European-Indian collaboration launched
02 Aug 2010
Starting in September, five Dutch research groups will be working together with Indian and European researchers. The researchers will be awarded a network grant under the EU New INDIGO programme. New INDIGO is the acronym for Initiative for the Development and Integration of Indian and European Research. The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) coordinated the programme’s international secretariat.
The first round within New INDIGO involves an experiment in the area of biotechnology and health. A total of 47 international teams submitted a proposal. Thirteen of these were awarded a grant, five of which with input from the Netherlands. At least two European and one Indian research group will work together within every team and every group within a team will receive a grant of a maximum of € 50,000. This grant will enable strong research networks to be built up in terms of quality. In practice, most of the money will be spent on visits back and forth, workshops and conferences.
New INDIGO will be considering possibilities for new rounds until the end of 2010. In addition, the programme will work towards establishing a link between Indian and European research fields, for example by mapping out each other’s stakeholders, connecting running programmes and setting up links to European and international initiatives.
The projects will be launched in September 2010. You can find more information on: http://www.newindigo.eu.
International collaboration
Structural collaboration between India and Europe is still relatively new, although increasing R&D budgets in countries such as China, India as well as Brazil have already exerted a notable influence on the global development of knowledge. In the next few years ahead, the NWO will work towards providing new opportunities for international collaboration and strengthening the role of Dutch research in tackling research questions at the global level. This multilateral cooperation between Europe and India stems from the 2010 ERA vision, which provides for a European Research Area (ERA) with free circulation of researchers and research resources.
About the NWO
The NWO is the Netherlands’ main subsidy institution for scientific research. Its primary task is to enable scientific research in the Netherlands to excel through national competition. Each year, the NWO awards more than € 700 million in grants for top-level research and outstanding researchers, innovative instruments and equipment and to institutes where top-level research is being carried out. The NWO provides funding for research projects carried out by more than 5,300 talented scientists at various universities and institutions. Proposals are assessed through peer review by independent experts. The NWO aims to promote the transfer of knowledge to society.