Collaboration between Taiwan and Europe on scientific research turned a new page yesterday as the National Science Council (NSC) unveiled its contact office to facilitate local participation in the EU’s Seventh Research Framework Program (EU-FP7), the largest research and development program worldwide.
Sponsored by the NSC, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the national contact point Taiwan (NCP-Taiwan) will promote cooperation with the EU-FP7.
The NCP-Taiwan will be run by the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, National Tsing Hua University, National Cheng Kung University and the Industrial Technology Research Institute.
“With today’s level of globalization, international collaboration is an important pillar to support a country’s research and development capabilities ... We hope to stimulate cross-regional projects and create win-win situations for everyone involved,” Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-Ming (尹啟銘) said.
With a budget of 53 billion euros (US$77.5 billion), the EU-FP7 brings together top researchers, said Guy Ledoux, head of the European economic and trade office.
“[Though] under the Sixth Framework Program, Taiwan research institutes participated in 11 projects ... we believe that [the Taiwan-Europe collaboration] can go much further,” Ledoux said.
To qualify for EU-FP7 grants, researchers must submit proposals for projects the EU program selects, Ledoux said, adding that any researcher under the EU-FP7 umbrella is eligible to submit a proposal.
Research topics focus on global challenges such as health, energy, climate change and other environmental issues.
The “quality [of the proposals] would be of essence, as competition is fierce,” Ledoux said.
However, with a local contact office, Taiwanese researchers will get more up-to-date information on what grants are available and who the experts are in the field for possible collaboration on research projects.
“Taiwan’s new contact office will facilitate the access for Taiwan’s research community — both from the private and the public sector — to the EU-FP7 ... providing opportunities for researchers from both sides to learn from each other,” he said.
“The cooperation is open-ended and will continue for any future FP programs,” he said.
The “marriage” is good for both sides, National Tsing Hua University president Chen Wen-Tsuen (陳文村) said.
“With 27 countries, the EU is a large economic body ... Though it has only 23 million people, Taiwan is advanced in many high-tech industries and has a lot to offer,” Chen said.
“Together we can work towards promoting a new kind of researcher: not only highly educated, but also highly mobile and experienced in a land not of [their] origin ... In the face of globalization, mobility of researchers is not only beneficial but indispensable,” Ledoux said.
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