česky  english 

Advanced search
na_celou_sirku
Photo: © Embassy of the Czech Republic in Delhi
Article notification Print Decrease font size Increase font size

Embassy promoted Czech Research in Kolkata

Date: 12 September 2018 - 14 September 2018, Venue: Kolkata

The research and innovation counsellors of various EU Member States based in India, participate each year in a "field trip" outside of Delhi where they present European research capacities, funding opportunities to support Indo-European research and innovation cooperation, and at the same time gain valuable information from the regions. On September 12 - 14, 2018, the Delegation of the European Union to India organized a Regional tour to Kolkata in order to support during the three-day program the functioning of the European Research Area, with presentations at eight universities and research institutes.
 

This year was so-called "fieldtrip" undertaken by Economic and Commercial Counsellor Milan Dostál from the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Delhi who holds the agenda for science and research along with representatives of the Embassy of Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Sweden and Great Britain. With the help of a series of seminars and meetings, the Embassy promoted cooperation in the field of science, research and innovation, establishing contacts with local institutions in the regions and supporting the concept of "scientific diplomacy". Under the leadership of the European Union Delegation in India, a multilateral and bilateral support system was presented in the institutions visited, the possibilities of mobility of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, including tools to support them. Indian scientists had the opportunity to be introduced to ​​Czech research infrastructure in the form of science and technology parks, research centers and scientific centers, including the most modern in Europe.

Among the institutions visited was the Bose Institute, an important organization in the field of plant biology, molecular medicine, or biochemistry. The Indian Institute of Statistics also seeks for cooperation in data analysis and evaluation, including the exchange of scientific capacities.
The Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) is the leading institute of such kind in India, and represents an interesting partner for the Czech Republic because another recently negotiated document of enhanced cooperation in science and research was the Agreement of Understanding between the Academy of Sciences The Czech Republic and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of India, under which IICB administratively belongs, and which was signed during the recent visit of President Ram Nath Kovind in the Czech Republic.

 

At Jadavpur University

 

Jadavpur University provides education to 13,000 students and over 2,600 postgraduates and is one of the most important universities not only in West Bengal but also throughout India. The courses offered by this institute are in line with the offer of the Czech Republic and it is certainly not without interest that in the evaluation of Indian state higher education institutions it has a flattering 2nd place.

The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science represents another potentially important partner for the Czech Science and Research Infrastructure, not only in the light of the announced and prepared calls of Horizon 2020 on vaccines or polar sciences. The main fields of The Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science include biochemistry, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, new materials, physical chemistry, quantum physics, theoretical physics, and spectroscopy. IACS has been working well with many foreign institutions, including the Pasteur Institute in Paris. In addition to the aforementioned areas, future cooperation in the fields of plastic and energy research is sought.

 

Joint picture

 

The innovation potential of the Czech Republic was supported by meetings at the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Textiles of the Government of West Bengal and the Innovation Park of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. The essence of cooperation lies primarily with the identification of the best start-up incubators in India, which, after selection, will support the DEU in cooperating with their European counterparts. The area of ​​innovation is planned as one of the main multilateral support programs for 2019, which is an opportunity for Czech start-up incubators as well as for their Indian counterparts. The program ended with a visit of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, which expressed interest in exchanging doctoral students and utilizing the infrastructure associated with laser research. Pleasant findings were that most Indian scientists had an awareness of the Czech Republic as a country with advanced science and technology base. They usually graduated from one of the universities in Europe, or have already had some joint research with partners from the European Union, and are therefore now interested in joint projects or infrastructure use during their further development for their teams or students.

 

From the meeting

 

The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Delhi attaches great importance to scientific diplomacy and, in the interest of cooperation with the above-mentioned institutions, but also other science, research, innovation or start-ups, will like to provide support, mediation of contact or more information, as well as providing further information about funding from national sources as well as from EU funds or European Commission grants. For these purposes, please contact Milan Dostal from the Embassy of the Czech Republic at Milan_Dostal@mzv.cz

 

 

Milan Dostál, Commercial and Economic Counsellor, The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Delhi