Science and Technology Options Assessment: Annual Report 2015

In 2015, STOA Panel membership grew from 15 MEPs to 24, including representatives of two more parliament committees: Culture & Education (CULT) and Legal Affairs (JURI). Furthermore, STOA has established its capacity to generate proactive anticipatory expertise through scientific foresight studies. These will support Members of Parliament, and many others, to prepare for the long-term (20-50 year) impacts of science and technology on European society.

In 2015 STOA delivered projects on mass surveillance, technology options for deep-seabed exploitation, learning and teaching technologies, the collaborative economy and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the developing world.

Additionally, STOA hosted 11 workshops, providing crucial fora for interaction between policy-makers, researchers and the public, and oversaw the 4th edition of the MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme, enabling 31 partnerships between parliamentarians and active researchers.

Celebrating the end of a successful year, STOA welcomed Professor Serge HAROCHE – co-winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize for Physics - to deliver its Annual Lecture to an audience of hundreds, including MEPs, scientists and other citizens. The subject, aligned with the United Nations (UN) International Year of Light, was A Discovery Tour in the World of Quantum Optics. A Discovery Tour in the World of Quantum Optics.