CONCERT-Japan project started on 1 January 2011 and will last for three years until 31 December 2013. The project consortium includes ministries and research funding organizations from Japan, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. The Coordinator of the project is The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).
The concept of CONCERT-Japan emerges as a natural consequence of the need for a coordinated science and technology cooperation between two of the main knowledge developers of the world, Europe and Japan. This concerted action in the science and technology cooperation of the European states with Japan not only aims to enhance the cooperation between them, but also structure it so as to allow more effective results. The essence of such cooperation is to target the common problems and global challenges by utilizing common interests and values. The main axis of the project revolves around exchange of information, mutual learning, joint strategy building and performing joint activities at the programme level.
In the framework of the CONCERT-Japan project, consortium partners will announce a pilot joint call on topics of mutual interest. This is expected to allow not only a multilateral public-public cooperation platform to discuss about common priorities between European countries and Japan, but also multilateral research platforms involving European and Japanese researchers. This pilot joint call will enable the consortium to further elaborate on the future of the cooperation between Europe and Japan.
The kick-off meeting of CONCERT-Japan was held on 17-18 January 2011 in Istanbul, Turkey with the participation of the core project consortium that is consisted of 13 partners including organizations from European countries and Japan in addition to the observer institutions and European Commission delegation.
The Kick-off meeting of CONCERT-Japan project, specifically, aimed to start the debates over determining the prior thematic areas, the possible methodology and structure of the coordination in which the cooperation would evolve in a more beneficial and productive way. In this perspective, European Union and Japan science and technology relations were examined in detail with respect to the historical bounds, bilateral affairs and utilizable opportunities on research and technology. Intended joint actions and work packages of the project were fruitfully discussed in order to plan the future actions.
In this context, Vice President of TÜBİTAK, Prof. Ömer ANLAĞAN, emphasized the advantages of such a concerted cooperation on science and technology between European Union and Japan with respect to the evolvement of historical bounds, in his welcome speech. Dr. Barbara Rhode, the Minister-Counsellor and Head of S&T Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Japan, reinforced the opening speech with her clear display on the current research and technology structure of Japan by identifying the potential opportunities both on bilateral and multilateral level. Mr. Katsuhisa Sagisaka from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) presented the Japanese science and technology policy and informed the participants on science diplomacy of Japan. Mr Yves Maisonny from the European Commission has highlighted the ERA-NET scheme and its added value for science and technology cooperation between Europe and Japan for managing a strong research initiative.
The CONCERT-Japan project website will be available at this link very soon: www.concertjapan.eu
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Filiz HAYIRLI
CONCERT-Japan Coordination Office
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK)
E-mail: concertjapan(at)tubitak.gov.tr
Tel. 009(0) 312 468 53 00 / Ext. 1910
Fax. 009(0) 312 427 40 24
Ms. Marion STEINBERGER
CONCERT-Japan contact person at DLR
International Bureau of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research
c/o German Aerospace Center (DLR)
E-mail: marion.steinberger(at)dlr.de
Tel. +49 228 3821-473
Fax. +49 228 3821-444
