Research funds and scholarship programme in Bulgaria and Romania
With the aim of strengthening research in Bulgaria and Romania, Switzerland funds a research and scholarship programme in the two countries. Currently 39 research projects are under way. The programme of scholarships enables over 100 graduates from Bulgaria and Romania to complete a fixed-term research residency in Switzerland.
Bulgaria and Romania are undertaking major efforts to strengthen their potential in the area of research and development. They are encountering, however, a number of obstacles on the way to a knowledge based economy. Often infrastructure and equipment are lacking. Institutional structures and international networks show room for improvement. The latter have had negative consequences for young academics in particular: many academics in Bulgaria and Romania are unable to undertake or complete research abroad because the costs are prohibitively high. The Sciex scholarship programme enables young Bulgarian and Romanian graduates to undertake research at a Swiss research institution for a limited period.
Switzerland also promotes Bulgaria and Romania as research locations through funding 39 research projects as part of its EU enlargement contribution. In these projects, Swiss research institutes work together with Bulgarian and Romanian partners. The results from these research projects strengthen the position of the research centres concerned and boost cooperation with Switzerland.
Scholarship programme: transfer of knowledge rather than brain drain
Camelia Stefanache is one of over 80 Romanian graduates who were able to work with a research team in Switzerland thanks to a Sciex scholarship. From 2012 to 2013 she carried out research on cell cultures at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Wädenswil (ZH). Something she particularly appreciated with the Sciex programme was the central focus placed on knowledge transfer between the home and host universities, and that the programme does not lead to the brain drain phenomenon, whereby scientists abandon their home countries.
Thanks to the scholarship programme, long-term partnerships have developed between the universities and research institutes involved, institutionalisingthe exchange of knowledge and cooperation in research. So for example there now exists a close partnership between the ZHAW and Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Romania, thanks to the research posting undertaken by Camelia Stefanache. The professor who supervised Camelia’s research at the ZHAW is regularly invited by the university to come to Romania to give lectures to doctoral students there.
Joint research projects in Bulgaria and Romania
The project themes are divided into different, predefined areas which were agreed with each country based on criteria for the best possible way of promoting the research centre. In Bulgaria a total of 13 research projects are being implemented in the three areas of ecological forestry, farming and waste management; social inequalities and regional differences; and development of new medicines. The 26 projects in Romania concern diseases of modern society, the effects of waste and pollutants on the environment and the climate, sustainable energy, economic growth and social inequalities. The SDC has entrusted the implementation of the joint research projects to the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). Most of the projects have a duration of three years.