Europe and Japan team up to boost science, technology and innovation capacity
STI is key to sustainable development for Europe and Japan, as both seek a way out of their sluggish economies. Horizon 2020 promotes international cooperation in STI, considering its importance in strengthening the EU’s research excellence, jointly tackling global challenges and supporting EU external policies. The EU-funded JEUPISTE (Japan-EU partnership in innovation, science and technology) project supported EU-Japan STI policy dialogues, facilitated bilateral information services, organised networking events, and addressed the individual needs of researchers and research organisations. A national contact point for Horizon 2020 was established in Japan and funded by the government. The aim is to raise awareness of the EU’s biggest research and innovation programme, and give direct support to Japanese researchers and institutions and assist them with application procedures. To strengthen future EU-Japan STI cooperation, a European Interest Group for Japan was created. It serves as a communication platform for STI agencies in European countries and Japan that are interested in cooperating. A total of 26 events and 22 presentations were held to promote Horizon 2020 in Japan and Japanese funding programmes for research and development, mobility and staff exchange in Europe. In total, 2 700 relevant stakeholders were reached through these bilateral dissemination activities. Six partnership-building activities were organised to connect research communities involved in smart communities, power electronics and biotechnology. As a result, 11 EU-Japan partnerships emerged involving these participants. A help desk was set up to address queries related to EU-Japan STI cooperation. Nearly 1 000 cases were handled. The help desk service in Japan provided support to 57 Horizon 2020 applications involving Japanese organisations. Five training seminars were conducted on project management for university research administrators in Japan. An additional training seminar on Japanese programmes was held for contact points in Europe. Lastly, nine analytical reports to support EU-Japan STI policy dialogues were produced. JEUPISTE propelled Europe towards further STI cooperation with Japan. This should benefit both societies in facing similar societal challenges.
Keywords
Japan, science, technology and innovation, JEUPISTE
