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Other mechanisms
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus signed 24 Cooperation agreements with Academies of Sciences and other national scientific centers from 18 EU states (Austria, Bulgaria, Czech, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom). Corresponding arrangements on the scientific and technical development are also fixed on the level of intergovernmental agreements (hyperlink to the enumeration).
All this creates a sufficient contract and legal basis for fostering the process of Belarusian scientists joining to the consortiums, created for initiation and realization of FP7 projects. Taking into consideration closeness of priorities of scientific and technical development of Belarus and the EU it is quite natural that there are many examples of effective activities of Belarusian organizations in a close interaction with the leading scientific centers of Europe. Thus, the result of long-time cooperation of the NAS of Belarus with a large French corporation “Air Liquid’ in the branch of hydrogen energy is working out a new method and equipment for getting synthesis-gas and hydrogen for fuel elements on the basis of borane, that in close future will be able to revolutionize automobile transport by its transferring to hydrogen fuel. This cooperation was successfully continued in the sphere of solar energy and new technologies of gas storage.
The NAS of Belarus cooperates successfully with such structures as Scientific Committee of NATO: in the frameworks of scientific interaction with this organization new methods of extermination of dangerous chemical substances, including pesticides with period of validity exceeded, based on the use of low-temperature plasma are working out. These methods and developed on their basis equipment will allow to reduce essentially risks of contamination of the European countries territories by dangerous chemical substances and can be used for extermination of chemical weapons reserve. The NAS of Belarus and National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS, France) in 2004 created Joint Commission on the Selection and Realization of joint programs and projects. Since its formation 3 Calls of joint projects were realized, and 34 projects successfully came out from them. Since 2005 on the base of the B.I. Stepanov Institute of Physics of the NAS of Belarus functions joint laboratory of the NAS of Belarus and Fraunhofer Society (Germany) which is specialized in conducting researches in the sphere of optics, diagnostics and nondestructive control. This is the first international laboratory on the territory of the CIS, created in the frameworks of the project of International scientific and technical center. At the beginning of 2009 except scale ISTC project the laboratory fulfilled a number of partner projects and direct contracts with companies “Siemens”, “Q-sell”, “Airbus” and others. Joint efforts of the Institute of nondestructive control of Fraunhofer Society and the B.I. Stepanov Institute of Physics allowed creating a number of unique devices and installations for application of optic methods for diagnostics in industry, biology and medicine. The laboratory prepared 7 joint patents; system work on the formation of the joint enterprises for application of working outs of laboratory on the interior and exterior markets is conducted.
The rapid increase of international exchanges in science and education against the backdrop of glo¬balization processes stimulates the formation of high international quality standards, livelier innova¬tion activity and increased competitiveness of national scientific schools and educational systems as well as broader and closer international collaboration in education and science.
A wide range of EU programmes providing for greater mobility is open today for scientists, research¬ers and post-graduates. The most well-known among them are Marie Curie Programme within EU's Framework Programmes for Research & Development, TEMPUS (promotion of higher education development in CIS), Erasmus Mundus (establishment of partnership networks between Euro¬pean and non-European higher education institutes elaborating joint Master programmes) and the mobility schemes linked with the latter, such as Socrates, Comet, Lingua, and Jean Monet.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Max Plank Society, the Helmholz Association of German Research Centres, and the Fraunhofer Society promote academic relations abroad, primarily by means of academic and scientific exchanges. As for international professional contacts of Russian scientists and researchers with science foundations, geographically, the USA and Germany are by far the indisputable leaders of the process, followed by France and Great Britain; stable contacts are maintained with Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Belgium.
International and foreign programmes and organizations promoting scientific exchanges include amongst others the NATO; the Austrian Science Fund, the Austrian Exchange Service, the Austrian International Science and Education Cooperation Agency, the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Robert Bosch Foundation; the Volkswagen Foundation, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the Foundation of Gotlieb Daimler and Karl Benz, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation; the British Council; the Royal Society; the CHEVENING Scholarship, the Welcome Trust; the Science Foundation of Ireland, the Netherlands Research Organization; the Norway Research Council; the Centre for International Mobility (Finland); the Finnish National Foundation of Research and Development; the Academy of Finland; the National Scientific Foundation of Switzerland.
The activization of Belarusian scientific centers participation in activity of European international organization and expert structures will to a considerable degree promote the effective advancement to the direction of scientific support of cooperation as well as to the widening of Belarusian participation in all-European scientific and technical activities in general. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is a member of Interacademic association “All European Academies”, ALLEA, which includes 53 national academies of natural and human sciences from 40 states of Europe and which aims are to provide information exchange and experience between academies of sciences, and also recommendations to European science and society. With a view of methodological support of EU scientific and technical policy Eurocommission created European Research Advisory Board (EURAB), which consists of 45 competent experts from the EU countries and others. EURAB, being a high-level independent structure, carries out advisory activity both by Eurocommission request and by its own initiative, it is empowered to cooperate on the autonomous base with organizations and establishments, interested in the investigations development in Europe, and also to create working groups for studying several problems. Preparation of authoritative reports and conclusions on scientific problems, referred to realization of European politics, is also conducted by non-governmental European Academies Scientific Advisory Council (EASAC), which consists of 25 representatives of European academies from 23 states, and also representatives of ALLEA and non-governmental Academia Europaea, uniting more than 2000 scientists. A great influence on the process of European scientific and educational area formation is made by European University Association, which comprises more than 800 high schools from 46 states of Europe. It is remarkable that participating in ERA development the European University Association organizes actions for advancement of European Higher Education Area (EHEA) that is undoubtedly one of the defining conditions for ERA (among Belarusian institutes of higher education the members of EUA are the Belarusian National Technical University and Y. Kupala Grodno State University). Also European initiatives (platforms) of the second level are being realized, in which representatives of different associations (including the mentioned) interact. Such structures in the scientific sector of the EU are Initiative for Science in Europe, Platform of European Science and Technology Organization, League for European Research Universities and others.
Among organizations, formed in accordance with the Belarus intergovernmental agreements, cooperation with which is of great importance for Belarus-EU cooperation, it is necessary to point out International Scientific and Technical Center (ISTC) and Central European Initiative (CEI). ISTC works out, approves, finances and controls scientific and technical projects, directed to the scientific application in peaceful aims, which are realized in the CIS countries, mostly by specialists, connected earlier with working out and production of armament. The main aims of ISTC are assistance to solution of national and international technical problems; maintenance of fundamental and applied researches, including environmental protection, energy production and atomic power engineering security; assistance in transfer into market economy; encouragement of integration scientists connected with military-industrial complex of CIS into world scientific community. Donor-countries of ISTC are the USA, the European Union, Norway, Canada, the Republic of Korea and Japan. In the frameworks of ISTC programs with the participation of Belarusian scientists and specialists since 1994 (the year of Belarus joining to ISTC Agreement) 95 scientific and technical projects have been and are being realized, for which Belarusian scientists got $23,2 million. From this sum $14, 7 million or 63,3% of general volume are provided by the European Union. The CEI membership, to which the Republic of Belarus joined in 1996 (enjoying full rights), form 18 states of Central European region, 9 of which are the members of the EU. CEI encourages interaction of states of Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe in the spheres of transboundary cooperation, energy, transport, science and technology, education, culture, small and medium business, agriculture, environmental protection, human resources development, information and mass-media, national minority protection, tourism and youth policy. On the cooperation program of the Republic of Belarus with the organizations of the Central European Initiative (CEI) the CEI Scientific Center is created in the NAS of Belarus. In this Center Belarusian, Italian, Ukrainian and Moldavian scientists conduct researches in the sphere of laser physics and nonlinear optics, post-graduate students from these countries study here.
COST - is an intergovernmental structure for coordination of national research on a European level. The programme seeks for closer European integration and mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries, other that the COST members, and nongovernmental organizations without geographic limits. The COST represents one of the largest instruments for science & research cooperation which has established to date: almost 30,000 scientists and researchers from 36 COST member countries and over 50 institutes, including those from Belarus, have been involved in work on 200 topics. Although Belarus is not the COST member, it actively participates in the research projects implemented within the programme.
The Belarusian Republican Fond of Fundamental Research (BRFFR) plays a remarkable role in realization of joint scientific developments by organizations of Belarus and the EU countries. Since the year of 2001 in the framework of BRFFR programs on terms of bilateral financing 248 joint programs have been and are being conducted by Belarusian organizations and their European Union partners. In the framework of Cooperation Agreement between the NAS and Center of National Research and Science, that is one of the world’s largest scientific centers, BRFFR conducted 3 Calls of joint projects and also the Call of International Programs of Scientific Cooperation (PICS), in which only formed earlier scientific groups that have a number of joint publications can take part. Fixed mechanisms of BRFFR international program realization could be used as a platform for realizing of joint primary fundamental investigations, being a part of great projects, included to the Framewoёrk programs of the European Union.
Today we can speak about quite long-lasting period of interaction of Belarusian organizations and scientists with European partners, which resulted by not only important fundamental and applied scientific achievements, but also valuable experience in creation of scientific partnership, involvement scientists into realization of joint scientific and research projects on the topical problems of world science development. But as for the scales it is only the first stage of cooperation. A new stage of development of scientific and technical cooperation between Belarus and the EU implies full participation of our country in the process of European Research Area formation that means much wider participation in the European scientific programs and projects, and also in the planning and realization of all-European scientific and technical policy.
© National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 2011
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