Another odyssey

Europe’s research sector ends the year hoping for a better future

At the start of the year, with Covid vaccination levels steadily rising, Europe—and much of the world—was looking forward to a return to some kind of normality. Instead, it was faced with Russia’s shocking invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that threw it further off course. 

The war, and the knock-on energy crisis, has defined the year for much of Europe, sending huge shockwaves through the continent. Research is no exception. The year ends with the sector caught up in the fallout from these seismic events, as well as trying to navigate winds whipped up from within its own community.