European Commission

On 30 January the Japan Society for the Promtion of Science (JSPS) published English application guidelines for its Centre of Excellence (COE) Programme.

The Global COE Program provides funding support for establishing education and research centers that are to be centres of global excellence that elevate the international competitiveness of Japanese universities.

This information includes background information, application guidelines for researchers overseas, and review guidelines.

The deadline for applications is 17 and 18 February. Please see here for further information.

The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) has published English information on how to apply for competitive research grants. The information is specifically targeted to those employed under the “JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowships for Overseas Researchers” grant.

The objective of the guidance is for it to be used to implement a cooperative research project between the host researcher and fellow and is to be used on research equipment, travel, remunerations for temporary staff and other expenses.

It should be noted that grant applicants are the host researchers of the fellows - fellows themselves cannot apply directly.

Please see the JSPS for further information.

One of the policies to emerge during the short-lived Fukuda Administration (2007-8) was to strengthen Japan’s science and technology diplomacy.

A new agreement signed between the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) seeks to do this by strengthening the presence of Japan on the international stage and developing closer links between Japan’s science and technology and the needs of developing countries. In early policy outlines, this included researcher exchange and exchange between universities, as well as more collaborative projects with African partners.

The agreement signed on 21 January between the JST and JICA will address large scale global challenges through greater cooperation between science and technology and overseas development assistance (ODA). The areas prioritized by the JST are the environment and energy field, disaster prevention field, and infectious diseases.

Click here for further Information (in Japanese).

The original policy outline by the CSTP is here .

During the 1990s the number of Finnish researchers going overseas reached their peak, with subsequent declines according to a paper presented by sociologist Eila Helander at the University of Helsinki and reported in the Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat.

According to the research, in 1996 Finnish researchers spent a total of 7,000 months overseas. In 2007 this was 5,000 months. During the same period, the number of foreign researchers spending time in Finland has increased.

The research found that family issues tend to reduce the motivation to go overseas, with some also focusing solely on developing their career in Finland.

Further information is available from Helsingin Sanomat (in English).

The German Ministry of Education and Research has increased funding for science students from €80.5m to €113.2m in 2008. A further increase to €132.3m for 2009 is foreseen. In turn, the number of students supported by government scholarships has increased from 13,415 in 2005 to 20,765 students in 2008.

Click here for further information.

The Italian Parliament approved reforms proposed by the Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research that will change the way professors and researchers are recruited and selected for promotion.

The reforms are seen as introducing greater transparency to the Italian university system. There will also be more targeted funding to those universities seen as the best.

Further Information

The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology made photos from the deep sea image database available on 30 January 2009.

JAMSTEC operated submersibles have collected half a million of still images of the deep sea, which includes photos from the Pacific, Japan, and Indian seas.

Left: A creature from the deep. Image from the JAMSTEC deep sea database

The database is available from the JAMSTEC homepage

In March 2008 the European Commission proposed that 2009 be a year to promote creativity and innovation. The new Czech Presidency formally launched the European Year of Creativity and Innovation on 7 January. This will see events organized throughout Europe, both at the EU and national level; and a number of small projects. There are also high profile ambassadors involved in the project who have outlined recommendations to policy makers.

The initiative will not see the introduction of new funding programmes but the adaption of existing funds and budgets within existing programmes. The initiative is more to provide an opportunity to raise public awareness, disseminate information about good practices, stimulate education and research, and promote policy debate and change regarding creativity.

Creativity itself is something of a hot topic in innovation policy since a book by Professor Richard Florida, an economic geographer from the University of Toronto, was published which discussed what he termed as the “creative class” comprising an elite group of knowledge workers, such as computer and software programmers, artists, musicians, doctors and lawyers. According to the data presented by Florida, these people tend to cluster together in cities, which can then have a positive cultural and economic influence.

Some governments and localities have subsequently embraced these ideas and have sought to stimulate the attractiveness of their city for creative people.

In Japan, some localities have also developed some creative initiatives, such as Yokohama, which launched the Creative City Yokohama plan in 2006. The objective of this initiative is to develop a cluster of creative industries including the design, film, new media, music and software industries. Elsewhere, Fukuoka also has a Creative Cluster – this relates not only to music, contents and design, but also to Fukuoka’s traditional culture and artistic heritage.

As these ideas become more widespread, it is certainly conceivable that more grant and research budgets will begin to emphasize creativity in the future, requiring you to submit ever more creative application submissions.

See here for Richard Florida’s blog and Creative Class homepage.

Further information on the European Year of Creativity is available here .

Reports on creative clusters in European countries (as well as the US, Canada, Brazil, India, Japan and China) can also be found at the Pro-Inno homepage.

Only 2% of Japanese researchers plan to work overseas in the future, according to a survey published by Japan’s National Institute for Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) on 29 January.

The main reason cited for not wanting to work overseas was the uncertainty of finding a new position once returning to Japan. Secondly, that Japanese researchers do not have the necessary connections overseas.

At the same time, the mobility of Japanese researchers has increased in comparison to earlier years, with 66.1% of researchers having moved at least once during their research career, rising from 49.0% in 2004, 47.5% in 2002, and 38.1% in 2000.

Amongst the different sectors, those in the private sector are least likely to change careers, with only 53.0% having moved. This compares with 83.3% in the university sector, 71.1% in the public research laboratories, and 82.4% in the non-profit sector.

The questionnaire survey was sent to 2000 Japanese researchers working in the public, private and university sectors. The survey generated a 51.8% response rate and was sent distributed in February and March 2008.

For further information (in Japanese) please see the NISTEP homepage.

As higher education provision becomes more international, with growing use of satellite offices, or on-line education, researchers in the UK and Japan are using virtual world software to test how science education could be provided in virtual reality.

A British Council funded project running until 2010 between Teesside University in the UK and the Future University in Hakodate, Japan is trying to determine successful metrics for assessing science tasks in virtual worlds, such as Second Life and QWAQ Forums .

The research is funded as part of the PMI2 strategy , or Prime Minister’s Initiative for International Education, which is part of an initiative to support the internationalization of UK higher education.

The research aims to provide educators with a framework upon which to construct their curricula, design effective tasks, and assess learning outcomes. Until now, standardised tests have commonly measured changes in acquired basic knowledge but have often been incapable of measuring critical thinking ability, task effectiveness, and the contribution of collaborative interactions when engaged in tasks. The research will thus attempt to asses effective measurements for evaluating strategies to programme LEGO robots with NXT Mindstorms software.

Left: Students perform science tasks in the Second Life virtual world.

The robots are collaboratively constructed and programmed by students physically located in different countries (the UK and Japan) who communicate in the virtual environment to programme the LEGO robots to navigate pre-determined courses using different types of communication mediums such as text, audio, and gestures.

Left: The manipulation of objects in Second Life.

The performance and number of commands successfully programmed into the robots as well as the amount of time required will form the first main part for assessing the programme.

During early phases of the project, the researchers have designed and built a space within Second Life for performing the tasks, with adjustments in the light of feedback provided by the students. So far, six tasks have been implemented with data suggesting that there have been developments in communication ability within SL as well as LEGO programming skills.

Further information is available from the Principal Investor, Dr. Michael Vallance , Future University, Hakodate, Japan.

Research Website: http://web.me.com/mvallance/PM12/PM12/PM12.html

We have received the following information regarding scientific Events occurring over February and March:

Slides from the "EU-Japan Regional Cluster Forum" on 2 and 3 December in Yokohama are now online.

More than 40 representatives of European clusters from 14 European countries participated in the forum where around 80 face-to-face meetings between European and Japanese clusters were organised. It was the first time such an EU-Japan event was organised to stimulate and facilitate the global outreach of European and Japanese clusters.

Please see the Delegation homepage for all the slides

A full listing of currently open calls for proposals under the 7th Framework Programme is available from CORDIS .

These are organized by country, programme title, and funding organization.

Austria

• Erwin Schrödinger Fellowships
  FWF Austrian Science Fund - Continuous Recruitment. For Austrians to work in foreign research institutions. <34 Years old or 4 years postdoc experience, 10-24 months duration.
• Lise Meitner Program
  FWF Austrian Science Fund. Continuous Recruitment; for scientists from abroad, no age limit, invitation from Austrian institution, 12-24 month duration.

Belgium

• Odysseus Programme
  FWO - Nomination scheme for top scientists with positions outside Belgium, or those with at least 3 years postdoc experience with potential. Nomination varies by institution.
• Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowships
  FWO - For foreign postdocs for 3-12 months continuous stay. Application: no later than 3 months prior to stay, no earlier than 6 months.
• Medical Research Fellowships
  European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Brussels. Medical research fellowships in statistics, leukemia, epidemiology, radiotherapy.
• Call for International Experts for Review Panels
  FWO – Experts will review research proposals written in English/attend a meeting twice a year. Experts will be in the top 40% of their field. Relevant fields: Biological Sciences, Exact and applied Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Medical Sciences

Finland

• Preparation of international cooperation projects
  Academy of Finland - Applications for funding can be submitted throughout the year, except in November.

France

• Postdoctoral Positions
  Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique. To be advertised from March. Contact laboratory between March and June.
• Engineering Positions
  Centre national de la Recherche Scientifique. Provisional calendar for 2009: 10 July Deadline.

Germany

• International Travel/Research Visits
  DFG – Continuous Call - for German researchers in Germany.
• International Conferences
  DFG – one year prior to conference - for German researchers in Germany
• Mercator Visiting Professorships
  DFG - Invitation fellowships for professors from overseas universities
• Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers
  AvH - For researchers from abroad with above average qualifications, at the beginning of their academic career and doctorate completed in last four years.
• Humboldt Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers
  AvH - Continuous Call. For researchers from abroad.

Holland

• Aspasia
  NWO - To increase the number of women lecturers at Dutch universities. Nominee only.
• Athena
  NWO – Allowing female postdocs to gain tenure at Dutch universities. Nominee only.

Ireland

• President of Ireland Young Researcher Award (PIYRA)
  SFI – Continuous Call. Award to recruit young researchers in science and engineering currently based around the world to carry out their research in institutions in Ireland. PhD received within last eight years; demonstrated research accomplishments. Position lasts up to five years.
• International Research Partnering Supplements
  SFI - Continuous Call
  Facilitates collaborations between SFI funded researchers and international scientists.

Italy

• JSPS Short-Term/Long-Term Grants
  For Italian researchers to come to Japan. Applications accepted in September and May.

Japan

• Postdoctoral and Research Positions
  RIKEN, Wako, Tsukuba. Various open positions in brain science, computational sciences, materials.
• Research Positions (marine/earth sciences)
  Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), various locations. Numerous postdoctoral/scientific research and technical positions.
• Research Positions (materials sciences)
  National Institute for Material Sciences (NIMS), Tsukuba. Next Deadline: 27 February
• Research positions (atomic energy related)
  Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Various postdoctoral and senior postdoctoral positions with various deadlines.
• PhD Scholarships/Short Term Visits /internships (physiological sciences)
  National Institute for Physiological Sciences

Marie Curie (European Union)

• International Staff Exchange Scheme (IRSES)
  Aims at strengthening research partnerships through short period staff exchanges and networking activities between European research organisations and organisations from other countries. Deadline: 27 March

Norway

• Grants for Research Stays in Norway
  Research Council of Norway: For young researchers and PhD students from 25 countries, including most European and Japan. Deadline: 22 April 2009/02/05
• Japanese-Norway Mobility Programme
  Research Council of Norway and JSPS:
  Short term and long term stays for Japanese researchers.

Poland

• International PhD Studies Programme
  FNP – for overseas students to complete part of the doctoral research in Poland. Deadline: 15 March
• Welcome Programme
  FNP – For foreign researchers establishing teams in Poland. Deadline: 15 April 2009
• NESTOR Programme
  FNP - Short visits for Eminent retired professors to visit Polish research centres.

Portugal

• Sabbatical Leave Grants – Continuous Call
  Funding for 3 months to 1 year at a foreign institution (for Portuguese scientists).

Sweden

• Conference Grant
  Natural and Engineering Sciences. To invite overseas researchers to Sweden. Application 2 months prior to conference.
• Travel Grant (Natural and Engineering Sciences)
  To attend a lecture or invite a guest scientist to a Swedish institution.
• Grants for Postdoctoral Positions in Sweden
  Humanities and Social sciences, Medicine, Natural and Engineering Sciences. Deadline: 26 February 2009
• Postdoctoral Fellowships in Sweden Deadline: 26 February 2009
  Fellowships in the humanities, social Sciences, medicine, natural sciences and engineering fields.

Switzerland

• Individual Short Research Visits
  Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) – 2 months prior to departure. For Swiss Nationals.
• Exchange Programmes
  Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF); for Swiss nationals to travel overseas: up to 12 months in Japan (long stay), 3 months (short stay). Application 4 months prior to intended visit.
• Various postdoctoral/PhD positions
  Empa – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research

UK

• International Scientific Interchange Scheme (ISIS)
  BBSRC – Continuous Call
  To help UK scientists add an international dimension to their BBSRC funded research by making and establishing new contacts with international counterpart. Applications at least 6 weeks prior to travel.
• Overseas Travel Grants
  EPSRC – Continuous Call
  Overseas travel grants provide funding for international travel and subsistence. You can use them to visit recognized non-UK centres to study new techniques and to travel from the UK to start or develop international collaborations. Not solely for conference attendance. (Engineering and Physical Sciences)
• Visiting Researchers
  EPSRC. Salary costs and travel subsistence for scientists and engineers of acknowledged standing, either from within the UK or abroad, to visit the investigator's organization. Applications made by UK hosts.

European Space Agency

• Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
  Continuous Call. For ESA member country nationals; other nationals under certain circumstances.

European Molecular Biology Organization

• Short Term Fellowships
  Intended for visits of up to 3 months duration and aimed at collaborative research between EMBC member states or between a member state and a non-member state.

For research careers in Europe, please refer to the EURAXESS jobs pages.

For research careers in Japan, please refer to the J-Recin pages.