Launch of German-Russian research forums with DFG and RFFI
Between 3 - 5 June, a delegation from the Head Office led by DFG President Professor Matthias Kleiner visited Moscow. The busy programme included a meeting with the new German ambassador to Russia, the organisation of the DFG's traditional summer reception, the launch of a new series of forums at the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) and a visit to the Kurchatov Institute.
On the evening of 3 June, Matthias Kleiner and Ambassador Ulrich Brandenburg opened the summer reception, the fourth such event organised by the DFG. The invited guests included academics, politicians and members of the business community. In addition to German and Russian representatives of bilateral research collaborations, there were representatives of various German organisations which fund research. The DFG reception is the only networking event of its kind in Moscow, promoting links between the different areas involved in research and innovation.
Jörn Achterberg, Matthias Kleiner, ambassador Ulrich Brandenburg
On 4 June, the most senior representatives of the DFG and RFFI met at the first German-Russian Research Forum under the auspices of the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH). Matthias Kleiner, President of the German Research Foundation, and Vladislav Panchenko, chair of the council of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, both addressed the forum on 'Research as an engine of modernisation and innovation'. This new series of events is intended to provide an opportunity to discuss prospects for bilateral relations when key representatives of German research, education and research policy visit Russia. The forums bring together a circle of experts with leading representatives of Russian research institutes, universities and government ministries. The first event was opened by the German ambassador, Ulrich Brandenburg, and moderated by Benjamin Bidder (Der Spiegel) and Nina Shatalova (Poisk).
Prof. Dr. M. Kleiner, Prof. Dr. V. Panchenko
To round off the trip, the delegation from the DFG - which included Dr. Jörg Schneider (director of International Affairs), Dr. Christian Schaich (director of partnerships in eastern Europe), Dr. Michael Mössle (officer in the Physics division, Mathematics and Geosciences division) and Dr. Jörn Achterberg (director of the Moscow liaison office) - visited the Kurchatov Institute. During the Soviet era, the Kurchatov Institute - established as Russia's first National Research Centre in 2008 - was known as the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy (KIAE). Since 2007, part of its remit has been to coordinate Russian nanotechnology research (NBIC Centre for NanoBioScience and Converging Technologies). As a future model for interdisciplinary research centres, the institute, which occupies 100 hectares, comprises 14 research institutes which employ 4700 people, including 2000 scientists. In 2009, three other institutes became part of this pilot project for the first National Research Centre: the Institute for High Energy Physics (IHEP), the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) and the B. P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI).