In this section you can find the presentations discussed during the final conference. Read more
Project funded by the Horizon2020 Programme of the European Union
Archives
events
Opportunities for research and innovation cooperation offered by the new H2020 Work Programmes 2018-2020, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Digital Single Market Strategy
The second Webinar organized in the framework of the MERID project will be held on 9 February 2018 at 11 am CET. It will last 60 minutes, including a 15-minute session of Q&A.
The content will focus on the following items:
- A general overview of the opportunities for research and innovation cooperation offered by the new H2020 Work Programmes 2018-2020 to the MENA countries (first 10 min.)
- An insight on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its consequences on businesses, governments and people; The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the Mediterranean countries; The Digital Single Market Strategy; Policy areas linked to the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the framework programme (H2020); Stimulating and managing digital innovation in the Mediterranean countries (35 min.)
PROGRAMME
- 11:00-11:05 Welcome and introduction of speakers
- 11:05-11:15 Overview of the opportunities for research and innovation cooperation offered by the new H2020 Work Programmes 2018-2020 to the MENA countries
- 11:15-11:45 Insight on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and its consequences on businesses, governments and people; The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on the Mediterranean countries; The Digital Single Market Strategy; Policy areas linked to the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the framework programme (H2020); Stimulating and managing digital innovation in the Mediterranean countries
- 11:45-12:00 Questions and Answers
Join us here for the webinar: Zoom.us platform. We advise downloading the latest version of this platform by clicking here before the webinar. In order to get familiar on how the platform works, please click here.
The webinars attendance is free and open to everybody.
Registration form: https://docs.google.com/a/scom.eu/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdzMFrz3VqkB_pHDBaUs-MGMFNLcSvT7Z6XiMU479ZTCMmDfg/viewform
Lecturers
Virginia BELSANTI, European project expert at CIHEAM Bari since 2002. Degree in Political Science, Economics-International specialization (Uni Bari), MA in Diplomatic Studies (London), Post-graduate Diploma in Management of Local Development (ILO), Certificate in Partnership Brokerage (TPI London), Certificate in Writing in the Sciences (Stanford). She is an expert in EU project and policy planning, covering different aspects from partnership brokerage, project design to content definition and administrative management. She has been involved in a variety of activities related to training, research and cooperation in the areas of poverty and rural development, innovation systems, management of local development, policy and institutional frameworks for sustainable development promotion; research cooperation, multi stakeholder dialogue promotion. She has a 15-year experience of training design and research tutoring.
Davide MEINERO is managing director at ID Consulting, where he’s in charge of relationship management and consulting services addressed to a variety of different customers. Working as a lecturer at the School of Management of the University of Turin, Davide Meinero developed a strong expertise on several subjects: economic analysis of institutions, ethics in economics, political economy, developmental economics and monetary policy.
His mission combines relations with the EU institutions, media communications, issue management, information, dissemination and strategic communication advice, policy analysis and assessment of public policy issues, technical assistance for project proposals, planning and implementation of advocacy startegies.
Leonardo PICCINETTI is Senior Research and Innovation Advisor and Managing Director at Europe for Business. He has extensive experience in consulting on Research and Innovation EU funding schemes and has worked on several EU Projects on food, water, energy and ICT-related fields. Leonardo holds a BSc in Economics at University of Rome with a special focus on water management in Mediterranean countries. He finished his Master in European Studies at Sussex European Institute at University of Sussex United Kingdom. Leonardo is currently studying Business Sustainability Management at University of Cambridge United Kingdom at Institute for Sustainability Leadership. He is indipendent evaluator for H2020 programme. Leonardo is fluent in Italian, English, Spanish and French.
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In case you had to miss it, check the recorded version of the webinar:
SAVE THE DATE – The European Commission and the Directorate General for Education and Culture (EAC) of the European Commission co-organise an event on “EU-Iran Higher Education and Research” to be held on 3-4 July in Tehran, Iran.
The event, targeting stakeholders from the Higher Education and Research areas in the Middle East, will focus on the opportunities of EU-Iran cooperation in the area of Education and Research, particularly focusing on the funding opportunities established by the European Commission (Erasmus+, ICM & CBHE, MSCA RISE, H2020 thematic projects).
MERID project will be also represented at the event mainly by two of its project partners, CERISS and ESADE, who will contribute to the session “Do’s and Don’ts for a successful Horizon 2020 application” and provide testimonials on their Marie Curie and Jean Monnet experiences.
Middle Eastern MERID Partners – MOST and IRAMOT – will also attend the event. In parallel, a MERID workshop will take place focusing on presenting and discussing on the draft Policy Paper on “Future EU-ME cooperation opportunities – Recommendations for an enhanced EU-ME STI cooperation” and several bilateral policy dialogue meetings are planned as well. The participation will enable MERID partners to get valuable input from stakeholders for some of the outcomes of the project.
The full program will be communicated in the next days. Stay tuned for more updates.
The workshop will take place at Smart Villages, Cairo, 18-20th of April 2017.
For more information, follow this link to the CMI website
The workshop will serve as a platform, where STP-managers and STP-tenants from the MENA region (universities, industrial tenants, research institutes, incubators, technology transfer offices, technology platforms, venture funds, research centres and entrepreneurship networks) will share their experiences in order to draw lessons about what is essential for them as a member of the STP’s ecosystem and what metric could be used, not only to measure their performance but also the impact that the STP has on their performance and upon innovation, economic growth and job creation.
PRESS RELEASE
23th of February 2017
The Arab Water Week (AWW) is an international meeting in the Arab region which tackles water management issues through establishing innovative partnerships and platforms of collaborative work on water issues in the region. The importance of this meeting lies in providing a platform for greater coordination among the existing network of key stakeholders active in the water sector in the region. The Arab Water Week (AWW) does not only provide an opportunity to enhance communication flows, synergies and the sharing of successful experiences, but as well, it will facilitate the creation of new partnerships that complement and maximize the impact of on-going work in this sector for the benefit of all countries in the region.
Date: 19 – 23 March 2017
Venue: Kempinski Hotel Ishtar, Dead Sea, Jordan
Registration: here
PRESS RELEASE
22nd of February 2017
In partnership with the German-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GACIC), the Euro Institute for Information and Technology Transfer (EITEP) is organizing the “Pipeline-Pipe- Sewer-Technology Conference & Exhibition (PPST)” which will be held between the 17th and 19th of September 2017 in Cairo, Egypt. This unique event provides an opportunity to discuss a sufficient supply of both energy and water as well as sewage disposal, which builds the infrastructural basis for economic prosperity.
This global event is dedicated to transfer latest technologies developed in and for industrialized countries to the huge evolving markets in Africa and the Middle East, which profit from proven reliable pipeline, pipe and sewer technologies. Everyone is invited to become engaged by sharing your experiences and exchanging information on technologies, best practice and possible solutions.
For more information please visit www.pipelinepipesewer.com
Society as a key player in river basin adaptation for global change
7 and 8 March 2017, Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Topic
In the Mediterranean region, water resources are expected to be severely affected by climate change and other pressures. The impact of such pressures needs to be considered to ensure the sustainable supply and use of high quality water resources in the future. However, many water management initiatives do not adequately pay attention to climate change impacts at the river basin level. Given the cross-cutting nature of water management, it is crucial to involve society at large, stakeholders, experts and policy makers and address their interests, demands and concerns to ensure long-term effectiveness of the management of water resources.
Objective
There is an urgent need for adaptation plans to outline how individual river basins can prepare for the impacts of climate change and other pressures. The development of successful adaptation strategies needs to involve both regional and local stakeholders. The River Basin Adaptation Conference will be a practice-oriented conference with a strong science base, with the aim to share experiences and identify best-practices on science-society interactions for river basin management and climate change adaptation.
Initiative
The River Basin Adaptation Conference is the final conference of the BeWater project. The BeWater project is funded by the European Union’s 7th Framework programme for research, technological development and demonstration. The BeWater project aimed to spur proactive responses to water-related global challenges at the river basin level by fostering a dialogue between science and society.
More information: http://bewaterproject.eu/events/river-basin-adaptation-conference/description
Programme: http://bewaterproject.eu/events/river-basin-adaptation-conference/programme
PRESS RELEASE
11th of January 2017
King Hussein Cancer Center, American University of Beirut Medical Center, MD Anderson Cancer Center is organising a Joint Conference, that will be held on 24-25 March 2017. The conference will discuss multiple topics, such as Neurooncology, Thoracic and Head and Neck Oncology, Gastrointestinal Oncology, Genitourinary Oncology, Gynecologic Oncology and Supportive Care.
Abstract submission deadline: February 15, 2017 at nkbci@aub.edu.lb.
For more details please view the attachment.
MERID regional event: towards enhancing framework conditions for cooperation between the European Union and the Middle East
CNRS-L (Jnah Beirut), Lebanon, Thursday, 1 December 2016
The aim of the event is to tackle the existing framework conditions for cooperation focusing on one or more specific thematic societal challenges.
The specificities of the event are to discuss the IPR structure, scientific visas and open access arrangements with Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Syrian experts, coming from academia and policy-making sector.
For more info about the agenda, please consult:
https://meridproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Draft_Agenda_Lebanon_Event_Beirut-1.docx
The event will start at 9.30 am (local time).
You can watch the live streaming here:
MERID regional event: towards enhancing framework conditions for cooperation between the European Union and the Middle East
CNRS-L (Jnah Beirut), Lebanon, Thursday, 1 December 2016
The aim of the event is to tackle the existing framework conditions for cooperation focusing on one or more specific thematic societal challenges, i. e. energy. The specificities of the particular event is to discuss the IPR structure, scientific visas and open access arrangements with Iranian, Iraqi, Lebanese and Syrian experts, coming from academia and policy-making sector.
Draft agenda
9h00 – 9h30 Registration
9h30 – 10h00 Welcome Remarks
– Mouin Hamze, Secretary General of the National Center for Scientific Research of Lebanon
– Abdelhamid El-Zoheiry, President of the Euro-Mediterranean University
– Maria Cristina Russo, Directorate for International Cooperation, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission
– Christina Lassen, Ambassador, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Lebanon (TBC)
10h00 – 10h40 Keynote speeches
– Alessandro Ovi, Vice President of the Foundation for World Wide Cooperation
10h40 – 11h00 Setting the Scene
– Angel Saz-Carranza, Director of ESADEgeo, ESADE Business and law School
11h00 – 11h30 Tackling remaining obstacles in EU-Middle East cooperation
– Abdelhamid El-Zoheiry, President of the Euro-Mediterranean University
MERID Stocktaking Report
– George Bonas, Managing Director, CeRISS
11h30 – 12h00 Coffee break
12h00 – 13h30 Moderated round table on:
– Intelectual Property Rights,
– Open Access and
– Scientific Visas.
13h30 – 14h30 Lunch break
14h30 – 16h00 Moderated round table on:
– Technology & Innovation Management and Transfer and
– Cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy.
16h00 – 16h30 Wrap up
20h00 Working dinner
IRAMOT Conference Plays a Prominent Role in Technology and Innovation Dialogue
Iranian Association for Management of Technology (IRAMOT), is a non-profit, non-governmental organization which strives to promote the highest quality education and research in the fields of Technology and Innovation Management. Towards this goal, IRAMOT has organized the “6th International Conference on Management of Technology” to be held on December 07-08, 2016 in Tehran, Iran. The main theme of the conference is “Technological Learning and Competitiveness in the Context of International Interactions”.
The IRAMOT Annual Conference is the largest gathering of leading representatives from industry, academia and policy-makers in the fields of Innovation and Technology Management in the Middle East, bringing together more than 900 participants. This Conference is a leading platform for information exchange, networking opportunities and new business development. During the conference, top managers of national and international companies will participate in and contribute to a number of expert panels to discuss the most relevant innovation and technology management challenges they face in specific sectors (energy, Oil, gas, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, agriculture, information and communication and etc.).
It should be mentioned that IRAMOT in partnership with ECO Science Foundation (ECOSF) will offer travel grants to assist the eligible participants from ECO member countries (Turkey, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), to attend the IRAMOT 2016 Conference.
Further details on IRAMOT 2016 can be found at: http://conference.iramot.ir/en .
PRESS RELEASE
29th of August 2016
Global Water Intelligence is hosting the first international Iranian Water Summit in Tehran, Iran on 27 September 2016, in collaboration with Iranian’s Ministry of Energy (MoE) and National Water and Wastewater Engineering Company (NWWEC).
The Iranian Water Summit is taking place in response to a surge of interest in Iran’s water and wastewater market, where the massive capital and technology gap combined with the easing of international sanctions looks set to provide one of the world’s biggest opportunities for water and wastewater companies.
Up to 80 representatives have been invited from key international companies to meet 100 delegates from the Iranian Water sector working across the municipal and industrial sectors. The invitees are eager to forge links and partnerships with the international water sector.
View a sample of the Iranian companies that will be attending by clicking here.
High-level Iranian speakers as well as key international players will feature the event. View full agenda including speakers by clicking here.
Venue: Esteghlal Hotel in Tehran
The reduced price for a delegate place is $1,950 (full price: $2,800) and will include 2 nights of accommodation at the conference venue, transfers to and from the airport as well as visa support.
Registration: here
26-27 May 2016 | CIHEAM – Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari
the first MERID Brokerage has been organised by CHIEAM in sinergy with MedSpring Project Read more
Driving Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation at EMUNI’s annual conference on Migration, Diaspora and Brain Circulation
Thursday, 12 May 2016, Barcelona, Spain
EMUNI’s 2016 annual conference, together with its General Assembly, and the regional event of project MERID (Horizon2020 project funded by the EU) addressed the role of diaspora in intercultural dialogue, trust-building and development cooperation between the European Union, Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East countries. Interactive discussions and lively debates examined the potential use of Diaspora as bridges for building trust and catalysts for cooperation and partnership in the Euro-Mediterranean region and Middle East. The event also aimed at employing science diplomacy in exploring new avenues of cooperation, particularly with Iran and Iraq.
The event, which was hosted by the ESADE Business School in Barcelona, hosted over 130 high profile participants, including heads of international organizations, rectors and vice-rectors of universities, senior academics and officials as well as policy-makers from 29 countries and international organisations. The keynote opening speech was given by Javier Solana, President of ESADEgeo – Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics.
Three lively panels including 18 high-profile pannelists discussed the constructive use of brain circulation to advance scientific cooperation and unleash the untapped potential of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern scientific communities. By employing science, technology and innovation in addressing the cross-cutting societal challenges of water and renewable energy in the region, the panel organised through the MERID project offered new avenues and identified potential obstacles for EI-Middle East cooperation. Resulting from the fruitful discussions, a set of recommendations of how to surpass the remaining obstacles in cooperation between the European and the Middle Eastern research communities were compiled and presented. Many contributions, inputs, ideas, statements and interventions can be found on MERID’s twitter profile and under the hashtag #braincirculation.
Middle Eastern and European experts at ESADE: “The flow of refugees can be an opportunity to build bridges” Read more
About the event
This is a time of both intense challenges and critical opportunities for the relationship between the European Union and the North African and Middle Eastern region. A series of highly significant socio-political developments – such as the immense refugee flows from war-struck Syria and Iraq, the diverse reactions of European societies to these flows, as well as the signing of the JCPOA with Iran – may prove to be either barriers to inter-cultural understanding, or an opportunity to build trust, bridges and tolerance between the two regions.
The aim of this event, which brings together EMUNI’s 2016 General Assembly and the Horizon-2020 project MERID’s Regional Event, is to address the role of diaspora in intercultural dialogue, trust-building, and development cooperation and to explore the roles of these diaspora in cooperation on science, technology and innovation between the EU and its southern neighbors.
This event will focus, on the one hand, on the constructive use of brain circulation to advance beneficial scientific cooperation and unleash the untapped potential of the Middle Eastern scientific community. On the other hand, by examining the state of the science, technology and innovation on the cross-cutting societal issues of water and renewable energy in the region, the event will provide opportunities to explore fertile avenues for cooperation and identify potential obstacles to that cooperation.
Throughout the event, particular attention will be paid to Iran and Iraq, two relatively new players in the regional discussions, with whom no formal research cooperation has existed so far.
About EMUNI’s General Assembly, brain circulation and migration
Since the end of the cold war, and peaking in the 1990s, mass movements of refugees (largely from Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia) have led to the formation of substantial diaspora that have consolidated themselves in destination countries and integrated in various forms of transnational activity. These diasporas, which developed as a consequence of refugee flows of migrants fleeing upheavals in their countries (what is referred to as migration crisis), are continuously reinforcing the transformation of societies worldwide.
Today, new communication technologies, the refugees’ increased education levels and the stronger role of the “old” diaspora has enabled new migrants and refugees arriving in Europe to increase their influence and impact on both the host country and their homeland. At the same time, and all over the world, existing diaspora – created by those who were once refugees – have largely contributed to the development of society in all fields (politics, economy, engineering, science etc.).
Following the end of World War II, large numbers of highly skilled scientists emigrated from Western Europe to the United States. In 1963, the British Royal Society published a report on the migration of scientists from the UK which received much media attention, triggering the Evening Standard newspaper to coin the term ‘brain drain’. Subsequently, the concept of “brain drain” and “brain gain” evolved to describe the relocation of researchers from one country/region (usually less developed, which suffers the drain) to another (more developed, which benefits from the gain). As such, this drain/gain concept has a negative connotation and is considered as a win-lose scenario.
More recently, the term “brain circulation” has been used to describe a dynamic system of human capital flows and exchanges. Countries may accrue benefits to their domestic scientific capacity through diaspora effects, where knowledge, skills and professional networks established by the “expatriate” researchers are shared with their countries of origin.
As EU borders become flooded with refugees and the European public opinions became polarized between friendly welcoming on the one hand and hostile rejection on the other, the need for building trust and inter-cultural understanding between Europe and the Middle East has never been so urgent.
In February 2015, EMUNI organized its annual conference on science diplomacy with the notion of utilizing science as a vehicle for intercultural understanding, inter-religious tolerance and rational discourse. Building on the topic of last year’s conference and its recommendations, EMUNI decided to further advance the cause within the current socio-political context, elaborating on what – in our opinion – are the main contemporary drivers/barriers of this cooperation. The 2015 conference achieved great success, particularly in terms of the policy recommendations, which were welcomed and taken into consideration by the European Commission at the highest levels, including the HR VP Federica Mogherini as well as high-level actors from the Southern Mediterranean such as Princess Sumaya of Jordan.
EMUNI thus wishes to capitalize on today’s socio-political developments in the relationship between Europe – and specifically the European Union – and the North African and Middle East region. The signing of the Iran nuclear deal, the immense flow of refugees from war-struck Syria and Iraq and the divergent response of the European societies to this crisis comprise both a challenge and an opportunity for the future of EU-Middle East cooperation. While appearing to be barriers for inter-cultural understanding, they also represent an opportunity and constitute drivers for building a culture of trust and tolerance between the two regions. We have to bear in mind that the refugees of today are the diasporas of tomorrow.
This conference pursues an activist approach, where our strategic objective is the “constructive use of brain circulation” to the benefit of intercultural dialogue and understanding. We need to bear in mind that diaspora comprise a huge potential that needs to be explored and unleashed. By engaging the Middle East diasporas in Europe in constructive brain circulation with their countries of origin, our conference provides avenues for prosperous scientific cooperation and tapping into the untapped potential of Middle East scientific community, particularly the youth.
The MERID Project: Science diplomacy in practice
The MERID project, starting in January 2015, is an example of science diplomacy in practice. It seeks to boost existing collaboration frameworks between the EU and Middle East countries while creating new channels and forging new links, especially with countries that are newcomers to EU cooperation in Research and Innovation. MERID’s ultimate goal is to employ Research and Innovation as channels for intercultural dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.
MERID involves diverse partners from the European Union Member States, in addition to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine as well as Iran and Iraq. Participation of the latter countries is of particular importance as the MERID project will represent the very first attempt to systematise support to the policy dialogue and engagement of research communities of Iran and Iraq in the EU’s actions and in particular the EU’s programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon 2020”. The MERID partners were carefully selected to embrace relevant stakeholders from diverse backgrounds representing various sectors, from research governance organisations to civil society, including also academia and the business sector.
MERID adopts Science Diplomacy as a tool to deliver long-term impact and structuring effects on cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region. Its focus is primarily on direct cooperation among researchers and policy makers while striving to establish preconditions for fostering joint research projects and initiatives with the EU. This will be achieved by facilitating and creating framework conditions for international cooperation and increasing coordination between policies and programmes.
It is worth mentioning that the MERID project, under coordination of EMUNI, was chosen for funding among ten competing projects focusing on intensifying and encouraging research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region along the first call of the EU H2020 programme for Research and Innovation.
Purpose of the MERID event
uilding on the MERID project objectives, the purpose of this event is to tackle the existing framework conditions for research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region. In this event, we will address cooperation in science, technology and innovation by focussing on two specific thematic societal challenges: water and renewable energy. The magnitude of these challenges at the regional level and their wider international impact make them excellent fields for study, and sharing knowledge and brain circulation among researchers, experts and policy makers can significantly contribute to addressing these challenges and offering sustainable and long-term solutions. The specificities of this particular event were determined half-way through the MERID project in order to incorporate the input and priorities of countries such as Iraq and Iran that so far have not participated in any EU regional STI activities.
Expected outcomes
- Generate an overview of the cutting-edge research being carried out in the MERID partner countries in (a) thematic area(s) of high socio-economic relevance.
- Identify specific topics and areas of mutual interest and potential cooperation.
- Identify obstacles to cooperation.
- Commence a policy dialogue on building forward-looking framework conditions for STI cooperation while addressing current challenges.
Expected outputs
- The conclusions of this regional event will be summarized in a report, shared with all MERID partners and participants, which will in turn provide valuable input for the full MERID project and three concrete MERID deliverables. They will:
- Help to further develop and complete specific elements in the Policy Dialogue Action Plan.
- Provide direct input for the Practical Framework for Enhancing STI Enabling Factors.
- Help to identify opportunities and specific topics of interest for the Bilateral Policy Dialogues.
Training and capacity building on Horizon 2020 for Mediterranean and Middle East NCPs and Research Managers & MedSpring Science Café
Fairmont Nile City Cairo – Egypt
28-30 October 2015
Agenda Read more
Training and capacity building on Horizon 2020 for Mediterranean and Middle
East NCPs and Research Managers
& MedSpring Science Café Read more
Date: 25-27 November 2015
Venue: Grand Hotel Oriente, Naples – Italy Read more
Some images from the Merid Training made by CIHEAM
The “H2020 Regional Middle East Info-Day” was held by Iranian Association for Management of Technology (IRAMOT) in cooperation with MERID project partners on December 15, 2015 in Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran with the presence of some representatives of MERID partners and more than 50 Iranian participants from different organizations and institutions which were involved in STI sectorsin Iran.
Here are some of the organizations that participated in this meeting:
· Vice Presidency for Science and Technology,
· Ministry of Science, Research and Technology,
· Ministry of Petroleum,
· Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade,
· Ministry of Health and Medical Education-Pasteur Institute of Iran,
· Innovation and Flourishing Foundation,
· Technology Development Foundation,
· Center for Innovation and Technology Cooperation,
· Tehran Urban Planing and Reseach Centre,
· Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology
· Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences,
· The Research Center of New Technologies in Life Science Engineering of Tehran University,
· Agriculture Biotechnology Research of Iran,
· Vice Presidency for Science and Technology- Headquarters of Development of Nanotechnology,
· Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science,
· etc.
At the beginning of the conference each of the participants introduces themselves and their organizations. Then Mr. Ghadiri (Managing Director of IRAMOT) welcomed to all participants and briefly described the event and role of IRAMOT in MERID Project. After that, Dr. Mahdi Elyasi (Deputy of Policy Making and Strategic Evaluation of Vice Presidency for Science and Technology) described the goals and opportunities of taking part in these kinds of international programs for Iranian organizations. Then Mr. Hribar and Mr.Bonas presented the MERID project and opportunities in H2020 program for Iranian STI actors and also let everyone ask their questions in regard to the project.
This event was held along with MERID project’s objectives in order to understand the status of Science, Research and Technology in Iran and to explore and enhance collaboration opportunities between Iranian STI actors and EU countries under H 2020 program.
Kick off Meeting
On Friday 13th, 2015, the Kick-off of the MERID (Middle East Research and Innovation Dialogue) took place in Portorož (Slovenia). MERID is a Horizon 2020 project coordinated by Euro Mediterranean University (EMUNI) in Slovenia.
MERID seeks to boost existing collaboration frameworks between the EU and Middle East countries while creating new channels and forging new links, especially with countries that are newcomers to EU cooperation in research and innovation. MERID’s ultimate goal is to employ research and innovation as channels for intercultural dialogue, understanding and reconciliation.
MERID involves diverse partners from the EU Member States, and in addition to Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine also Iran and Iraq. Participation of the latter is of particular importance as the MERID project represents the very first attempt to systematise support to the policy dialogue and engagement of research communities of Iran and Iraq in EU’s programmes for Research and Innovation. MERID adopts Science Diplomacy as a tool to deliver long-term impact and structuring effects on cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region. Its focus is primarily on the direct cooperation among researchers and policy makers while striving to establish preconditions for fostering joint research projects and initiatives with the EU.
During the kick-off meeting, the president of EMUNI, Prof. Dr. Abdelhamid El-Zoheiry, stressed the importance of the project as the very first attempt to involve researchers from the wider Middle East (with particular focus on Iran and Iraq) and a bridge of science diplomacy among between researchers and research institutions from the Middle East and the EU. As underlined by the project officer at the European Commission, Ms. Tanya Dimitrova, the MERID project represents an important turning point as it will contribute to the creation of a comprehensive strategy in order to further enhance cooperation between the European Union and Middle East in the future.