UCY Summer School To Focus On Management And Economics Of Research

The University of Cyprus (UCY) is set to host its inaugural Twin4Merit summer school from September 2-10, 2024, in Nicosia. This event, part of the Horizon Europe-funded Twinning for Excellence in Management and Economics of Research and Innovation (Twin4Merit) project, aims to enhance knowledge in research management and economics through expert-led lectures and methodology training sessions.

The Twin4Merit project focuses on critical meta-research areas, including research assessment, open science, and gender equality. Collaborating with Maastricht University’s UNU-MERIT and the University of Carlos III of Madrid, with dissemination support from the European Office of Cyprus, the initiative seeks to elevate Cyprus’s research landscape.

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The summer school will benefit not only UCY members but also the broader Cypriot scientific community, including researchers and Early Career Researchers (ECRs) from all Cypriot universities and relevant organisations. It also welcomes applications from other EU countries and the EMMENA region.

The programme begins with Transferable Skills Sessions on September 2-3, covering grant writing, project management, and research networking. A joint research conference on research assessment will follow on September 4-5, in collaboration with the SInnoPSis project. The final sessions on September 6, 9, and 10 will offer scientific skills training by advanced partners and local experts, focusing on ethics in research, open science principles, and gender in research assessment.

“The 1st Twin4Merit summer school aims to enhance the impact of UCY’s role as a major research and educational hub for the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa (EMMENA) region,” the statement explained. The agenda will be finalised and published in early July, with a preregistration form available for interested participants.

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Google Blocks 8.3 Billion Ads While Reducing Account Suspensions

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

April 17, 2026

Record-Breaking Enforcement In A Complex Digital Ecosystem

Google reported blocking 8.3 billion ads globally in 2025, up from 5.1 billion the previous year. Despite this increase, advertiser account suspensions declined, indicating a shift in enforcement strategy. Rather than applying broad penalties, the company is increasingly focusing on identifying and removing individual policy-violating ads within a complex and fast-evolving digital ecosystem.

Cutting-Edge AI Solutions Enhancing Policy Enforcement

Advances in artificial intelligence, particularly through Google’s Gemini models, are central to this shift. These systems enable more precise detection of policy violations at scale. More than 99% of violating ads are now intercepted before reaching users. This improved accuracy allows Google to act earlier in the process, reducing the need for widespread account suspensions while maintaining enforcement effectiveness.

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Targeted Measures Against Sophisticated Threats

According to Google’s 2025 Ads Safety Report, generative AI is increasingly being used by fraud actors to produce deceptive content at scale. Detection systems analyze patterns across campaigns and identify risks at the creative level. This allows enforcement actions to focus on specific ads rather than entire accounts. Keerat Sharma, Vice President and General Manager of Ads Privacy and Safety at Google, said this approach has reduced incorrect suspensions by 80% year-on-year.

Global Impact And Strategic Implications

Among enforcement actions, 602 million ads and 4 million advertiser accounts were linked to scam-related activity. In the United States, more than 1.7 billion ads were removed and 3.3 million accounts suspended in 2025, covering violations such as misrepresentation, ad network abuse, and inappropriate content. India, Google’s largest user market, recorded 483.7 million blocked ads, nearly double the previous year, while account suspensions declined, reflecting more targeted enforcement.

Adaptive Strategies For A Dynamic Threat Landscape

Verification processes continue to play a key role in limiting fraudulent account creation. By strengthening onboarding controls, Google aims to prevent abuse before ads are even published. At the same time, enforcement is increasingly focused on blocking individual problematic ads rather than penalizing entire advertiser accounts. This layered approach allows for faster response times and more precise interventions.

Overall, Google’s integration of AI into ad safety systems reflects a broader transition toward precision-based enforcement, as digital advertising platforms adapt to more complex and scalable threats.

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