International Conference "Research Policy within the European Cohesion Policy", 17th and 18th November 2011
Government Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy
and
Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology
are organising
an International Conference on the present and future perspectives of the Centres of Excellence "Research policy of European Cohesion Policy".
The International Conference will take place on 17th and 18th November 2011 in the Congress Centre Brdo pri Kranju, Slovenia.
Out of the 4.2 billion Euros of the European Cohesion Policy funds allocated to the Republic of Slovenia in the period 2007-2013 more than 1.7 billion Euros (40.7 percent) is reserved for the implementation of the Operational Programme for Strengthening Regional Development Potentials 2007-2013. The Centres of Excellence are co-financed in the framework of this operational programme. The main objective of the Centres of Excellence is to promote the concentration of knowledge in priority technology areas and horizontal integration within knowledge development. It is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary research and development programme carried out on the basis of strategic partnership between the industry and academia.
Centres of Excellence operate in various fields of research activities from nanotechnology, polymers, non-metallic materials to complex systems and innovative technologies. One of the main objective is the promotion of transition into energy-efficient and low greenhouse gas emissions economy or the intensive promotion of the transition to a low carbon society. At the conference, top foreign and domestic scientists will discuss the importance of the Centres of Excellence in Europe and their achievements. The scientists will also be able to exchange their experience on the scientific achievements in these areas, business models and examples of best practices.
The conference will open with welcome speeches by:
- Igor Lukšič, PhD, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology
- Bojan Suvorov, MSc, State Secretary at the Government Office for Local Self-Government and Regional Policy
- Georgios Yannoussis, Director of the European Commission, Directorate General for Regional Policy.
Minister Lukšič, State Secretary Suvorov and Director Yannoussis will give a statement in the lobby at 9.30 a.m.
The statement will be followed by a formal signing of the confidentiality agreement, which will be signed by President of the cluster for medical and environmental engineering and biotechnology instrumental in Sant Petersburg, dr. Girina Marina, and commercial director of the Centre of Excellence for integrated approaches in chemistry and biology of proteins CIPKEBIP from Ljubljana, dr. Livija Tušar. On the basis of the agreement, representatives of both institutions will agree on joint research projects or possible joint implementation of the transfer of knowledge into production.
The conference is open for the media.
