Wednesday September 8^th 2010, 14:30 – 17:30 

International cooperation on a worldwide basis is increasingly important within the European Framework Programme for Research, because "grand challenges" often need global solutions.

Research is also increasingly a global activity where collaboration is based on scientific skills and complementarity rather than on nationality.

The session aims to give an overview of the different strategic instruments offered by the Framework Programme and practical examples of international collaborations. The lectures will look at strategic research collaborations, where joined initiatives from different continents resulted in win-win situations.

Questions to be answered during the session:

1) What benefits can projects gain from worldwide international collaborations?
2) Potential problems connected with international collaborations?
3) With global markets and products, how can we secure interoperability?

Speakers

• Dan Nagy, IMS Program Director (Switzerland)
• Marco Taisch, Politecnico di Milano (Italy)
• Boris Grynyov, First Deputy Head of State Committee of Ukraine on Science, Innovation and Informatization, State Committee of Ukraine on Science, Innovation and Informatization (Ukraine)
• Thomas Messervey, Project Manager, Industrial Innovation,  D’Appolonia S.p.A. (Italy)

• Thomas Reiss, Head of Competence Center Emerging Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research (Germany)

• Annarita Baldan, Scientific Staff VSL Dutch Metrology Institute (the Netherlands)
• Gilles Lequeux, International Cooperation Officer, European Commission – Research Directorate-General (Belgium)

• Rudy Koopmans, Basic Plastics TS&D (Switzerland)