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spring 07 Published on Jun 01, 2007 Our report on the 2nd Steering Platform meeting is followed by updates from the EC highlighting the association of Western Balkan countries to FP7 and a possibility for you to influence European policies on R&D: The opportunity of an open consultation process to make your voices heard should not be missed! see-science.eu invited the Joint Research Centre, the Stability Pact, the Central European Initiative, CEEPUS, RIBN and other stakeholders to contribute to this issue. Doris Pack, Member of the European Parliament and chairwoman of the EP’s Delegation to South Eastern Europe, provides us with an article on her view of successful cooperation strategies in S&T and education. On page 4, you will find an update on the transformation of the Stability Pact towards a Regional Cooperation Council. And a topic which is being discussed by lots of relevant stakeholders and researchers is featured on page 6: visa facilitation for the WBC. The country focus this time is on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We also provide a short overview of Italian initiatives regarding WBC (page 8 and 9). Each issue discusses a thematic priority of FP7 and “Energy” has been chosen this time (page 10 and 11). Motivating researchers from the region to participate in the Framework Programme is an important task and some relevant activities are presented on page 11. The interpretation of rules and regulations of FP7 is dealt with in the section “frequently asked questions” on page 13. We are sure most of our readers are interested in the developments of the SEE-ERA.NET Pilot Joint Call - we have learned that more than 1000 research teams were involved in proposed projects. Last but not least, we provide you with an overview of databases to facilitate the search for project partners and recommended reading. I am looking forward to your feedback.
fall/winter 07 Published on Dec 17, 2007 The preparations of the forthcoming Steering Platform meeting in Ljubljana (June 13, 2008) have already begun. They actually began in October at the meeting in Thessaloniki about which we report starting on this page. The Slovenian EU presidency (January-June 2008) supports the initiatives of the Platform and will include stakeholders from the region in several activities. In this issue we report on several funding opportunities that can be explored by researchers in the Western Balkans: an overview is given ias well as specific input from EUREKA, Tempus, the Framework Programme and a special part on cooperation in the topic of climate change. Initiatives from Austria - the ASO Calls - specifically target scientific cooperation in biodiversity protection, climate change and energy scarcity on the one hand, and cooperation with Kosovo/UNMIK on the other hand. A new Swiss Programme shall focus on the Social Sciences as reported. SEE-ERA.NET provides an update on the project activities: infrastructure donations will be acknowledged with a specific award, a conference on innovation was held in Thessaloniki and the White Paper published. Other projects, such as WEB-MOB, SCORE and ERA WESTBALKAN+ are also covered. The Information Office has recently published two new reports: one on innovation infrastructures in the Western Balkan countries and one on mobility issues in the ERA. Both reports can be downloaded for free from the see-science.eu website. Serbia is the country in focus of this issue - the Serbian Ministry of Science provided an insight into the S&T system and funding possibilities available in Serbia. News from the region also covers a Round Table on Brain Circulation, the visit of Commissioner Potoènik in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dubrovnik conference on higher education reforms is covered on page 9 of this edition. We conclude with short inputs on the issues of science in relation to gender and religion and recommendations for further reading.
summer 07 Published on Sep 04, 2007 This summer has seen a milestone for science and research communities in the Western Balkans – the association of Croatia, FYR of Macedonia and Serbia to the Seventh Framework Programme. Our main article focuses on this step towards full integration of the region in the European Research Area (ERA). We also inform you about the current developments in the other Western Balkan countries. Major developments have also taken place for us at the Information Office: the next and bigger initiative planned to support the Steering Platform has been sucessfully evaluated by the European Commission and the so-called WBC-INCO.NET project is currently under negotiations. Furthermore, the date for the next Steering Platform Meeting has been set: November 29. The meeting will take place in Thessaloniki (Greece). To fully exploit the possibilities of FP7, we give information about the participation possibilities (open calls, relevant documents, etc.), and about the specific research priority “Transport”. “Association” is also discussed for other programmes such as the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programmes. Also ERASMUS MUNDUS, TEMPUS and the Lifelong Learning Programme are relevant to the Western Balkan countries´ higher education institutions. The Bologna Process in the Western Balkan countries is dealt by David Crosier from the European University Association. And Günther Siegel provides an update on the activities of COST. The country in focus is Montenegro. We have also news on bilateral initiatives as well as S&T cooperation between Cyprus and the Western Balkans. SEE-ERA.NET is providing information on the funded projects under its Pilot Joint Call and the upcoming SEE-ERA.NET Award. We round up with event announcements and updates on various projects: the Medical Research Initiative South Eastern Europe and ERA WESTBALKAN+ as well as some recommendations for further reading.
fall 2006 Published on Nov 13, 2006 In this autumn edition of the eJournal of the 'Information Office of the Steering Platform on Research for the Western Balkan Countries' we are introducing the latest developments on the way to a more directed and structured implementation of the Steering Platform and initiatives heading for the future (such as the INCO-NET action). You also have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the team behind see-science.eu. To a large extent, this issue of the eJournal follows the structure of the summer edition: the special thematic focus lies on 'Information and Communication Technologies' as the field of 'Health' was covered in the last journal. Again we take a look outside the European Union and update on Swiss initiatives towards the Western Balkans´ research community. While the summer edition's country profile presented Albania, this time we get a flavour of the S&T system in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The SEE-ERA.NET project is announcing the launch of its Pilot Joint Call by the end of November 2006. Following George Bonas’ report on IPA initiatives in the previous issue, we are happy to inform on success stories from Serbia and the latest communications from Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn. Latest news on books and events are also covered again. We strongly encourage you to participate in our dialogue on the topics of S&T in the Western Balkans and the European Union!
spring 08 Published on Apr 30, 2008 Dear readers, this journal marks the transition of our work from our project see-science.eu, which ends April 30, 2008, to the WBC-INCO.NET. Many activities are therefore running in parallel and our journal is also a bit delayed: a new layout, a new logo and further increased volume of the journal are just the most superficial changes. The new project now includes 26 partners and will continue to inform you via the regular journal – but mainly through the web-newsletter, which will be initiated. We do not only inform you about the project, but also about EC activities – progress in the association to the Framework Programme on page 2, EU communications on the Balkans on page 3 and 4. We provide an overview on the eligibility of the WBC to community programmes and recommend our updated “Needs-Offers-Matrix”. Updates on the focus of research infrastructure are summarised on page 6 and further interesting programmes and initiatives introduced on page 7 and 8. Our regional focus, starting on page 9, is placed on the one hand on Albania, as we introduce their bilateral programmes and on the other hand on Croatia, with a focus on innovation. In this issue, we invited the Stability Pact / Regional Co-operation Council to inform about the transition and effects on the education and research fields on page 12. Some articles give an insight into the project activities: our focus on global issues in RTD programmes and priorities on page 14, the INCO-NET training workshops in Belgrade and Sarajevo on page 15. On the same page, information on access to scientific literature is provided by eIFL.net, an important global network in this field. As usual SEE-ERA.NET hosts a specific page in our journal – page 16 informs about the recent project developments. Several event announcements and reviews round up the journal (pages 17-19) and we also recommend some further reading on page 20. We hope you enjoy the new journal and we would like to encourage you to register for our regular e-mail-updates on http://www.wbc-inco.net/ejournal/list.
winter 06/07 Published on Mar 06, 2007 Some of you may have been wondering about the delay of this newsletter. But, the wait has not been in vain as we can now report on the most important news regarding the implementation of the Steering Platform. The date for the next meeting has been set and the invitations have been sent out. The German EU-presidency is inviting to Berlin, together with the European Commission. DG Research has also provided us with a report on the association status of the Western Balkan countries in the Seventh Framework Programme. FP7 was launched on January 1, 2007 and therefore we have dedicated a great part of this eJournal to aspects of international cooperation in this major funding programme, also dealing with the thematic focus on Food, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Biotechnology. We have also focused on national initiatives by Turkey, Austria, Greece and the Netherlands, and an introduction to the Croatian S&T system is included. In addition some news from BiH, Kosovo and Montenegro is given. COST and SEE-ERA.NET introduce opportunities for WBC researchers, you learn more about see-science.eu reports (S&T country reports and a needs/offer-matrix) and possibilities for information gathering through eNewsletters. We hope that it was worth waiting for all of you and we are looking forward to the next publication, which is due in May 07.
summer 2006 Published on Aug 21, 2006 The Steering Platform is launched - the Information Office has started its operations - the first eJournal is published! This issue aims at providing in-depth information on the launch of the Steering Platform and its aims. It features an article on international cooperation in the 7th European Framework Programme on RTD and includes a special focus on the thematic field of 'Health'. We have contributions from SEE-ERA.NET, which informs about the current project activities and George Bonas who reports on the ongoing IPA initiative. Inger-Ann Ulstein from Norway provides a summary of the Norwegian initiatives towards the Western Balkans and Anneliese Stoklaska gives an overview on the achievements of the Austrian EU-Presidency. We have the Albanian Ministry of Education and Science sharing their insight on the Albanian S&T system in the 'Country Focus' and the eJournal summer 06 is rounded off by event and book announcements. We look forward to a lively dialogue on the topics of S&T in the Western Balkans and the European Union! Elke Dall Project Manager of the Information Office
special 01 Published on Nov 27, 2007 The Information Office of the Steering Platform on Research for the Western Balkan Countries is publishing a special edition of the quaterly see-science.eu eJournal. In this issue the sole focus is on the White Paper developed by the South East European Era-Net (SEE-ERA.NET). It offers strategic recommendations for connecting the research systems of Southeast Europe to the European Research Area. Based on the recommendations of the White Paper a Joint Action Plan is introduced, which includes concrete implementation scenarios in the Regional Programme for Cooperation with South-East Europe. Download the special edition here.

Journal Credits

Published by
Information Office of the Steering Platform on Research for the Western Balkan Countries
c/o ZSI - Centre for Social Innovation
ISSN 1991-1750

Editors: Florian Gruber and Elke Dall
Layout: Maro� Koll�r
Proof Reading: Angelika Gruber
Contact: office@wbc-inco.net

The Information Office of the Steering Platform on Research for the Western Balkan Countries (wbc-inco.net) is a project (Contract Number: 031770) co-funded by the European Community�s Programme for Specific International Scientific Cooperation Activities (INCO) under the 6th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2002-2006).
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