Russian Mercator Fellows meet in Moscow
DFG office in Moscow
(28.01.13) At the start of the year the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) invited former Russian visiting professors at German universities to a meeting at its Moscow office. It was an opportunity for these Mercator Fellows to hear the latest news from the DFG's Head Office and find out about planned activities in Russia, as Germany Year runs until mid-2013 and in autumn the DFG Office Russia/CIS will celebrate its 10th anniversary.
(L to R) Prof. Dmitri Kazakov (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna), Prof. Yuri Antonov (Institute of Biochemical Physics, RAN, Moscow), Prof. Yusef Zhugzhda (Institute of Earth Magnetism, RAN, Troitsk)
The purpose of the evening was to strengthen links with renowned researchers with extensive international experience and long-term contacts in Germany. The invitation was accepted not only by professors from Moscow universities and institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, but also professors from research institutions in St. Petersburg, Dubna, Troitsk and Chernogolovka. With representatives of the humanities and social, natural, life and engineering sciences, the full spectrum of basic research was represented.
(L to R) Prof. Valery Ryazanov (Institute of Solid State Physics, RAN, Chernogolovka), Prof. Tatiana Tennikova (Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, St. Petersburg), Prof. Yuri Kutznetsov (Moscow Aviation Institute, Moscow)
As well as the announcement of the new President of the DFG, there was detailed information about joint project funding with Russia. As part of the modularisation of the DFG's funding programmes, a Mercator Fellow module has been developed into which the previous programme will be merged. This means that funding will now be applied for as part of individual projects. In the Mercator programme and the Collaborative Research Centres, researchers from the Russian Federation are the most active visiting researchers in Germany after their colleagues from the USA.
The DFG was therefore particularly interested in the experiences of the international researchers, and there was discussion of different forms of cooperation on the ground. The DFG also welcomed other representatives of DWIH Moscow, who presented the tasks and activities of the German House for Research and Innovation in Russia.