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In our current and future knowledge society, ICT plays a key role.
Examples of important developments already omnipresent in society
are fixed and mobile networks, distributed ubiquitous computing,
personalized information systems with context awareness, ambient
intelligence systems, etc. These developments are driven by
high-level, innovative research which in turn generates new
challenging research questions addressing new issues of economic
and societal relevance; for example, increased attention for
security, dependability, authentication, identification and
privacy protection. Innovations in the ICT sector lead to new
products and services and thus to economic activities and wealth
creation. ICT improves products, services and labor productivity
in many different sectors: industry, commerce, transportation,
health care, education, safety, and the environment.
To be able to use the new possibilities of ICT to a maximum, it is
necessary to have an excellent knowledge base in informatics to
stay abreast of the newest developments and to generate new
knowledge. At the same time, the Netherlands could benefit
economically by creating new business opportunities in selected
ICT areas. This requires a high-quality and creative research
community in ICT, enough knowledge-workers with high level and
up-to-date knowledge of ICT, and a vibrant flow of new ideas and
knowledge to society.
BRICKS is addressing the need for a strong impulse in fundamental
research in informatics. This impulse is necessary for improving
the innovation climate in the Netherlands and for generating
sustainable economic growth driven by ICT.
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