Russian Federation

Political framework for scientific and technological cooperation

The STC agreement was signed in the presence of the Federal Chancellor by Federal Minister Schavan and State Secretary Ammon (Federal Foreign Office) on the German side and Minister Fursenko on the Russian side on the occasion of the German-Russian government consultations at Schloss Schleißheim near Munich on 16 July 2009. It replaces the agreement concluded on 22 July 1986 between the Federal Government and the government of the USSR on cooperation in scientific and technological matters, and acknowledges the changes that have taken place in the relations between the two countries 20 years after the end of the Soviet Union. The cooperation with Russia aims mainly to expand the collaborative relationships between universities, extramural research institutions and science organisations, to intensify bilateral collaboration between German and Russian companies in the field of innovation-oriented applied research, to facilitate exchanges of young scientists, and to promote joint research and innovation structures.

On 11 April 2005, then Federal Chancellor Schröder and President Putin signed the “Joint Declaration on the German-Russian Strategic Partnership in Education, Research and Innovation”, which builds on the previous “President’s Programme” agreed by Federal Chancellor Kohl and President Yeltsin in 1998 in Hanover.

This joint initiative, which is coordinated by the BMBF, integrates research, education, industry and public administration, and combines the joint activities into three pillars:

• Research and innovation (partners: BMBF and Russian Ministry of Education and Science),
• Further education and training for managers in industry and public administration (partners: Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Technologie, BMWi) and the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and Trade)
• Further training for managers in public administration (partners: Federal Ministry of the Interior (Bundesministerium des Inneren, BMI) and Russian Presidential Executive Office).

The activities within the Strategic Partnership are diverse, and include not only the initiatives and direct measures of the two governments but also the programmes and projects of education and research institutions. The specialist cooperation agreements which have existed between Russia and Germany in various areas of research for many years are an important instrument for implementing the Strategic Partnership. The cooperation is now also increasingly being aligned with the High-Tech Strategy of the Federal Government.

The joint protocol agreed in March 2009 by the mixed German-Russian commission for scientific and technical cooperation paved the way for even more intensive collaboration in the future. German-Russian cooperation in research and technology is however also an essential component of the Petersburg Dialogue. This dialogue format was created as an open discussion forum in 2001 and is under the patronage of the German Federal Chancellor and the Russian President. The Petersburg Dialogue is held alternatingly in Germany and Russia and is intended to generate new impulses in German-Russian relations. Participants in the dialogue are representatives of public life and industry who act as multipliers.

The Federal Minister for Education and Research Dr. Annette Schavan visited her counterpart Fursenko in October 2010. One of the important subjects being discussed at the meeting was the “German-Russian Year of Education, Research and Innovation 2011/ 2012”. Talks referring to this project were continued on another visit by Minister Schavan to Moscow in February 2011.

Key areas of cooperation

The national research priorities promoted by the BMBF are manifested in the BMBF specialist programmes. On the Russian side the national key research areas are defined in the Federal Target Programmes 2007 – 2012. A comparison of the key research areas listed in the programmes of the two countries shows a large overlap, from which joint interests and a high potential for bilateral cooperation result. These shared research interests between Germany and Russia are expressed in sectoral agreements, which have been concluded on important key areas of cooperation since 1992.

• Development and application of accelerator-based photon sources
• Optical technologies 
• Marine and polar research
• Innovation strategies and technologies for sustainable environmental protection and the efficient use of natural resources
• Information and communication technologies
• Biological research and biotechnology

Development and application of accelerator-based photon sources

Due to the traditional strengths of German and Russian research institutions in this area, a sectoral agreement signed in 2007 confirmed the intention to work together even more closely in this field in the future. In addition to the relevant basic research, key areas of the joint cooperation are research using photon sources, application of photon research results in nanotechnology and the life sciences, and development of synchrotron radiation sources and free-electron lasers. How vibrant the collaboration between German and Russian scientists is became apparent during the “First Russian-German Workshop on the Development and Use of Accelerator-Driven Photon Sources” in February 2009 in Berlin. In addition to setting up several expert groups to formulate research topics of bilateral interest, both sides agreed to also develop joint research funding initiatives in this field of science in the future.

Optical technologies

Russia boasts an excellent research infrastructure in the optical technologies – the country has produced three Nobel Prize winners alone in this field. Since the sectoral agreement was signed, a large number of German institutes and companies have therefore employed Russian institutions as subcontractors on projects funded by the BMBF. The BMBF has supported approximately 50 projects according to this model since the sectoral agreement was concluded. Collaborations in the fields of short pulse lasers/FEMTONIK, optical lithography and bio photonics, in particular, have provided important scientific impulses. In the field of laser research and laser technology, the joint Testing and Consultancy Centres (Erprobungs- und Beratungszentren, EBZ) are especially noteworthy. The third of a total of five joint German-Russian laser centres was opened in St. Petersburg in August 2009 at a successful event attended by invited specialists from Germany and Russia. Further establishments of centres followed in 2010, e.g. in St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg (the Ural), Rostov/ Taganrog (southern Russia) and Kaluga/ Obninsk (south west from Moscow). All these centres result in one network. On the German side, 50% of the costs are funded by the BMBF. The EBZ are designed to enable regional companies, in particular SMBs, but also research institutions in Russia to develop processes and provide training using modern laser technology from Germany. The EBZs offer German companies all the opportunities of enhanced access to the markets in these regions.

Marine and polar research

The German-Russian sectoral agreement “Polar and Marine Research” was concluded in 1995. Since then, joint research has developed very successfully. Of the large number of successful cooperation projects in marine and polar research, the German-Russian Otto Schmidt Laboratory (OSL) in St. Petersburg, founded in 2001, is of particular note. This German-Russian research institution is part of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Russian Federation and is supported on the German side by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven. The laboratory serves as a platform for coordinating and further developing bilateral research projects, and is an indispensable interface in the network of participating institutes on both sides.
A further successful example of bilateral marine and polar research is the joint project “Laptev Sea”. The project conducts both marine and terrestrial examinations of the environmental system of this permafrost region, which is extremely important to the climate of the northern hemisphere.

Germany and Russia also collaborate institutionally in providing the “Cooperative degree course for applied marine and polar research” (POMOR). Building on the disciplines of oceanography, biology and marine geosciences, POMOR conveys scientific, engineering and economic aspects to students. The degree course leads to a Master of Science in applied polar and marine sciences.
Since the beginning of 2010, the course of studies in POMOR has been undergoing restructuring. Overall 47 students from ten regions in Russian have been trained to become highly qualified experts by the end of 2010.

Innovation strategies and technologies for sustainable environmental protection and the efficient use of natural resources

A sectoral agreement concluded in 1992 on “Water Research and Environmental Technologies” has developed successfully and is considered by both sides to be a productive and extremely valuable collaboration. The agreement has therefore regularly been extended. The title of the sectoral agreement was modified to “Innovation strategies and technologies for sustainable environmental protection and the efficient use of natural resources” with the aim of expanding the key topics in agreement with the national priorities.
The cooperation format “Dialogue for Sustainability with Russia” (D4S Russia) initiated by the BMBF is also part of the context of this sectoral agreement. The aim of this initiative is to define priority fields of action for sustainable ecological, economic and societal development, for deriving specific research topics and for their bilateral implementation. Within the scope of the call “CLIENT – International Partnerships for Sustainable Technologies and Services for Climate Protection and the Environment”, proposals for new bilateral Research and Development Projects have been submitted. In addition, the BMBF is expected to fund a project (“SASCHA”) on the subject of “Land Management” with the financial commitment of Russia in 2011.

Information and Communication Technologies

The sectoral agreement in the field of information and communication technologies was signed in February 2005 and extended in March 2009. Key areas are parallel computing and super computing, mathematical modelling, software engineering, virtual and augmented reality, information processing according to biological principles, knowledge processing, communications research, grid computing and web applications management. In this area, bilateral collaboration between the two countries is currently characterised mainly by joint research and development activities between German and Russian businesses and research institutions working in application-related fields. This is demonstrated by the above-average number of IT-relevant topics for joint projects that were submitted by German and Russian project partners in response to a joint call for proposals issued by the International Bureau (IB) of the BMBF and the Russian Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE) in 2009.

Biological research and biotechnology

Germany and Russia consider their cooperation in the field of biotechnology an important tool to accelerate innovation dynamics in industry and agriculture. In November 2009, the two countries agreed on molecular medicine, systems biology and bio computer science, post-genomics and proteomics, and industrial biotechnology as future key areas of collaboration. Since the beginning of the year 2011, the East-West-Science Centre of the University in Kassel has been responsible for the overall coordination of the Cooperation Network for Biotechnology – being funded by the BMBF by the end of 2013 – on the German side. The Cluster Industrial Biotechnology (CLIB 2012) provides a cooperation-centre for the Research and Development Co-operation between companies. Further German partners are the University of Bielefeld (bioinformatics) and the Lasers and Immunology Research Centre (Life Centre) of the University of Munich (medical research). Partner on the Russian side is the Ministry of Education and Science.

Nanotechnologies

A German-Russian strategic working group on nanotechnology was founded on the initiative of Minister Annette Schavan and her Russian colleague Andrej Fursenko. Both parties thereby acknowledge the special importance of nanotechnology in the research policy of both countries. The expert group consists of representatives of universities, research institutes and businesses, and aims to identify cooperation areas of joint interest. On this basis the two ministries will develop a joint nanotechnology initiative. The BMBF is seeking to participate with an own stand in the International Exhibition RUSNANOTECH in 2011.

Highlights of bilateral cooperation

 

Minister Schavan and her Russian counterpart Fursenko decided in July 2010 to implement a German-Russian Year of Education, Science and Innovation 2011/2012. It is the aim of the bilateral year of science to give successful existing cooperation in both countries the utmost visibility. 

Furthermore, the initiative sets important impulses for the future cooperation in research and education between Germany and Russia. The governments of both countries are working together with experts from education, science and research to make full use of the potential for cooperation. Companies will be involved in this process, too. In concrete terms, this means that for example excellent research is strengthened by the development of institutional cooperation. The development of bilateral vocational training partnerships is promoted with the German-Russian training initiative. Moreover, it is aimed to simplify the transfer of research findings to market-ready products by innovation partnerships. After all, both sides take a stand for a stronger promotion of young scientists.

The German embassy in Moscow organised a series of German-Russian conferences under the title “Innovations in Universities and Research Facilities: Pathways to Economy” in cooperation with the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research), the DWIH (German House of Science and Innovation), the MON (Russian Ministry of Education and Science), the regions Nischni Nowgorod und Nowosibirsk as well as with the SORAN (Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) on 17th/ 18th June 2010 in Nischni Nowgorod and on 23 rd/ 24th June 2010 in Nowosibirsk. At these conferences, concepts and strategies for promoting innovation at German and Russian universities and research facilities were presented. Over two hundred people took part in this event – some of them were high-ranking representatives from politics, science, administration and economy coming from several regions of Russia.

One promising example for the bilateral research activity is the closely coordinated cooperation between Germany and Russia regarding the development and construction of internationally significant major instrumentation: Both countries are active partners in the financing and implementation of the free-electron laser in the hard x-ray range (XFEL) that is being constructed at the DESY in Hamburg as well as in FAIR, an accelerator facility for hadron- and nuclear physics that is to be built at the GSI in Darmstadt.

Contact:

International Bureau
of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Dr. Marion Mienert
Heinrich-Konen-Straße 1
53227 Bonn
Telephone number: +49 228 3821-1469
Fax number: +49 228 3821-1400
Email address: : marion.mienert@dlr.de
Homepage: http://www.internationales-buero.de

International Bureau
of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Dr. Joern Gruennewald
Heinrich-Konen-Straße 1
53227 Bonn
Telephone number: +49 228 4492-1457
Fax number: +49 228 4492-1400
Email address: joern.gruenewald@dlr.de
Homepage: http://www.internationales-buero.de

International Bureau
of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
at the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Russian Federation
Maria Josten
Heinrich-Konen-Straße 1
53227 Bonn
Telephone number: +49 0228 3821-1415
Fax number: +49 228 3821-1400
Email address: maria.josten@dlr.de
Homepage: http://www.internationales-buero.de