Founding CEO of EBRAINS appointed

    29 May 2020


    Brussels, May 29, 2020 - The EBRAINS shared Research Infrastructure for brain research is pleased to announce a significant step forward with the appointment of its founding CEO Paweł Świeboda. The EBRAINS digital brain research infrastructure is a key outcome of the European Commission’s Flagship 10-year research initiative Human Brain Project.

    The newly formed EBRAINS AISBL is based in Brussels, Belgium.

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    “I am honored and thrilled to be joining EBRAINS and the Human Brain Project at this critical point in their journey,” Mr Świeboda said upon becoming EBRAINS CEO.

    “In the coming three years this state-of-the-art ICT-based Research Infrastructure will grow its user base, while continuing to build and maximise the impact of its state-of-the-art technologies. I look forward to helping EBRAINS enable further breakthrough achievements in neuroscience, computer science and medicine,” he said.

    The EBRAINS association was established in 2019 to coordinate the novel EBRAINS Research Infrastructure. EBRAINS’ unique set of services and tools enables scalable digital approaches to brain research to be used by researchers working at the interface of neuroscience, computing and technology in Europe and worldwide.

    “The Human Brain Project is excited to welcome the new CEO of EBRAINS, Paweł Świeboda. His impressive expertise and leadership experience will be instrumental in making EBRAINS a landmark infrastructure to drive worldwide scientific progress and collaboration,” HBP Scientific Director Katrin Amunts said today.

    Mr Świeboda has served as Deputy Head and Head of Research of the European Political Strategy Centre (EPSC, then IDEA) at the European Commission since 2015. In this capacity, he was co-responsible for the formulation of long-term, strategic advice to the President of the Commission, focusing on economic, research and innovation issues. He has also served on the Commission’s Sounding Board on EU Science, Research and Innovation Performance.

    Earlier, he was Director of the EU Department at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2001 to 2006, and EU Advisor to the President of Poland from 1996 to 2000. He is an active member of the European and international research community and prolific contributor to the public debate on the future of Europe, emerging technologies, democracy and global governance.

    Mr Świeboda commented on his new role: “Science is at the heart of the European agenda. In the aftermath of the COVID19 crisis, it will need to receive increased attention. I have dealt with research and innovation policy from the macro-perspective for a number of years. In this new role, I will be contributing directly to the success of one of the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagship research projects, working hand-in-hand with the scientists.”

    As the EBRAINS Chief Executive Officer, Mr Świeboda will be responsible for leading EBRAINS in achieving its objectives, which include promoting and supporting scientific activities in the field of brain research with a focus on digital computational approaches.

    Mr Świeboda’s long standing fascination with neuroscience makes the new challenge a special one: “I have been particularly fascinated by brain research, given that so much of the puzzle of the brain remains to be explored, including our understanding of cognition and identity. And as more and more Europeans develop brain conditions in an ageing society, we need to develop greater capacity to diagnose and treat brain diseases. These are major European scientific calls-to-action, in which the Human Brain Project and EBRAINS play a central role.”

    Contact:

    Paweł Świeboda:

    pawel.swieboda@ebrains.eu

    HBP Public Relations:

    press@humanbrainproject.eu

    Further information:

    https://ebrains.eu/

    https://www.humanbrainproject.eu

    See also:

    7th HBP Summit in Athens: The road to EBRAINS

    Human Brain Project:

    The Human Brain Project (HBP) is the largest brain science project in Europe and stands among the biggest research projects ever funded by the European Union. At the interface of neuroscience and information technology, the HBP investigates the brain and its diseases with the help of highly advanced methods from computing, neuroinformatics and artificial intelligence, and in turn drives innovation in fields like brain-inspired computing and neurorobotics. See humanbrainproject.eu

    EBRAINS:

    As a lasting contribution to the global science community the HBP has developed EBRAINS, an open European research infrastructure that allows scientists and technology experts to seamlessly collaborate, accelerating advancements in the fields of neuroscience, computing and brain-related medicine. See https://ebrains.eu/