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highlights
J A N U A R Y - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 5
Successful brokerage event organised by EKT
at HELECO 2005
An international brokerage event for the sectors of
environment and renewable energy sources was successfully
organised by the National Documentation Centre (EKT), as
coordinator of the IRC Hellenic, within the framework of
HELECO 2005, on 3-5 February 2005, in Athens.
More than 130 production and research bodies, from the
public and private sector, participated at the Forum, from
Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Poland, Spain,
Switzerland, Turkey and Greece (around 56 Greek
organizations). The participants had the opportunity to realize
pre-arranged meetings (around 250 business meetings),
exchange views and acquire up-to-date information for the
latest trends and developments of the sector. They had also
the opportunity to promote their technologies and explore
possibilities for further cooperation.
The organizer of the event, Dr Antonios Gypakis, staff
member of EKT and active member of the thematic group
"Renewable Energy Sources" of the European IRC Network,
stressed: "It was a successful initiative, since the data we have
up to now at our disposal reveal that a number of business
meetings lead to cooperation agreements".
Research in Greece: New actions and prospects
The Lisbon goal for Europe becoming the most competitive
and dynamic knowledge economy of the world by 2010
requires intense, continuous and coordinated efforts by both
the Union and the member states.
The new National Council for Research and Technology and
the measures of the Ministry of Development for research
and technology, which were announced at the beginning of
2005, are the recent Greek initiatives towards the above-
mentioned goal. At the same time, the Association of Greek
Researchers organised the 1st Symposium for Research and
Technology.
The National Council for Research and Technology is the
supreme advisory body of the State entrusted with the
development and the implementation of the national R&D
policy. The members of the Council, including for the first
time professors of the Greek Technological Educational
Institutes, are distinguished figures from diverse scientific
fields. The competences of the various committees cover not
only the formation of the science and technology policy, but
also the evaluation of the directors of the research centres
and institutions.
The new measures and actions of the Ministry of Development
were presented in a press conference held on 14 February
2005, in Athens. The creation of productive co-operation
networks between universities, research centres and regional
governments, and the greatest possible mobilisation of the
private sector, are two of the primary objectives of the
Ministry of Development for the near future. The Minister for
Development, Mr Sioufas pointed out the plans to increase
funding for research, by 2010, to 1.5% of the GDP, with 40%
of that amount coming from the private sector.
The promotion of scientific excellence, the evaluation of
research institutions, the support of human research capital,
the increase of the research funding, as well as the need for
institutional changes were among the topics discussed at the
1st Symposium for Research and Technology, held on 27-28
January 2005, in Athens.
Finally, the priorities of the Greek government for the
enhancement of research and innovation, the institutional
changes and the reforms in the Greek research system were
underlined by the General Secretary for Research and
Technology Prof. I. Tsoukalas in an interview given to Mr
Margaritis Proedrou for the "Innovation, Research and
Technology" magazine. Prof. Tsoukalas referred to the new
measures and actions regarding the promotion of scientific
excellence, the closer cooperation between universities and
research centres and the promotion of innovation at regional
level. He also stressed the very good performance of Greek
research teams in FP6, while he expressed his concerns and
optimistic views regarding Greece’s participation in FP7. He
also underlined that the Greek government plans to
implement coordinated activities in order to attract Greek
scientists from abroad.
IRC Hellenic
Ministry of Development
General Secretariat for Research and Technology
“Research and Innovation” (EKT)
