Newsletter Number 23 April 2012

8/2/2019 Newsletter Number 23 April 2012

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April 2012 Issue 231

DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR RESEARCH AND INNOVATIONINTERNATIONAL COOPERATION DIRECTORATE

INFORMATIONFLASH ONINTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONACTIVITIES

POLICY

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn visits Australiaand New Zealand to Reinforce Research Links andOutline New Collaborations.

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn visited Australia on 4-7March at the invitation of the Australian Government.She visited research infrastructures in Sydney andCanberra, and attended a round table with industryleaders to discuss innovation and linkages betweenindustry and academia. She met Senator Chris Evans,Minister for Science and Research, to discuss currentcooperation and prospects for new collaborations on R&Itopics of mutual interest. She also met with Australia'sChief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, for an exchangeviews on a wide range of R&I issues including societalchallenges, working with Asia, improving scienceeducation, and increasing public trust in research. Shegave a keynote at the 'Universities Australia' HigherEducation Conference, where she highlighted Horizon2020 new opportunities for Australian researchers.

Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn was also invited as anofficial guest of the New Zealand Government. This visiton 8-9 March allowed to take stock of the excellentcollaboration between the EU and New Zealand and tooutline ways to strengthen EU-New Zealand cooperation.

The Commissioner met with Steven Joyce, Minister forScience and Innovation, and Tim Groser, Minister forTrade and Climate Change. They discussed our fruitfulresearch cooperation with New Zealand, particularly inthe field of the bio-economy, and examined the potentialfor new collaborations in areas of mutual interest (publichealth, sustainable cities). The Commissioner alsovisited Auckland University Bioengineering Institute,which has a partnership with the EU in the area of the'Virtual Physiological Human', as well as the officesof 'Auckland Uniservices'. She also gave a keynote atAuckland University on EU-New Zealand cooperation inR&I and new opportunities under Horizon 2020.

For further information, please contact: Martin PennyDG RTD; Lynne Hunter, EU Del, Canberra; Lucy Ross,

EU Del Wellington

EU-ASEAN Year of Science, Technology and

Innovation: Commissioner's visit to Singapore

On her way to Australia, Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn visited Singapore, the regional research andinnovation hub in South East Asia, in the context of theEU-ASEAN Year of Science, Technology and Innovation.On that occasion theCommissioner met with Lim ChuanPoh, Chairman of Singapore's Agency for Science,Technology and Research, and Dr Francis Yeoh, ChiefExecutive Officer of the National Research Foundation,and senior managers of EU companies in Singapore(Rolls-Royce, Vestas Wind System).

The Commissioner also met with a group of leading EU

and ASEAN science journalists to share views on EU-ASEAN R&I cooperation and on potential for furtherdevelopment of our bi-regional partnership with SouthEast Asian countries. This press programme, whichallowed journalists to visit key research infrastructuresand successful EU-ASEAN research projects in severalASEAN countries was organised by SEA-EU-NET project

The Commissioner also pronounced a keynote in front ofa large audience at Singapore' leading University,Nanyang Technological University, where she announcedthe organisation of the 'Partnership Symposium' on EU-ASEAN Research and Innovation Cooperation duringESOF 2012 in Dublin.

For further information, please contactJean-Michel Sers DG RTD, Directorate D

Strategic Forum for International Science andTechnology Cooperation (SFIC)

The 13th meeting of the Strategic Forum forInternational S&T Cooperation (SFIC) took place on 9March in Brussels. SFIC adopted new rules of procedureand discussed its draft annual report. The Commissionoutlined the forthcoming Communication onInternational Cooperation in Research and Innovation,and invited SFIC delegates to provide written input to aseries of still-open questions. The Commission alsopresented the 2011 Communication on Small business,big world - a new partnership to help SMEs seize globalopportunities.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH UPDATEApril 2012 Issue 23


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The progress of SFIC initiatives was discussed, includingcooperation with China (agreement on thematicpriorities and organisation of a workshop on mobilitywith ERA Steering Group on Human Resources andMobility); the USA (roadmap concept paper); and India(India's first reactions to the strategic R&I agenda, andupcoming stakeholder conference 31 May-1 June inBrussels).

For further information, please contact

Sofie Norager, DG RTD Directorate D

BILATERAL RELATIONS

Monitoring R&I Cooperation with Former YugoslavRepublic of Macedonia: Further Progress on ERAExpected

The Subcommittee on Innovation, monitoring progresson research and innovation from a pre-accession point ofview, met in Brussels on 27 February 2012. The meetingtook stock of FYRoM's increased participation in FP7 and

its efforts to promote cooperation, notably throughstronger engagement with SMEs and better use of MarieCurie actions.

Even if FYRoM is in balance in terms of funding obtainedand contribution paid, further efforts are needed,particularly in the lead up to Horizon 2020. TheCommission stressed the key importance of goodadministrative capacity, and the need for regularattendance in FP7 management committee meetings.The EC also regretted that the announced Strategy onResearch and Technology was still not fully established,and asked for a timetable on adoption. FYRoM explainedtheir need to consult further with their scientific

community, and to articulate more fully the innovationdimension. The Commission noted FYRoM's ambitiousgoal to increase R&I investment from a current 0.30% ofGDP to 1.80% by 2015. FYRoM was also encouraged toestablish, as a matter of priority, the reliable statisticsnecessary to implement and monitor their announcedstrategy and facilitate integration into the ERA.

The FYRoM Deputy Prime Minister, who also holds theportfolio of Minister for European Integration, welcomedEC's comments and personally expressed commitmentto follow the progress on R&I with competent ministers.She fully agreed on the importance of increasing R&I

efforts as key driver for progress in other areas and inthe overall integration process.


Tania Friederichs, DG RTD, Directorate D

14th EU-Africa Joint Task Force Meeting

The 14th meeting of the Africa-EU Joint Task Force(JAES) was held on 8-9 March in Brussels. The openingplenary session was co-chaired by Senior Officials fromthe EEAS, the EC and the AU Commission. The meetingwas also attended by the AU rotating Presidency; by theEU and African co-chairs of the Joint Expert Groups; the

EU and Pan-African Parliaments; Civil Society from bothcontinents; senior EU and AU Officials, as well asrepresentatives from Member States, the AfricanRegional Economic Communities, African DevelopmentBank, and European Investment Bank.

The JAES was reaffirmed as the overarching frameworkof R&I cooperation between EU and Africa. However,there was broad agreement that additional efforts had tobe made to realise the full potential of the JAES, notablyin the perspective of the next EU-Africa Summit.Participants exchanged views on ways to improve thecurrent JAES architecture, as well as on the monitoringand evaluation of the Joint Expert Groups' efficiency.Participants were also briefed on financing possibilities

currently explored to support the JAES more effectively,including the JAES Support Mechanism and proposedPan-African Programme in the new Development andCooperation Instrument for the next MultiannualFinancial Framework.

It was agreed that the next JEG8 meeting would takeplace on 10-11 May in Dar El Salam, back to back withthe annual IST Conference. The next Africa-EU JointTask Force will take place in Addis Ababa in last quarterof 2012.

For further information, please contactFadila Boughanemi, DG RTD Directorate D

EU, Algeria sign S&T Agreement

The EU and Algeria agreed to deepen their cooperationin the area of scientific research. The new S&TAgreement was signed in Algiers by EU Enlargement andNeighbourhood Policy Commissioner Stefan Fule andAlgerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci. Algeria is thefifthsouthern Mediterranean country to conclude such aS&T Cooperation Agreement with the EU.

Algerian scientists already actively participate in the FP7.To date, 26 Algerian participants in EU research projects

have received 2.3 million. In addition, 10 researchershave received Marie Curie grants to enable them tocarry out research in the EU. The new agreementdeepens cooperation and opens the way for EU scientiststo participate in Algerian research projects. As for otherS&T Agreements a joint committee will meet once a yearto share information and identify promising new areas ofcollaboration. The agreement also provides for the co-finacing of new research activities.

All Mediterranean countries have been invited to takepart next month in the first ever EuroMed conference onResearch and Innovation in Barcelona, Spain.

For further information, please contactNienke Buisman, DG RTD, Directorate D

EU-Peru Structured S&T Dialogue

In the margins of the 2010 EU-LAC Summit in Madrid,the Peruvian National Research Council (CONCYTEC) andDG RTD agreed to engage in a regular structured S&Tdialogue. A visit to Peru on 23 March by a delegationfrom DG RTD's International Cooperation Directorateprovided the opportunity for in-depth discussions on S&Tpolicy and for identifying fresh cooperation opportunitiesin areas of mutual interest. On the Peruvian side,

meetings involved representatives from the Ministries forExternal Relations, Education, Production, andEnvironment; the Congressional S&T Commission; theNational Science and Technology Council (CONCYTEC),the National Planning Bureau (CEPLAN), the Peruvian


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World Malaria Day: Time to Take Stock of EUResearch's Contribution in Fighting the Scourge

25 April is the 'World Malaria Day', reminding us that700,000 lives are claimed every year in sub-SaharanAfrica alone. Between 2002 and 2011, EU-fundedresearch has played a key role in fighting the disease.Over 200 million have been invested through FP6 andFP7 to support a large number of collaborative researchprojects, as well as broad-based international

partnerships (EDCTP) engaged in the fight againstmalaria, particularly in Africa.

For further information, please contactInmaculada Penas Jimenez, DG RTD

EU Research Unveils New Tools to Fight Malaria

Insecticide-impregnated bed nets and anti-mosquitosprays are key preventive measures to fight malaria. Forthe first time in a generation, the disease is declining inparts of Africa. However, growing insecticide resistanceis becoming a serious challenge and threatens toundermine the success of this strategy. Under theumbrella of the EU-funded AvecNet project, EU andAfrican researchers from 12 countries are workingtogether to ensure that insecticides continue to beeffective in the fight against malaria. This large 12million project has two complementary objectives: todevelop and test new families of insecticides both in thelaboratory and in the field; and, at the same time, tobetter manage the use of insecticides so as to ensurethat resistance to current insecticides remains as low aspossible.


Pregnancy and Malaria: New Knowledge for BetterPrevention against Emerging Threats

More than 9000 pregnant women in Brazil, Colombia,Guatemala, India and Papua New Guinea benefittedfrom special medical attention as part of the EU-supported PregVax project. They are representative ofthe approximately 25 million pregnant women who areexposed each year to Plasmodium vivax, the parasitewhich causes Malaria infections. Unlike its better-knownvariant Plasmodium falciparum, we know surprisinglylittle about how Plasmodium vivax affects pregnantwomen and their babies. Supported by a 2.9 million EUgrant, the 10 PregVax partners succeeded in getting new

insights on the workings of this parasite, opening theway for better prevention and treatment.


EVENTS

JRC Trains Brazil Scientists in Natural Disaster

Risk Management

In the framework of the EU-Brazil Sectoral Dialogue onFlood Forecasting and Monitoring, two Brazilian

scientists from Brazil's National Centre of NaturalDisasters Monitoring and Alert (CEMADEN) are currentlytrained in JRC-Ispra to gain experience in floodforecasting and monitoring of soil moisture using remotesensing.

This is one of the concrete results of the Letter of Intentsigned between the JRC and the Brazilian Ministry ofScience, Technology and Innovation (MCTI). In thiscontext, the MCTI launched in 2011 the National Centrefor Natural Disasters Monitoring and Alerts (CEMADEN),whose job is to produce reliable warnings in order toassist decisions by public authorities on how best toprotect communities. CEMADEN will receivemeteorological, hydrological, and geo-technical datafrom various sources, develop models, and produce

warnings on risks of natural disasters.For further information, please contact

Ole P. Ostermann, JRC

"Diabesity" International Conference: AddressingTogether a World-Wide Challenge

Diabetes causes severe health complications and is thefifth leading cause of death world-wide. The number ofpersons suffering from the "type 2" form of this diseaseis set to rise to some 900 million globally by 2030, withdevastating health and economic implications. Tocounter this sinister scenario, increased attention isgiven to research into the environmental and geneticrisk factors for diabetes and obesity in specificpopulations.

Under its current Research Framework Programme, theEuropean Union supports a series of major scientificprojects to better understand and combat type-2diabetes. In this context, the Health Directorateorganised on 9-10 February in Brussels a high-levelinternational conference 'DIABESITY-A World-WideChallenge', to work towards a global initiative on gene-environment interactions in diabetes-obesity in specificpopulations. The event brought together over 600participants, including leading international scientists,

national and international funding agencies, industryrepresentatives, and policy-makers from the EU and therest of the world.


Nathalie Vercruysse, DG RTD, Directorate F

EU-US Cooperation on Critical InfrastructureProtection and Space Situational Awareness

The US Department of State hosted an EU-US workshopon Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) and SpaceSituational Awareness (SSA) on 14-15 March.Participants came from DG ENTR (lead), the Joint

Research Centre, the EEAS, the General Secretariat ofthe Council, the European Defence Agency, EU SatelliteCentre and the European Space Agency. DG HOME wasalso represented. The US delegation was composed ofrepresentatives of the Departments of State, theDepartment of Homeland Security, the DefenceDepartment. Representatives of the EU and US privatesectors (EADS, Boeing, SES, European SatelliteOperators Association) attended part of the event.During the discussions the importance of FP7 projectsrelated to Space Research was underlined. Projects onspace weather and near earth objects, with participantsfrom the U.S. (e.g. NASA, NOAA) are key tools fortransatlantic cooperation in this area.

For further information, please contact Patrick Chatard-Moulin,DG ENTR, Astrid-Christina Koch, EU Delegation, Washington


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EU-Central America - ENLACE Travel GrantScheme: Third Call Now Open!

ENLACE is a FP7 international cooperation network(INCO-NET) aiming at reinforcing S&T cooperationbetween the EU and Central America. This travel grantscheme promotes exchanges between Central Americanand EU researchers and encourages contacts betweenresearch institutions for joint participation in FP7. It

supports researchers from the EU and the CentralAmerican countries to meet their counterparts for jointpreparation of project proposals and cooperation in oneof the upcoming FP7 calls (July 2012) of the Cooperationand People Programmes. The third call for participationis now open from 9 March to 10 May. Researchers maystay up to 30 days in Central America or the EU for the

joint preparation of a project proposal.

For further information, please contactPaul Vossen, DG RTD, Directorate D

JoRIEW Scientific Training Program

The JoRIEW scientific training program took place at theHashemite University in Zarqa, Jordan on 18-22 March.The program included four specialized training modules;Planning of Renewable and Sustainable Energy andWater Systems, Optimisation of Energy Systems, EnergySystems analysis on the EnergyPLAN model,Integrationof Reverse Osmosis and/or Membrane BioreactorProcesses with Hybrid Power Generation Systems usingRenewable Energy Sources for Efficient Water Productionand Utilization. JoRIEW network includes members fromJordanian universities, research centres, governmentalbodies, NGO's and the private sector.

For further information, please contactMaria Isabel Rodriguez Valero, DG RTD, Directorate D

Korea - Eureka Days Conference

The first Korea - Eureka Days Conference took place inBrussels on 21-23 March. Korea is at present the onlynon EU country being associated to Eureka. Since in2009, Korean companies, and especially SMEs, haveactively participated in the Eureka schemes in particularunder the Eurostar flagship. Business commitment toEureka, both from Europe and from Korea, has enabledthe development of new services and products beneficialto both sides.

During the conference, Korea's Deputy Minister ofKnowledge Economy and the President of Korea'sInstitute for Advancement of Technology met with high-level officials from the Commission and representativesfrom Member States and Industry. Issues discussedincluded: definition of areas of mutual interest for R&Icooperation, standards, testbeds and joint initiatives inspecific areas such as industrial technologies, nanotechand energy. These exchanges underlined the need forboth partners to increase participation in each other'spublic funding programmes.

This timely event took place on the eve of the EU-Korea

Summit scheduled for the end of March in Seoul.

For further information, please contactPierrick Fillon-Ashida, DG RTD, Directorate D

ITER Inaugurates the 5th Most PowerfulSupercomputer in the World

On 19 March, in the presence of Japans Vice-minister ofMEXT (Ministry for Science, Technology and Education),the President of Japan's Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA),the CEO and Chairman of the French company Bull, theITER Broader Approach inaugurated the supercomputerHelios. It was built by Bull in Rokkasho, in the north of

Japan, and delivered on schedule despite the difficulttimes facing the country. Helios is currently the fifthmost powerful computer in the world. It will help thefusion research community speed up their work on ITER.Rokkasho, ITER Japanese site, lies in the Tohoku area,

just outside the area devastated by last year'searthquake and tsunami. This inauguration gives a verypositive signal to this region. The construction of thissupercomputer was funded, and its progress supervised,by Fusion 4Energy, the EU ITER agency in Barcelona.


Mary Kavanagh, DG RTD and Michel Claessens, ITER

High-Level EU-Japan-US Trilateral on the StrategicImplications of Global Shortages in CriticalMaterials

This highly successful Trilateral meeting involving theEU, Japan and the US was the second such eventorganised by DG RTD Industrial TechnologiesDirectorate, Materials Research Unit. Following on the2011 Trilateral hosted by the US Department of Energy,this year's event was particularly timely. In addition tothe general context (WTO action by EU, US and Japanagainst China), this meeting marked the firstanniversary of the signature of the EU-Japan Science

and Technology Agreement and was the one of the keyevents specifically foreseen in the EU-Japan S&TRoadmap for 2011-2013.

The high level of representation from governments (USSecretary of State for Energy Steven Chu, JapaneseMinister for Energy Yukio Edano, EU Ambassador toJapan), from othercountries (AUS, CDN); from the EU,US and Japanese industries (Siemens, GE, Hitachi, etc.),from the EP, and from Civil Society (NGOs, consumerassociations) testifies to the truly strategic nature ofresearch on critical raw materials, and to the importanceand timeliness of the issues discussed.

In addition to the open sessions, which generatedconsiderable press coverage in Asia, Europe and the US,technical closed workshops identified key researchactivities underway, as well as new cooperationopportunities between the three partners, and open toother countries, in order to accelerate the process andshare costs in the precompetitive area. The mostsignificant joint project in preparation between the EUand Japan is a joint call for proposals on rare earths setfor this summer. Additional calls in related areas (wastemanagement, recycling) will also support collaboration.

Participants were invited to the next trilateral planned to

take place in Brussels in 2013.


Renzo Tomellini, DG RTD;

Barbara Rhode, EU Delegation in Tokyo


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FORTHCOMING MEETINGS (APRIL JUNE 2012)

Joint Committee Meetings

27 April Switzerland Geneva

6 June Egypt Brussels

8 June New Zealand Brussels

11 JuneFaroe Island

Torshavn

May (tbc)Moldova

Brussels

Other Meetings

18 May EU-ASEAN SOM Myanmar

14 June WBC Platform Tirana

14 June Eastern Partnership Brussels

CONTACTS

For additional information on this Newsletter, to subscribe, and to submit contributions, pleasecontact:

Patrick Vittet-Philippe (editor)Policy Officer, Japan and Russia DesksInternational Cooperation DirectorateDirectorate General for Research and InnovationEuropean [email protected] + 32 2 296 9056

Teodora SavovaInternational Cooperation DirectorateDirectorate General for Research and InnovationEuropean [email protected] + 32 2 2953636

Newsletter Number 23 April 2012

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