|
|
|
To boost stronger ties with European-based research
organizations,
a total of €1.8 billion worth of research grants is available
under European Commission’s Framework Program to foster joint
collaborations with Asian partners.
The European Commission (EC) formally announced the initiation of
the GAPFILL project in Singapore during a media briefing on 8 December
2004 at The Regent Singapore. GAPFILL, which stands for ‘Getting
more Asian Participants involved in IST (Information Society Technologies)
Calls’, aims to enhance scientific and technological cooperation
between the European Union and Singapore in the ICT field (Information
and Communication Technologies).
The European Commission and the Institute of Infocomm Research (I²R)
will be hosting an introductory event on 27 - 28 January 2005, at
The Regent Singapore, to allow interested European and Singaporean
organizations obtain more detailed information and support.
The event is open to all European and Singaporean organizations
interested in the development of scientific and technological cooperation
projects in the ICT field, and in the perspectives offered by the
European Commission’s IST research initiative under the Sixth
Framework Programme. One of the major expected outputs of ‘EuroSingapore2005’
is a stronger representation of Singaporean organizations in projects,
developed in partnership with European organizations and funded
by IST.
The GAPFILL Project coordinated by Sigma Consultants, a European
organization, includes in its consortium as a full partner, the
Institute for Infocomm Research (I²R), a member of the Agency for
Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) family. Other Asian partners
include Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.
His Excellency Mr Vassilis Bontosoglou, European Union Ambassador
and Head of Delegation of the European Commission in Singapore,
welcomed the initiative to promote stronger links between European
and Singaporean organizations. He said, “This is a positive
step forward and augurs well for the strengthening of Euro-Asian
ties. I encourage Singapore-based ICT organizations to lend their
full support to the event.”
Mr Jean-Yves Roger, Principal Administrator of International Cooperation
for the Information Society Directorate-General of the European
Commission, commented, “The GAPFILL Project offers a useful
conduit of building close research links between organizations in
Europe and Singapore. The EuroSingapore 2005 event is intended to
help identify areas of mutual interest and facilitate the introductory
phase of building these relationships.”
Prof. Chong Tow Chong, Executive Director of A*STAR’s Science
and Engineering Research Council (SERC) feels that the event is
an excellent opportunity for Singapore to share its research expertise
with European partners. He said, “The nett gain of the research
collaborations that materialize is the development of valuable intellectual
property and strong international industry links. Several of the
A*STAR research institutes already have links with other laboratories
in Europe. This event increases the opportunities particularly to
establish direct links with good corporate labs.”
The two day event will have one day devoted to presentations about
the Sixth Framework Program and technical presentations on areas
of mutual interest. The second day will focus on having potential
partners pitch and match the ICT research expertise they have or
are looking for, in a networking style environment.
We look forward to your participation in EuroSingapore2005.
For more details, you may visit the event website at: http://www.eurosingapore-it.org/
top 
home
|
|
|
