On 4 December President Dalia Grybauskaitė opened Vilnius Innovation Forum 2013 "Innovation Drift" and awarded the winner of the business-science partnership competition.

How is funding organised under Horizon 2020?

Horizon 2020 is built around three pillars:

1. Support for "Excellent Science" – including grants for individual researchers from the European Research Council and Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellowships (formerly known as Marie Curie fellowships);
2. Support for "Industrial Leadership" – including grants for small and medium-sized enterprises and indirect finance for companies through the European Investment Bank and other financial intermediaries;
3. Support for research to tackle "societal challenges". During negotiations between the European Parliament and Council it was decided to support research towards meeting seven broad challenges:

Copernicus, the EU's new Earth Observation System, was approved by the Industry Committee on Thursday. Replacing the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme, it will have a €3.79 billion budget for 2014-2020. Its data will serve many purposes, including monitoring climate change and protecting public security.

The 'EU-Russia Year of Science 2014' will be officially launched at an event in Moscow on November 25. Its purpose is to celebrate and promote the vibrant and multifaceted scientific and technological cooperation between the two partners. In the course of twelve months, a rich programme of events and initiatives across Russia and the EU will highlight joint achievements, successes, and the strong potential for future cooperation in research, innovation and higher education. Involving scientists, research organisations, innovators, enterprises and the wider public, the EU-Russia Year of Science will build on the longstanding and fruitful cooperation between the EU and Russia in this area.

Students of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) developed an innovative solution aiding recovery of patients suffering from major trauma. Developers of the idea visited startup mecca Silicon Valley in California, the U.S. There the solution was evaluated among the top five best innovations in Silicon Valley Innovation Challenge.

Horizon 2020, the EU's €70.2 billion framework programme for research and innovation in 2014-2020, was approved by MEPs on Thursday. Parliament amended it to improve support for small firms, attract more people into science and more scientists to join the programme, and earmark funding for non-fossil energy research.

President Dalia Grybauskaitė opened the international conference "Structural Change Promoting Gender Equality in Research Organizations". This event is part of the Lithuanian EU Presidency programme. Taking part in the conference are over 200 participants - heads of research institutions and universities, famous scientists, representatives of public and private research funding agencies from the whole of Europe. The participants are discussing ways to boost gender equality in sciences.

The EU's new Erasmust+ programme, which will fund grants for students, teachers, trainers and apprentices to study abroad in the EU, was approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday. Youth leaders, volunteers and young sportsmen and women will also be eligible. A new guarantee mechanism will also enable master's degree students to get cheaper loans to study abroad.

The Group of Experts for Nuclear and Radiation Safety of the Baltic Sea Council will meet on November 19th in Vilnius, Lithuania to examine the issues important for the whole Baltic Sea region such as radiation protection and nuclear safety. This meeting is one of the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council events.

On 18–20 November, members of the European Network of Education Councils (EUNEC) and representatives of the Lithuanian education system will discuss how Member States could tackle the issue of early school leavers. During the conference, national education councils will present the current situation of educational reform in their countries, and indicate what could be changed in national policy to quicken reforms. This event is related to the Lithuanian Presidency of the EU Council.