Closing events for the bilateral programmes with Romania and Bulgaria

Closing event for bilateral programme with Romania

Events in Sofia and Bucharest mark the conclusion of two bilateral programmes in the context of the enlargement contribution. 39 projects were funded with a budget of CHF 14 million.

With the enlargement contribution, Switzerland is helping to reduce social and economic inequalities in the European Union. The SNSF was mandated by the SDC to conduct a bilateral research programme with a partner organisation in Bulgaria and Romania. All in all, 39 projects were funded with a total budget of CHF 14.6 million. Switzerland will cover 85% of the costs, the partner country 15%.

The first two joint research projects were started in 2012. Scientists in Romania, Bulgaria and Switzerland focused on solar energy, environmental protection and cancer research.

The implementation phase for both programmes will come to an end in 2016. In order to look back on the successful collaboration together with researchers, representatives of the respective countries and journalists, a closing ceremony has been organised for each programme in Bucharest (May 2016) and in Sofia (October 2016) respectively.

Integration into the international network

One of the benefits of the bilateral programmes has been to better integrate Romanian and Bulgarian researchers into the international network. More frequent participation in conferences and more publications in prestigious journals are but two positive outcomes of this productive cooperation. Last but not least, the bilateral programmes helped to promote young researchers in their countries of origin by taking on a high number of young doctoral students.