Workshop: 25 years of scientific cooperation with Eastern Europe
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the SNSF and the SDC began supporting scientists in Eastern Europe by funding research partnerships. Twenty-five years later, Switzerland and its partner countries are still reaping the benefits. The aim of the workshop on 20 January 2015 at the Kursaal in Bern is both to take stock and to picture what lies ahead.
The workshop will focus on the current state of the sciences in Eastern Europe and their integration into the European research area. In addition, participants will have the opportunity to look back on 25 years of cooperation and the benefits it has generated for both sides.
Swiss State Secretary Mauro Dell'Ambrogio of the SERI, Martin Vetterli, President of the SNSF Research Council, and Elisabeth von Capeller, who will be in charge of cooperation with Eastern Europe in the future, will present the Swiss point of view. The EU Commission and the European Research Council (represented by its president, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon) will talk about the current situation in Europe, and three researchers from Eastern Europe will present their project and give an account of the biggest challenges science faces in their country. The event will be concluded by a round-table at which the moderator and the audience will have the opportunity to put questions to the speakers.
The event is open to the public, attendance is free of charge.