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PACE-Net Plus: a bridge over europe and the pacific region for science, technology and innovation

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Wed, 28 Dec 2016 08:02:49 +0000

Friday, 23 December 2016

The opportunities for European and Pacific researchers to collaborate are many and diverse. The European Union (EU) policies and scientific strategies aim at reinforcing these collaboration opportunities, notably through Horizon 2020, the European framework programme dedicated to research and innovation. Strengthening the Europe-Pacific bi-regional dialogue in science, technology and innovation (ST&I) is a key step in achieving increased collaboration towards the societal challenges identi ed in Horizon 2020.

This compendium presents the outcomes of PACE-NET Plus, a project funded by the European Commission (EC) under the 7^th Framework Programme, which united 16 partners in the Pacific and the EU, coordinated by the French Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), to strengthen ST&I cooperation between the Pacific island countries and Europe. This partnership involved a comprehensive collection of Pacific and European ST&I actors, including institutions from the two largest Pacific players, Australia and New Zealand, the French overseas countries and territories (New Caledonia and French Polynesia), European countries, Pacific island countries (Samoa, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea), international multilateral institutions and Pacific regional bodies.

This project promoted the integration of the Pacific region and its interests into a number of EC roadmaps and actions. One of the core missions of PACE- NET Plus was to raise the visibility of the Pacific within the EU. In particular, this included the EC Directorates-General for Research and Innovation and for International Cooperation and Development, through illuminating the role of ST&I for development aid and better governance. Also included was the European Exterior Action Service, through “science diplomacy”. Conversely, PACE-NET Plus also aimed at assisting greater integration of EU activities into the research and development policies of the Pacific countries. The project was also a signi cant contributor to a bi-regional dialogue between the two regions.

PACE-NET Plus analysis of the research priorities of mutual interests for Europe and the Pacific highlighted three major societal challenges:

Health, demographic change and wellbeing
Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
Climate action, environment, resource e ciency and raw materials.

ST&I approaches play an important role in assisting Pacific nations to address these challenges which, compounded by geographic and socio-economic issues unique to the region, are also key developmental priorities.

Actions taken by PACE-NET Plus in the perspective of these multiple expectations are presented in this document. Also presented are major policy recommendations of the project, in collaboration with in uential Pacific regional bodies, such as the need to institutionalize the dialogue for ST&I between the Europe and Pacific. We also suggest the launch of two concrete support actions: the rst one dedicated to a multidisciplinary call for research (based on the PACE-Net Plus seed funding scheme) in order to stimulate cooperation between the PICTs, and with the European and Pacific larger countries (this call is endorsed by the ACP Secretary); the second action is dedicated to climate science through an interdisciplinary “observatory system of climate change and its impacts in the Pacific” (a pilot project on this topic was presented to the European Parliament and we are hopeful that it will be initiated during 2017).

On behalf of IRD, the coordinator of this project, we would like to wholeheartedly thank our partners as well as the three members of our External Advisory Board (Dr Raghunath Ghodake, APAARI; Dr Geo roy Lamarche, NIWA; and Dr Christophe Yvetot, UNIDO) for their deep and fruitful involvement in PACE-Net Plus, which has allowed us all to carry out this project successfully, and to surpass our goals. We would also like to sincerely thank the European Commission, particularly Mr. Armand Beuf, our scientific offcer for his e cient and benevolent support for PACE-NET Plus.

On behalf of the 16 partners of the PACE-NET Plus Consortium, we would also like to thank all those who took part in this network and dialogue and supported us in one way or another. We very much hope that the growing research community that we have mobilized together during the 3 last years in the region and in Europe, will remain ready to continue this regional and bi-regional cooperation and dialogue, while contributing to the well-being of Pacific and EU citizens.

Further information:

http://plus.pacenet.eu/system/files/documents/PNP_Compendium.pdf

Groups audience:

WP1 Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing

WP2 Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine and Maritime and Inland Water Research, and the Bioeconomy

WP3 Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

WP4 Cooperation on Innovation Issues to Tackle the Societal Challenges

WP5 Strengthening Pacific-EU Research Cooperation Partnerships

WP6 Bi-regional Policy Dialogue in ST&I

The Pacific region is a perfect example of science diplomacy in action

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Wed, 23 Nov 2016 11:06:10 +0000

Tuesday, 22 November 2016

The Pacific region can serve as an exemplar of how science diplomacy could work, according to Professor Jean-François Marini, coordinator of the EU-funded PACE-Net Plus project and former adviser to the French government on science diplomacy.

PACE-Net Plus united 16 partners in the Pacific and the EU to strengthen research cooperation between the two regions. How did you go about achieving this?

‘In order to reach this objective of a better, stronger cooperation in science, technology and innovation, the philosophy was to increase research capacity, management and dialogue, to allow the appropriation of science by the countries of the region. One of the ideas was to make information available to the Pacific states to help them to form opinions, founded on scientific evidence, and for Europe to better know the opportunities in Pacific research. At PACE-Net Plus, we have sent our recommendations to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) asking the leaders of the member countries of the region to recognise the importance of science for development, and to raise its visibility among the leaders of the Pacific region.

‘One of the outcomes that emerged is the idea that an observatory of climate change in the Pacific region would be a good tool to help ensure that scientific knowledge serves local governance. We also think, and this is important, that each country in the region should have a scientific coordinator, or a chief scientist, a function that is often still lacking.’

What can Europe learn by working with the Pacific states?: ‘With climate change, emerging diseases affect more people in the Pacific and could easily become a concern in Europe. Pacific countries are also starting to think about environmental migration as the water level rise forces some islands to evacuate. There are also a number of issues that concern this region which will become global in the future, such as deep sea mining and blue growth (sustainable exploitation of ocean resources), to name just a few.’
You were working alongside the European External Action Service, Europe’s diplomatic corps. What was the reason for this?: ‘In the framework of our bi-regional platforms, we worked closely with the European External Action Service because, over and above science, scientific projects such as PACE-Net Plus are also a tool of diplomatic relations between the two regions.’
How does capacity building in science help form diplomatic relations?: ‘In big international fora, for example, the Pacific islands are more our partners than opponents. They take part, for example, in open discussions to agree on 1, 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius as a tolerance threshold of temperature rise for all countries in the future. This relationship with the countries of the region based on science facilitates the discussion on these global issues.’
How did you go about building this relationship during the PACE-Net Plus project?: ‘In the field of climate change, for example, our thematic think tanks allowed country representatives to look at science as a development tool, to ensure that the decisions around climate are based on rigorous facts. As many of these countries deal with the reality of rising sea levels, science gives them concrete information that serves as a basis for their policymaking. This is also the case for resource management and other topics of importance such as the policies for innovation. Each year, PACE-Net also organised a large Pacific-Europe bi-regional platform dedicated to policy dialogue on science, technology and innovation cooperation.’
How will this connection between science and diplomacy evolve in the future?: ‘From a European point of view, I think the next steps will consist of consolidating a coordinated approach between scientific cooperation and development aid. In other words, between DG RTD (the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation) and DG DEVCO (the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development).’
Do you think that the seeds of this enhanced cooperation are already there?: ‘Yes, everything is there in the Pacific region. Everything is there for it to happen. We only need a few more actions and time to further implement it.’
So the Pacific is an environment where development science and aid can work effectively together?: ‘Exactly. In the Pacific countries, we played that role by chance, by having with PACE-Net direct relationships with (government) organisations that didn’t know each other well. There was science on the one hand and development aid on the other hand. I will conclude by saying that the Pacific region in relation to Europe is prototypic. We can develop or find cooperation tools, and we can coordinate between different DGs and services from the European Commission over actions dedicated to the Pacific region, where things can be done on a human scale.’

Further information:

http://plus.pacenet.eu/

Groups audience:

WP1 Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing

WP2 Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine and Maritime and Inland Water Research, and the Bioeconomy

WP3 Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

WP4 Cooperation on Innovation Issues to Tackle the Societal Challenges

WP5 Strengthening Pacific-EU Research Cooperation Partnerships

WP6 Bi-regional Policy Dialogue in ST&I

Scientists investigate how to defend against tsunamis

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 08:23:58 +0000

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

The damage that tsunamis could cause is expected to rise due to climate change, say researchers who are developing a tsunami early warning system for Europe and investigating the best way to reduce their impact on people and buildings.

Tsunamis are a series of waves mainly caused by undersea earthquakes which can leave huge death tolls and destruction in their wake, and can only be predicted after the occurrence of the earthquake. They claimed the lives of approximately 230 000 people in Indonesia in 2004, 525 people in Chile in 2010, and 15 000 people in Japan in 2011.

Rising sea levels may mean that future tsunamis will have a greater impact when they happen, as more water will flood the affected area.

What’s more, while headlines in recent years have come from outside of Europe, our coastlines have also experienced tsunamis in the past, particularly around the north-east Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Researchers say these areas face an increasing level of risk due to the year-round presence of millions of tourists and the placement of critical infrastructure along the shores.

As a result, scientists on the EU-funded ASTARTE project are helping to develop a tsunami warning system that is able to more accurately forecast when Europe is at risk and will allow authorities to take swift action.

Professor Maria Ana Baptista, who coordinates ASTARTE, said: “We would like to be able to save all lives in every single event, to reach zero casualties.

“Tsunamis are a global problem, not a local problem, and European scientists should be in the forefront of research.”

Scientists have gotten faster at predicting tsunamis in recent years, though there haven’t been many opportunities to test this.

The challenge is that tsunamis can only be predicted after the undersea earthquake occurs, and in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean areas, that could mean only 10-30 minutes before they hit the shore.

Researchers on ASTARTE are now testing technology to quickly determine sea-floor movement and so give us an indication of how likely an area is to experience a tsunami.

The project is also examining a wide range of methods for improving resilience against tsunamis, from bolstering coastal defences and creating hazard maps to running informational training for coastguards on how to evacuate in the case of a tsunami.

Researchers are working at nine test sites in Europe, where they have created tsunami inundation maps displaying what regions are most likely to be affected and how. They are also designing evacuation routes and educational programmes to train civil defence forces, coast guards and regional authorities.

Prof. Baptista says that it’s important to educate all people across Europe, even those living in inland areas. “Tourists go all over the world. You can think that tsunamis are not so frequent in Europe. But the fact is that most European tourists travel to disaster-prone areas, so they must understand what is the phenomena and what to do, and how to become more resilient.”

Professor Tiziana Rossetto from University College London, UK, agrees that tsunamis can have a global impact, and not just a physical one.

“We’re globalised now, so any damage that happens to the built infrastructure and businesses in other countries can also affect the European economy,” she said. “So damage to the economy in Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand or South America will affect us, and these are all areas that are affected by tsunami, which are such major events and which devastate such large proportions of the coastline and result in major loss of life.”

Prof. Rossetto works on the UrbanWaves project, funded by the EU’s European Research Council, which is examining how tsunamis affect coastal structures, and how coastal defences could be improved to withstand tsunamis.

Her project is using brand new technology to generate tsunami-like waves in a laboratory, where the effects of tsunami on coastal buildings can be measured.

The research team built a series of flumes — huge tanks which generate mini-tsunamis — with which they run tests using model buildings to assess the damage caused. They invented a completely new kind of wave generator, which uses suction to suck air out of the tank and create really long waves, similar to tsunamis.

“Traditional generators are like pistons, they push the water. Our generators are more like a big tank that sucks the water up and pushes it down,” said Prof. Rossetto.

“These long, long waves are showing us completely different things from the shorter waves. In terms of understanding tsunamis, they’re for the first time giving us some realistic data. It’s different from what was done before.”

Using these huge tanks, plus model buildings and coastal defences, the researchers can effectively calculate what kinds of structures could potentially withstand tsunamis.

“It’s designing the engineering guidance for structures to resist tsunamis or to be assessed for their damage in the case of a tsunami,” said Prof. Rossetto.

Her team has already created some simple formulations for the forces on structures from tsunamis, and this research could help make certain important structures like nuclear reactors tsunami-proof.

They’ve also looked at designing evacuation routes for cities, like ASTARTE, but Prof. Rossetto’s research is looking at improving the design of buildings and tsunami-proof coastal defences which could provide civilians with a safe harbour to ride out the flood.

Further information:

http://astarte-project.eu/

Groups audience:

WP3 Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

Massive European union research funding project outlined at NUS Conference

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:48:29 +0000

Tuesday, 20 September 2016

The European Union’s (E.U) Horizon 2020, the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) was discussed at the National University of Samoa (NUS) on Monday.

Dr Rado Faletic, Director, Project & Communication, of Montroix Pty Ltd said that Horizon 2020 was a means to drive economic growth and create jobs, and has the political backing of Europe’s leaders and the members of the European Parliament. They agreed that research is an investment in our future and so put it at the heart of the EU’s blueprint for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs.

Dr Faletic said that these programs have quick rules, with a proposal that should normally be focused on European interest. “Projects must involve a minimum of 3 different organizations from three separate European countries,” he said. “Exception to these rules is noted in the calls, especially calls focused on an individual researcher.” Dr Faletic said that a proposal must address the core requirements. “Most of the core rules are very specific and projects are not to fund pet topics.”

“But these are to fund what Europe wants and also let your European colleagues do all the hard work. Third Countries organization can participate in most calls and get funded but you cannot do it by yourself, you must be part of a European consortium,” Dr Faletic said.

Further information:

http://www.nus.edu.ws/s/index.php/87-nus/news-events/430-massive-european-union-...

Groups audience:

WP5 Strengthening Pacific-EU Research Cooperation Partnerships

Towards a Pacific ST&I Agenda

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Mon, 29 Aug 2016 11:38:47 +0000

Monday, 29 August 2016

PACE-Net Plus is a project funded by the European Commission that is aimed at strengthening Europe-Pacific bi-regional cooperation in ST&I. To work towards this objective PACE-Net Plus has, amongst other activities, established a working group to identify pathways to raise the profile of Pacific research in order to enable such a dialogue. The dialogue seeks to enhance the relative strengths of the parties and to utilise these for developing their respective societies.

There are many challenges in the culturally independent societies in the Pacific that can benefit from relevant community and national, as well as regionally coordinated, ST&I initiatives, for example in the fields of health, food security, environment, observation systems, etc. There are also many opportunities to enhance sustainable responses to climate change given the unique position the Pacific has at the forefront of environmental change. Its isolation also serves to shield it from global impacts and serves as a way of testing and developing strategies for communities in Europe.

Therefore, the project encourages the inclusion of ST&I in national development strategies and the coordination of regional research towards common research strategies and related policies and programmes in the Pacific region by promoting the implementation of joint actions, based on a proposed agenda.

This document addresses regional leadership (including parliaments, communities, elders and CROP agencies) to develop a regional vision for ST&I in the Pacific to enable them to define their joint future. This is a powerful tool for regional leadership to inform decision-making — that will impact on future generations — on national and regionally derived findings of scientific research. We invite the leadership to consider this document and adapt the ideas to their own circumstances, taking into account specific strengths and architectures of each community and nation.

Further information:

http://plus.pacenet.eu/system/files/documents/PNP%20Towards%20a%20Pacific%20STI%...

Groups audience:

WP5 Strengthening Pacific-EU Research Cooperation Partnerships

WP6 Bi-regional Policy Dialogue in ST&I

- Private group -

Public should be at heart of 21st-century science

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 09:04:05 +0000

Thursday, 28 July 2016

Enhancing trust in science through public engagement and open, transparent research is vital if we are to avoid descending into a 'post-factual society', according to Carlos Moedas, the European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science.

Commissioner Moedas told an audience of researchers and policymakers at the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) conference in Manchester, UK, that people feel left behind by politics and science, and this is having a knock-on effect on society.

“The gap between science and the public leads to at best apathy and at worst distrust,” he said.

“The current lack of public and political engagement in fact-based decision making makes us all wonder, have we entered a post-factual era of democracy? One in which the public identifies with populist rhetoric and decisions are made based on fears and assumptions?”

Commissioner Moedas was speaking at one of a number of sessions to address the issue of openness in science which were held at ESOF between 23 and 27 July.

He said that science in the 21st century would be defined by the relationship between scientists, the public and data, and that the public should be at the centre of this.

“The relationship with the public will define science because, unlike in the past, each of us commands more information in our pockets than any scientist can ever read in their lifetime,” he said. “So this information overload requires public trust for scientists to determine fact from fiction.”

Commissioner Moedas said that making scientific results and data openly accessible is important to increase engagement and trust.

“The future of our knowledge economy will rely on public access to data, so that the European public can take part in scientific debate (and) directly access scientific evidence on the issues they care about,” he said.

Since the beginning of Horizon 2020, research projects funded under the programme have been required to publish all results in places that are freely available, a process known as open access.

In the next phase of Horizon 2020 funding, which was launched on 25 July, this has now been extended to require that all data generated as a result of the project should be made openly available by default, with exceptions only made in specific cases.

The Commissioner told the audience in Manchester that he is working on plans to introduce a research exception to EU copyright law that will allow people to mine text and data without being worried about copyright infringements.

In a separate session, Robert-Jan Smits, who heads up the EU’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, said: “Data needs to be shared much more and made interoperable. We want to lead by example in Horizon 2020.”

By requiring people who receive funding to ensure their data is findable, accessible, interoperable, researchable and curatable, funding agencies such as the European Commission have a key role to play in shaping the innovation environment within the EU, he said.

Smits was speaking at a discussion on radical ideas for the future of science and innovation policy, where he said that open access and open data will also play a central role in creating a more innovative environment in the EU.

He said that creating a better ‘ecosystem’ for innovation is one of the ideas behind the forthcoming European Innovation Council, an initiative that has been proposed by Commissioner Moedas to stimulate the level of innovation in the EU.

By adding open access and open data as conditions of funding, organisations such as the EU are also helping to shape the future of science publishing, say experts.

“Funders are more involved in the way research is communicated,” said Phil Jones from research technology company Digital Science during an ESOF session to discuss the future of science publishing. “In the same way that they forced researchers to make things open access and to archive them, they're going to start making people put their data (out there) openly.”

Dr Rush D Holt, chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said that being open about scientific results helps with public engagement. “The reason we publish (scientific) journals is to help communicate reliable knowledge. And that requires openness, it requires openness in the data and the procedures, and this is all so that the reliable knowledge is in a form that society can use.”

In the future, scientific results will be published in the form of datasets, videos of techniques, analysis codes, as well as articles, according to the panel, which also included the representatives from journal publishers PLOS and Elsevier, and funding body Science Europe.

This could not only lead to results being published more rapidly than current formulations allow, but they might also be published in a different order, with data being published first, followed by analysis, methods and then a full article, rather than the other way around.

Of course this would have to be accompanied by a new system for giving credit to researchers such as data scientists to help them build their career, the panel said.

But ultimately, the role of science publishers will still be around in 15 years. “We are there to register scientific findings,” said Michiel Kolman, senior vice-president at Elsevier. “That role of registration is not going away. The role of validation is not going away. And finally the role to disseminate is not going away although it will change over time.”

Further information:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-2604_en.htm

Groups audience:

WP5 Strengthening Pacific-EU Research Cooperation Partnerships

Spain registers first Zika microcephaly birth in Europe

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 00:17:04 +0000

Tuesday, 26 July 2016

A woman in Spain infected with the Zika virus has given birth to a baby with the brain disease microcephaly, thought to be the first such birth in Europe.

Authorities revealed in May they had detected microcephaly in the foetus but the couple decided to keep the baby.

Felix Castillo, the neonatal chief at Barcelona's Vall d'Hebron hospital, said that the child's vital signs were "normal and stable".

The baby was born by caesarean section after 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Mr Castillo confirmed that the circumference of the child's head was "smaller than normal and that it has microcephaly".

He said the child was being constantly monitored, adding that the parents were "very excited" about the birth.

The case is believed to be the first in Europe. A pregnant woman in Slovenia who was found last month to have the Zika virus decided to have an abortion.

Spain has had 190 known cases of Zika infection to date, according to its health ministry. Of those, 189 were contracted abroad, one by sexual transmission.

Authorities say the mother caught the virus on a trip abroad but did not specify in which country. The virus is prevalent in Latin America, particularly Brazil.

Further information:

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-36888207

Groups audience:

WP1 Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing

PACE-Net Plus bi-regional dialogue platform: media release

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Wed, 20 Jul 2016 01:16:52 +0000

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

Within the context of small fragile economies, vast oceans and extreme vulnerability, the Pacific-Europe Network for Science, Technology and Innovation (PACE-Net Plus) bi-regional dialogue platform recognises that regional cooperation amongst Small Island States of the Pacific is the only way forward to a sustainable future.

These were the comments by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga, Honourable Siaosi Sovaleni, who officiated as the Chief Guest at the opening of the PACE-Net Plus bi-regional dialogue platform on 30 June 2016 at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi, with a focus on innovation in the Pacific.

The PACE-Net Plus bi-regional dialogue platform was hosted by The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) with the theme “Moving towards a high-level policy dialogue in Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I): Pathways to innovation in the Pacific region.”

Coordinated by the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), PACE-Net Plus is the second project funded by the European Commission to further support the institutional bi-regional policy dialogue in ST&I between the Pacific region and the European Union. One of the aims of the project is to strengthen the bi-regional cooperation in ST&I, notably through Horizon 2020, which is the European Union’s framework programme dedicated to research and innovation.

Honourable Sovaleni said within this dialogue platform, ST&I become increasingly important especially in regards to the global challenges faced by the South Pacific region. “Challenges such as energy and food security, transportation, and climate change are reasons for the Pacific to take advantage of ST&I,” he said. He also highlighted that the principal of regional and bi-regional cooperation, while respecting sovereignty and national priorities, is also reinforced and reflected by PACE-Net Plus.

Honourable Sovaleni added that in the context of the Kingdom of Tonga, the process of initiating the development of a ST&I policy framework financed by the European Commission through the PACE-Net Plus project has allowed Tonga to reassess challenges and opportunities. “It has allowed us to identify, the means of developing a more coordinated system of ST&I for Tonga, and to articulate a draft ST&I framework with strategies to improve our ST&I and legal framework; good governance; knowledge sharing; research infrastructure; advanced education and training; and entrepreneurship, innovation potential of our country,” he said. Honourable Sovaleni encouraged other Small Pacific Islands Developing States to be inspired and follow processes such as the one taken by Tonga under this project.

USP Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and International, Professor Derrick Armstrong said there is a dire need for innovations to yield specific solutions to the unique problems faced by the Pacific region. “It is also important to pilot and test innovations. In this regard, PACE-Net Plus has taken leadership and is moving in the right direction,” Professor Armstrong said.

Amongst many others, the major outcomes of PACE-Net Plus include:

A strategic Roadmap for STI regional frameworks for a better collaboration between the European Union and the Pacific;
The establishment of Pacific Islands University Research Network (PIURN);
An overview of innovation niches and strategies in the region;
Recent successful seed-funding scheme, enhancing regional and bi-regional partnerships;
PACE-Net Plus also supports the strengthening and the coordination of observatory systems of climate change in the region.

Professor Armstrong added that USP stands poised to make significant breakthroughs in areas of immediate importance to the region, specifically in Marine Science, Agriculture, and Climate Change among other sciences. He said that with the ongoing success of PACE-Net Plus project, all contributions made by consortium members during this dialogue platform will be a significant step forward in the years to come.

While thanking the EU Delegation for the PACE-Net Plus platform’s initiative and IRD as the co-organisers of the bi-regional dialogue platform, French Ambassador, His Excellency Michael Djokovic said that French research, through research institutes and universities, has been serving Europe and the Pacific for a long time.

Further information:

https://youtu.be/CCVx6S_-NoI

Groups audience:

WP1 Health, Demographic Change and Wellbeing

WP2 Food Security, Sustainable Agriculture and Forestry, Marine and Maritime and Inland Water Research, and the Bioeconomy

WP3 Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials

WP4 Cooperation on Innovation Issues to Tackle the Societal Challenges

WP5 Strengthening Pacific-EU Research Cooperation Partnerships

WP6 Bi-regional Policy Dialogue in ST&I

Way Forward to a Sustainable Pacific

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 05:43:47 +0000

Thursday, 30 June 2016

The PACE-Net Plus bi-regional dialogue platform is hosted by The University of the South Pacific’s (USP) Faculty of Science, Technology and Environment (FSTE) with the theme “Moving towards a high-level policy dialogue in Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) pathways to innovation in the Pacific region.”

PACE-Net Plus is the second project funded by the European Commission to further support the institutional bi-regional policy dialogue in Science and Technology between the Pacific region and the European Union.

One of the aims of the project is to strengthen the bi-regional cooperation in ST&I, notably through Horizon 2020, which is the European Union’s framework programme dedicated to research and innovation.

Honourable Sovaleni said within this dialogue platform, ST&I become increasingly important especially in regards to the global challenges faced by the South Pacific region.

“Challenges such as energy and food security, transportation, and climate change are reasons for the Pacific to take advantage of ST&I,” Honourable Sovaleni said.

He highlighted that the principal of regional and bi-regional cooperation, while respecting sovereignty and national priorities, is also reinforced and reflected by PACE-Net Plus.

“It has allowed us to identify, the means of developing a more coordinated system of ST&I for Tonga,” he said.

“It has allowed us to articulate a draft ST&I framework with strategies to improve our ST&I and legal framework; good governance; knowledge sharing; research infrastructure; advanced education and training; and entrepreneurship, innovation potential of our country,” he said.

Honourable Sovaleni encouraged other Small Pacific Islands Developing States to be inspired and follow processes such as the one taken by Tonga under this project.

“ST&I is a key to our countries, stimulating our economies and realising our futures and should underpin our development frameworks, including at a regional Pacific level to enable us to develop in a more sustainable and progressive manner,” he noted.

“It is also important to pilot and test innovations. In this regard, PACE-Net Plus has taken leadership and is moving in the right direction,” Professor Armstrong said.

Amongst many others, the major outcomes of PACE-Net Plus include:

The establishment of Pacific Islands University Research Network;
Better collaboration between the European Union and the Pacific; and
Recent funded successful projects.

“The University strongly advocates the use of ICT to provide solutions and serve the needs of the region. We have come a long way to delivering ICT leverage, tools and services throughout the region and help our people embrace better livelihoods,” Professor Armstrong added.

He said that with the ongoing success of PACE-Net Plus project, all contributions made by consortium members during this dialogue platform will be a significant step forward in the years to come.

While thanking the EU delegation for the PACE-Net Plus platform’s initiative and the Institute for Research Development (IRD) as the coordinator of the bi-regional dialogue platform, French Ambassador, His Excellency Michael Djokovic said that French research, through research institutes and universities, has been serving Europe and the Pacific for a long time.

“I would like to acknowledge today the presence of some of the French universities present in the region including the IRD, Institute Pasteur de New Caledonia, Institute Louise Malarde from Tahiti and the University of New Caledonia,” His Excellency Djokovic said.

Further information:

http://www.usp.ac.fj/news/story.php?id=2144

Groups audience:

WP6 Bi-regional Policy Dialogue in ST&I

Global Young Academy: call for new members

PACE-Net Plus webmaster — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 00:09:43 +0000

Tuesday, 21 June 2016

The 2016 call for new members to join the Global Young Academy in 2017 is now open. Applications are sought from young, independent scholars who combine the highest level of research excellence with a demonstrated passion for delivering impact.

Founded in 2010, the Global Young Academy is an international organization of young researchers with members from six continents. Members are selected for five year terms. Each member should attend the Annual General Meeting (week of 15 May 2017) and is expected to actively contribute to one or more of the organization’s programs, which include participation in policy development, promotion of national young academies, supporting science and education at the international level, and the young scientist ambassador program.

GYA members communicate virtually throughout the year and meet their colleagues from all over the world at least once a year in person at the Annual General Meeting (e.g. 2012 in South Africa, 2013 in Germany, 2014 in Chile, 2015 in Canada). Other occasions to meet and cooperate with colleagues across borders, cultures and disciplines on topics of utmost relevance to young scientists are international meetings, workshops and conferences organized by the GYA Working Groups, for which GYA supports fundraising.

The deadline for applications is 25 September 2016.

Further information:

http://globalyoungacademy.net/call-for-new-members/