Brazil, India and China: today’s priorities for the CNRS
This year, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) celebrates its 70th anniversary. Created by decree at the instigation of the winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, Jean Perrin, the CNRS has occupied a fundamental place in French research and all areas of knowledge ever since. As times have changed, the organisation has also become a leading player in international research. Today, it is securing its future with the official signature of a contract with the French government for 2009 to 2013 and developing its international activities with the world’s emerging powers.
Scientific research has been and still is one of the international community’s great shared adventures, particularly at European level. Brazil is a priority target for the CNRS and its first partner in South America. Around 30 joint three-year projects are funded every year. A large number of Brazilian researchers are trained in France and the number of jointly supervised theses, joint publications and flagship initiatives all point to the development of cooperation over a period of more than 30 years. A CNRS office is scheduled to open in Rio de Janeiro in January 2010.
The CNRS also cooperates actively with China. It is the first French research organisation to have signed bilateral cooperation agreements with Chinese institutions. These cover three main groups of sizeable programmes, funded jointly by the CNRS and Chinese organisations: mathematics, traditional medicine, and sustainable development and energy. “But what really inspires China is the joint supervision system between the CNRS and the university for laboratories,” says the international relations department at the CNRS.
India, which is becoming increasingly concerned over environmental protection, is also involved in a cooperation programme with the CNRS (in chemistry, mathematics and human and social sciences). A symposium on the theme of sustainable development and the environment is scheduled to take place in Bangalore in January 2010, in partnership with the French embassy. A CNRS office is also due to open in Delhi, in March 2010.
Last updated: 16.11.2009