COST boosts cooperation with Australia and New Zealand
Cooperation between European scientists and colleagues on the other side of the world is set to get a lot easier, thanks to two new schemes between COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) and Australia and New Zealand. Each scheme will provide for up to 20 travel grants worth ¿2,500 to support the travel and subsistence costs of European scientists travelling to Australia or New Zealand, and scientists from those countries coming to Europe. The schemes will focus on five priority areas: medical and health research; agriculture; biotechnology and food; nanotechnology; information and communications technology; and environment and climate change. The New Zealand scheme will also focus on forestry. 'This scheme is a pragmatic and valuable initiative,' commented Professor Sue Serjeantson, Executive Secretary of the Australian Academy of Science. 'Global scientific research still faces practical barriers such as a lack of funding for travel,' added Dr Di McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 'This agreement helps alleviate some of those barriers and provide opportunities for face-to-face cooperation, which we know is so essential for effective and productive research collaboration.' COST's Office Director, Dr Martin Grabert said he hoped these schemes would enable scientists to join forces and 'maximise synergies and fully exploit the huge potential that international scientific exchange offers'. The goal of COST is to boost cooperation between nationally-funded research activities.
Countries
Australia, New Zealand