renewed sense of purpose*, 
celebrating this year’s achievements and the legacy of *two decades of 
building a unified voice for the European Informatics research and 
education community.*

Informatics Europe has grown from an ambitious vision shared at the 
inaugural ECSS in 2005 to a thriving association of over 180 
institutions, driven by passionate volunteers who have championed 
numerous initiatives that *underscore Informatics' value and its 
distinct scientific identity in Europe.* This year’s celebration 
honoured these collective efforts and served as a forward-looking 
platform to discuss the challenges and priorities shaping the future of 
our field.

ECSS 2024 highlights include a Community Corner and panel discussions 
with several past IE presidents, where we *reflected on Informatics 
Europe’s consistent advocacy for impactful policies and initiatives that 
strengthen the discipline in Europe.* Our Higher Education Data Portal 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/education/higher-education-data.html>, 
now covering extensive data from 23 European countries, has evolved from 
a static report to a robust and internationally recognised data 
platform. Our pioneering contributions to gender equality include the 
Minerva Informatics Equality Award 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/society/minerva-informatics-equality-award.html>—celebrating 
its 10th anniversary in 2025—and the recently concluded EUGAIN 
<http://eugain.eu> COST Action, which received excellent official 
evaluations in all aspects. Pioneering were also our recommendation on 
machine learning, back in 2018. Our decade-long work 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/education/informatics-in-schools.html> 
with the ACM Europe Council has proudly contributed to the 
“Recommendation on improving the provision of digital skills and 
competences 
<https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-15740-2023-INIT/en/pdf>”, 
approved in November 2023 by the Council of the European Union. The 
recognition highlights Informatics’ crucial role in primary and 
secondary education and marks the official inclusion of the term 
“Informatics” in the European political discourse. Recent achievements, 
including the second edition of the Best Dissertation Award 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/research/best-dissertation-award.html> 
— rewarding exceptional and societally engaged Informatics research — or 
the positive conclusion of Europe’s first Informatics Education Research 
Summer School 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/education/informatics-education-research-school.html> 
exemplify our dedication to advancing high-quality responsible 
Informatics in Europe. These and other milestones were applauded at this 
year’s ECSS.

*Building upon our legacy, ECSS 2024 focused on the future of 
Informatics Europe and the discipline.* Discussions addressed critical 
challenges and priorities, like the pressure of bureaucracy, lack of 
long-term strategies and insufficient funding on universities’ 
traditional role as breakthrough innovation centres. We also discussed 
Informatics’ growing impact on multidisciplinary research and the 
responsibility of the education and research community for its societal 
impacts. Both senior and early-career researchers identified areas for 
improvement in PhD support and general research evaluation. Slides and 
summaries of each ECSS 2024 session, along with photos from the event, 
are available online here 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/program/highlights.html>.

*Concrete outcomes of these discussions include several forthcoming 
publications:* a report on interdisciplinary collaboration, resulting 
from our Leaders Workshop 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/ecss/program/leaders-workshop.html>; 
a best practices guide for academia-industry partnerships, led by the 
Education Research WG 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/education/education-research-working-group.html>; 
a framework on the responsible use of AI in Informatics education, with 
the support of IE member National Informatics Associations 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/policy/national-associations.html>. 
In addition, the revised recommendations on research evaluation will 
incorporate community feedback and be published in early 2025, with a 
focus on fair evaluation of interdisciplinary and open science 
contributions. Ongoing initiatives shared by our Green ICT 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/society/green-ict.html>, Ethics 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/society/ethics/ethics-working-group.html> 
and Diversity & Inclusion 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/society/diversity-and-inclusion/working-group.html> 
working groups will further support our commitment to high-quality, 
socially responsible Informatics education and research in Europe.

*We invite our community to explore Informatics Europe’s **past* 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/about/key-achievements.html>*and 
present 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/join-us/open-activities.html> 
activities,* share our outcomes widely, and engage in ongoing 
initiatives with the same passion and resilience that have driven our 
success thus far. *Join us next year at ECSS in Rennes (France) on 
October 27-29, 2025.* Until then, let us continue to strengthen our 
community, advance shared priorities, and drive impactful policy and 
collaboration in Informatics education and research across Europe.

Kind regards with heartfelt appreciation,
Informatics Europe Board of Directors 
<https://www.informatics-europe.org/about/board.html>

-- 

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