JRC Information Day: Kick-Off to Intensify Collaboration
16 March 2007
Thus far, the Swiss scientific landscape had a vague perception of the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission--its vision and goals. Therefore, at an information event organized by Eawag, Euresearch, SER and the ETH-Rat, the JRC introduced its program to an interested audience. The symposium provided a nice overview of the JRC’s multifaceted activities.
In the first presentation, Charles Kleiber, State Secretary for Education and Research, highlighted how this info day is merely “a kick-off meeting to intensify research collaborations between Switzerland and the European Union.” He further emphasized that Switzerland can profit both qualitatively as well as quantitatively from collaborations with the JRC. In the second presentation, Dr. Roland Schenkel, Director General of the JRC, provided an interesting overview on the organization, its mission and procedures. The JRC comprises 7 institutions in 5 countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain) and employs about 3,000 associates. He stressed that he sees “many possibilities for scientists in Switzerland to play a part in the JRC.”
In subsequent presentations, several research foci were presented from different institutes, covering a wide selection of topics. Rik Eggen, co-organizer and Eawag Deputy Director, was very happy with the outcome of the event: “Many participants at the JRC Information Day were able to socialize and tie new connections. In addition, Eawag, as part of the organizing committee, was able to position itself as an innovative, open research organization. The feedback from participants was consistently positive.”
