Ramallah workshop focuses on EU-Palestinian cooperation in research and innovation
11-06-2013
A workshop on EU-Palestinian cooperation in research and innovation was organised jointly by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research and Innovation, the European External Action Service and the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education in Ramallah on 29 May 2013, on the eve of the EU-Palestinian Sub-committee on Research, Innovation, Info Society, Audiovisual and Media, Education and Culture.
About seventy representatives of Palestinian ministries, universities, research organisations, industry and European research institutions attended the workshop. Among the topics discussed were the current state of the Palestinian science, technology, research and innovation system, its main challenges and prospects for development as well as EU-Palestinian cooperation in research and innovation. A particular focus of the programme was the exchange of best practices among Palestinian researchers participating in EU-funded projects, some of their EU partners and the European Commission.
"The EU is deeply committed to supporting the development of Palestinian public and private capacity in the area of research and innovation. This is an important way of promoting the prosperity and welfare of the Palestinian people and contributes to state-building," said David Geer, Deputy EU Representative at the European External Action Service.
Angela Liberatore of the European Commission’s DG Research and Innovation said: "Palestinian research institutions have been involved in 18 projects so far in various areas of the 7th Framework Programme. It is relatively small but very encouraging participation with strong potentials for further development."
After the workshop, the EU Representative in Palestine Mr John Gatt-Rutter commented, "The EU is delighted to see the keen interest from the Palestinian side in the area of research and innovation through the significant engagement of Palestinian academics and researchers who attended the research and innovation workshop co-organized with the Ministry of Higher Education".
The workshop provided input to the EU-Palestine Sub-committee on Research, Innovation, Info Society, Audiovisual and Media, Education and Culture that identified areas for future cooperation to enhance the Palestinian research and innovation sector and increase participation to the forthcoming Horizon 2020 Programme. (EU Neighbourhood Info)
Document Sources: EU Neighbourhood Info (ENPI), European Union (EU)
Subject: Assistance, Education and culture, Statehood-related
Publication Date: 11/06/2013