EUREKA PRESS

BMBF State Secretary Schuette: EUREKA lays the cornerstone for an innovative partnership

 

In the future, Europe and South Korea will work together more closely in the field of research. The European research initiative EUREKA, currently chaired by Germany, has granted South Korea the status of associated country last year, this being the first Asian country in the Initiative. Georg Schuette, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, at his visit last Wednesday in Seoul, underlined the important role that South Korea plays as a partner for collaboration in Asia: “The association of South Korea with EUREKA will open new perspectives for companies and research institutes for international collaboration at eye level. I am confident the partnership will leverage new products and processes and thus function as a catalyser and motor for innovation.”

 

State Secretary Schuette pointed at the German High Tech Strategy and the Internationalization Strategy for R&D, both explicitly aiming at this goal. “We will make use of EUREKA Day to inform representatives from the Korean Government and Industry about research and innovation policy oriented initiatives in Europe. Moreover, both sides will use the opportunity for an exchange on experiences made so far, and about mutual expectations concerning the collaboration between South Korea and EUREKA, said Schuette.

 

Research and technology initiative EUREKA features flexible multilateral cooperation and a bottom-up approach for research projects. During its third EUREKA Chairmanship after 1985 and 1999/2000, Germany is aiming at further developing the strategic framework on this basis.

By associating South Korea, EUREKA aims to offer companies, especially SMEs, a framework for international collaboration beyond the borders of Europe, thus strengthening competitiveness. Further fields of action are joint, simple and clear rules as well as a framework for the handling of IPRs.

 

EUREKA was founded in 1985 following an initiative by France and Germany. Today, 35 European States, Israel and the European Commission are involved in this European research network. Each year, one member country takes over the Chairmanship, coordinating the political and strategic (further) development of the Initiative. Germany will hold this Chairmanship until June 2010.