Dear readers,

due to technical problems, the 8th issue of  ACCESS4EU's Newsletter was not delivered to all recipients and some essential information were missing. As the malfunction has been fixed, we are pleased to present the 8th newsletter of ACCESS4EU with new opportunities for collaboration under Research, Technology Development and Innovation (RTDI) programmes.
 

In this 8th issue, you will find:

1. Introduction to India S&T policy (Country Focus)
2. Quick overview of RTDI programmes and open calls, that are accessible for foreign participation You will find more information and programmes under http://www.access4.eu/ and search in our online programme database!
3. Our success story from Russia "Joint Arctic Research Project"
4. International S&T events including ACCESS4EU Infodays
5. Country reports and other recently added documents
6. Links to other information on S&T cooperation

For more information on access opportunities in Third Countries, visit our webportal.
On behalf of all Access4EU projects, we wish you pleasant and fruitful reading!

Best regards,

Martina De Sole and Serena Borgna (India Gate project)
APRE, Rome, Italy

Contact: newsletter@access4.eu
 

Country focus: India

India has a long and recognized Science and Technology (S&T) tradition from the ancient times to great achievements during this century.
India is one of the top-ranking countries in the field of basic research and occupies the fifth position in space launching technologies in the world. Its nuclear technologies are recognized as one of the advanced technologies including the completion of the nuclear cycle of production of source materials to waste management.
Indian Science has come to be regarded as one of the most powerful instruments of growth and development, especially in the emerging scenario and competitive economy.
Looking into the future, the current trend chart on innovation report for several Asian countries puts India in the category of a likely global player with a crucial role in science, technology, and innovation.
By international standards, India's research strengths include mathematics, theoretical physics, engineering sciences, chemistry, molecular biology and biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology and space research. Concomitant with India’s concern to upgrade its vast underdeveloped primary sector, agricultural research comprises a much larger share in India than the international average.
India has also a well defined Science and Technology structure. The different ministries set up by the government; fund, coordinate, promote, and oversee the scientific and research activities in the country through the implementing departments such as: Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Department of Science & Technology (DST), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education (ICFR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Space Research (DOS), Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO).
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Open calls

CSIRO Flagship Collaboration Fund - Round 7 Clusters now open
The CSIRO National Research Flagships program addresses complex challenges by forming large scale multidisciplinary research partnerships. The Flagship Collaboration Fund helps to facilitate wider research involvement by providing funding to engage external capability to address specific science problems, develop expertise and foster collaboration between CSIRO and it partners. The Flagship Clusters are significant high impact activities and have involved 40 different Australian and international partners. They are funded for three years at A$1 million per annum with co-investment from partners. Applications will be accepted from: • eligible Australian and overseas higher education institutions • Cooperative Research Centres & not for profit research institutions • other Australian and international publicly funded research agencies. Each Cluster must include at least one Australian university. Applications close Friday 24th February 2012.

Call for support to technology innovation and diffusion in Rio de Janeiro State
The call aims to promote the innovation and diffusion of technological processes by offering financial support to enterprises in a total of 2.700.000 euros.

Call for support to research programs Fapesp-Microsoft research
This call intends to explore the application of Computer Science to the challenges of research in areas related to Global Climate Change and many other disciplines linked to Environmental Sciences.

Call for support research projects FAPESP/ETH Bioenergy 2011
The purpose of this call is to foster the ST&I improvement related to sugar cane management and the production of ethanol and bioenergy. And for that the agency is offering a total 4.550.000 euros grant

Canada-France Technological Collaboration
OSEO (France) and NRC-IRAP (Canada) are launching this 4th Call for proposals (CFP) to foster cooperation and, specifically, to identify Technological Cooperation, Innovation and R&D projects co-developed by firms from both countries. These projects may receive financial support from OSEO in France and from NRC-IRAP in Canada. This support applies to all technologies and industries.

2012 Cambridge Science Summer School (Hong Kong)
The Cambridge Science Summer School offers an opportunity for promising undergraduate students of biology and biomedicine who wish to spend the summer in Cambridge gaining practical research training at the laboratory bench within top biological research laboratories in Cambridge University, using state-of-the-art facilities and under the dedicated mentorship of that laboratory’s Principal Investigator. With the support of the Croucher Foundation, five full-cost scholarships will be awarded by the Cambridge Science Summer School to talented Hong Kong undergraduate students participating in the 2012 summer school, to be held in Cambridge over eight weeks starting in July 2012. Eligibility is restricted to permanent Hong Kong residents.

GSP - Internship Programme (Hong Kong)
This programme has been recently published by Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF). The Internship Programme is a sub-programme under the General Support Programme (GSP) funded by ITF. It targets to those organizations undertaking research and development (R&D) projects, including local universities, R&D centres established under the ITF, Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and companies in private sectors, which expect to recruit interns to assist in the R&D projects. The recruitment is open all year around.

Public Policy Research Funding Scheme 2012/13
The Research Grants Council (RGC) is inviting applications for the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme 2012/13. Public policy research is adopted to cover academic research that will have explicit policy implications on public policy development in Hong Kong. To provide information for the evaluation of the proposals on their policy implications, applicants are required to state clearly in the application forms the explicit policy relevance of the proposals on public policy development in Hong Kong. The closing date for application is 13 January 2012.

Call for proposals under Indo-Swiss Joint Research programme
Indo Swiss Joint Research Programme (ISJRP) extends support for exchange of visits under this project based Personnel Exchange Programme (PEP), with a special emphasis on further academic training and development of young scholars. PEP grants aim at connecting ongoing research projects in the two countries. Funding will therefore only be offered for travel and living costs. It is expected that all other costs for the exchange projects will be already available to both sides from other sources. PEP grants should include several young researchers and scientists from each side.

Call for proposal under Indo-German (DST-DAAD) - PPP 2012
The programme ’Project-based Personnel Exchange’ is a bilateral research promotion programme that is a result of the agreement concluded between the German Academic Exchange Service and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in 1998. DAAD receives funds for implementing the programme through a budget allocation by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). On the Indian side the programme is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), of the Government of India.

Brokerage Event in Mexico, February 28-29, 2012
The aim of the event is to promote the participation of European researchers into Mexican research funding opportunities in the Energy sector as well as in the Mobility schemes offered by Mexican organisations. Twenty European researchers will be selected, following evaluation, to participate in the event. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by the project’s funds.

U.S. NSF Plant Genome Research Programme (PGRP) open for submission
The goal of the PGRP is to develop a basic knowledge of the structures and functions of plant genomes and translate this knowledge to a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of economically important plants and plant processes of potential economic value.

Success story

JOINT ARCTIC RESEARCH PROJECT

A federal target programme enabling research in Russia led by invited scientists has helped a leading German institute and two Russian universities continue, with the assistance of ACCESSRU, joint efforts on Arctic ecology and biological monitoring.

Dr. Larisa Nazarova is a biology graduate from Kazan University . She has been involved in climatic and palaeoecological research with scientific institutions and high-tech companies in Britain, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands since 1998. Currently, she is working at Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in the Helmholtz Association in Potsdam, Germany. 
In 2009, the German Ministry for Education and Science announced a call to create joint research structures with Russian partners. On behalf of AWI, Nazarova submitted a winning application with a project seeking to create a joint Russian-German laboratory to study environmental dynamics in the Arctic with a special emphasis on biological monitoring (BioM) under Nazarova's coordination. BioM research activities focus on past ecological and climatic changes, studying biological and geological proxies from lacustrine and permafrost sediment archives. The scientists analyze current ecological changes caused by global warming, study Arctic biodiversity, and make plans for ecological expertise. The Russian partner organisations are the North-East Federal University (NEFU) in Yakutsk and Kazan Volga Federal University (KFU), both provided with their own field stations allowing for ecological research in the Arctic.
AWI, KFU and NEFU have successfully developed their cooperation. They have signed bilateral Memoranda of Understanding and developed programmes for scientific contacts within the main scientific topics. Representatives of AWI and KFU have made academic mobility visits to Yakutsk and both Russian universities have also visited AWI. They have also begun programmes for joint supervision of graduates' and post-graduates' research as well as joint expeditions to North-East Yakutia and Karelia.
 

Upcoming Access4EU Information Days & other events

22-24 March 2012 - India Engineering Sourcing Show 2012 (IESS) with EEPC India
Mumbai, IN

India’s largest international engineering sourcing show will open on 22 March in Mumbai. It is organised by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, with EEPC India as the lead agency. The India Engineering Sourcing Show 2012 will be an opportunity to explore global business alliances and network with leading industry heads of the world. More info

8-10 February 2012 - Inaugural Asia Pacific Science Policy Studies (SPS) Research Conference, 8-10 February 2012, Wellington, call for abstracts and expressions of interest
Wellington, NZ

The theme of this conference is "National Wellbeing through Science and Innovation". What is the relationship between science and policy decision-making? How do nations make decisions to invest in science and technology - and how are citizens involved? The aim of this conference is to showcase the latest international thinking in the field of Science Policy Studies and to support emerging SPS scholarship in the Asia Pacific region. If you are concerned about the future of science and technology, and if you have ideas about how science policy systems work best, you should be part of this event. More info

10-12 March 2012 - Information Systems 2012
Berlin, DE

IADIS, the International Association for Development of the Information Society, is preparing its "Information Systems"-conference for 2012. It covers both the technical as well as the non-technical aspects of the Information Society. Broad areas of interest are eSociety and Digital Divide, eBusiness / eCommerce, eLearning, New Media and E-Society, Digital Services in eESociety, eGovernment /eGovernance, eHealth, Information Systems, and Information Management. More info

11 April 2012 - Web seminar to promote EU participation in Canadian research programmes on Social Sciences and Humanities
Online,

Three web-seminars will be organised at April 11th 2012 with the aim to promote the participation of European researchers under Canadian research programmes. During the webinar, European researchers will receive information on how they can participate in Canadian research programmes, i.e. information on open programmes, rules for participation, finding partners, possible funding rates. Public Knowledge Canada (PKC), one of our Canadian project partners, is organising the webinar in cooperation with the Canadian Social Sciences and the Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). More info

15 May 2012 - Web seminar to promote EU participation in Canadian research programmes on Health Sciences
Online,

A web-seminar will be organised at May 15th 2012 with the aim to promote the participation of European researchers under Canadian research programmes. During the webinar, European researchers will receive information on how they can participate in Canadian research programmes, i.e. information on open programmes, rules for participation, finding partners, possible funding rates. Public Knowledge Canada (PKC), one of our Canadian project partners, is organising these webinars in cooperation with the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR). More info

16-17 February 2012 - Access2mexcyt participates in Word Mobility Tour in Rome
Rome, IT

Access2mexcyt will hold a stand in a special section, the World Mobility Tour, within the meeting of the National Contact Points (NCPs) of the People Programme. This special section will be dedicated to mobility opportunities in Third Countries and will take place in Rome on February 16-17, 2012. In the World Mobility Tour there will be information stands from other Access4eu programmes, providing country - specific information on mobility to interested NCPs. On behalf of Access2mexcyt project, there will be an expert who will disseminate mobility opportunities offered by Mexican organisations and deal with the People NCPs' inquiries. More info

17 -18 February 2012 - 2012 International Conference on Information and Computer Applications ICICA 2012
Hong Kong, HK

ICICA is the main annual Information and Computer Applications conference aimed at presenting current research being carried out. Current ICICA 2012 will be held during February 17-18, 2012 in Hong Kong. The idea of the conference is for the scientists, scholars, engineers and students from the Universities all around the world and the industry to present ongoing research activities, and hence to foster research relations between the Universities and the industry. This conference provides opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences face to face, to establish business or research relations and to find global partners for future collaboration. The deadline for the first & second round of paper submission is December 5th and December 20th. ICICA 2012 is sponsored by IACSIT, and supported by many Institutes and Universities around the world. Selected papers of the ICICA 2012 conference will be published in the proceeding, and will be included in the ASME Digital Library, and indexed by Ei Compendex and Thomson ISI Proceedings. More info

18 January 2012 - FET Proactive Information Day on ICT FP7 Call 9
Brussels, BE

During this event, information on Future and Emgerging Technologies (FET) Proactive initiatives under ICT FP7 call 9 will be provided, as well as contractual, legal and administrative modalities. In addition, the creation of consortia and synergies will be facilitated through an open exchange "Proposers Forum". Registration is free of charge but mandatory. More info

18-20 January 2012 - 6th Annual University Startups Conference 2012
Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, U.S., US

The University Startups Conference is a unique conference series dedicated to creating and funding globally competitive, venture-backable university startups. It will together universities creating startups, investors, program managers and government agencies working on improving the Innovation Economy by increasing the quality and quantity of startups coming out of universities. More info

18-22 January 2012 - ELECRAMA 2012
Mumbai, IN

ELECRAMA is the world's largest electrical event held biennially in Mumbai, India since 1990. It has grown to be the world's largest one-stop-shop for electrical and industrial electronics. In its ninth edition; ELECRAMA 2010 hosted 1,243 exhibitors from 23 countries including India and attracted 1,05,209 footfalls into the exhibition including visitors from 120 countries. More info

19 January 2012 - Supporting EU Access to Chinese Research and Innovation Programmes (January 19th)
London, GB

This half-day seminar will take place at the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House in London from 2.00 p.m. to 5.30 p.m on January 19th, 2012. Organised by the University of Nottingham China Policy Institute in partnership with Chatham House and the China Britain Business Council, it will present the results of the EU project to map the opportunities for EU researchers to participate in Chinese research and innovation programmes and provide a forum to discuss how to expand collaboration with China in this area. Several case studies will be presented. More info

5 -7 January 2012 - 2012 2nd International Conference on Life Science and Technology
Hong Kong, HK

2012 2nd International Conference on Life Science and Technology (ICLST 2012) is the premier forum for the presentation of new advances and research results in the fields of theoretical, experimental, and applied Life Science and Technology. The conference will bring together leading researchers, engineers and scientists in the domain of interest from around the world. Topics of interest for submission include, but are not limited to: Biological and Life Sciences, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences, etc. More info

Recently added documents

China Dissemination Workshop presentations(Beijing, Chengdu, Hangzhou) More info

Other news

• EU-U.S. Summit Joint Statement
• The ACCESS2CANADA Opportunity Report 2011
• EU India S&T Cooperation Days 2011 –Biotechnology and Health - Together for the advancement of science and innovation
• Global innovation roundtable in India – New Delhi, 5 December 2011
• The European Commission presents Horizon 2020 – Brussels, Nov 30, 2011
• New INDIGO Foresight exercise completed – 24 Nov 2011

© The newsletter lay-out was created by APRE – Agency for the Promotion of European Research – with support of the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. The top image was kindly provided by the International Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR).