Brussels, 20/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On 20 March, stakeholders in the Human Brain Project (HBP) announced that 32 more organisations from 13 countries - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the UK - are to join the partnership. This represents a 40% increase in the number of partners in the HBP consortium. With a budget of €8.3 million, new partners will carry out specific research tasks collecting data, developing theoretical frameworks and performing the technical development work necessary for the future development of the 6 ICT platforms of the HBP. These platforms will have the task of collecting and pooling enormous quantities of data from the whole world on neuroscience and integrating it in different models and simulations. Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes stated that “the brain is a fascinating thing. Digital tools enable us to make huge progress in understanding the brain, but also to learn from it… I am delighted that we are putting out heads together with more partners - the more brain cells working in this area the better!” The Human Brain Project is part of the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) Flagships selected by the European Commission. It will receive up to €1 billion over a ten year period. The total estimated cost stands at €1.19 billion. The first phase of the project began at the end of 2013 and will last two and a half years, until the middle of 2016 (see EUROPE 10773). (IL)