Human Brain Project

The past decade has witnessed a proliferation of major collaborative projects in the field of brain research such as the US Brain Initiative, the EU Human Brain Project, and the International Brain Laboratory. These projects all aim to make a contribution to resolving one of the greatest remaining mysteries of science, namely the human brain. We examine these major international collaborative projects and the different approaches these projects take to advancing our understanding of the human brain. Our first case study is the EU Human Brain Project, which is an ambitious ten-year €1.2 Billion EU Future and Emerging Technologies project that started in October 2013. The case study follows the formation of the project, and how the project's scientific ambition to create a computer simulation model of the human brain has evolved over time. It also examines the impact of various changes in leadership and governance structures of the project.