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Baltic researchers assess past cooperation and future opportunities

Research and education are the keys to innovation to meet the global challenges of today and tomorrow. Long-term cooperation fosters excellence and innovation in the Baltic region, to which the European Economic Area (EEA) and Norway Grants Baltic Research Programme (the Programme) has made a significant contribution, concluded the participants at the Programme’s mid-term conference “Collaborative Experiences for Shaping the Future of Research”.

“International cooperation increases the mobility and competitiveness of scientists, which is essential for achieving scientific excellence. The Programme brings together Baltic scientists with scientists from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein in 27 joint research projects by using a uniform approach to research. Each partner offers something different within its own specialisation, thus complementing each other, in order to achieve the set objectives,” says Jānis Paiders, Deputy State Secretary for Higher Education, Science, Space and Innovation at the Ministry of Education and Science.

The Norwegian Ambassador to Latvia, Ine Måreng, welcomes the results of the Programme, noting that, thanks to successful cooperation, it has been able to address challenges that are important for the Baltic States and to implement many things that at first seemed impossible. In her speech, the Ambassador welcomed both the establishment of innovation centres to encourage children’s interest in STEM fields and research cooperation.

Ásdís Jónsdóttir from the Financial Instrument Office (Brussels) emphasised that the EEA and Norway Grants programme aims to be a driver of growth, making the Baltic region more competitive. She recognises that the Programme has already had many positive impacts, including improving the quality of cooperation between the institutions involved.

At the conference, the Programme and project implementers from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Norway, Iceland and Croatia discussed ways to build for the future, building on the diverse experiences and successes gained so far. Researchers and education project promoters had the opportunity to network with other project promoters and to explore key topics such as the impact of science, research priorities and the continuation of research-education cooperation in other formats and programmes.

The initial evaluation of the Programme shows that the objectives and results of the Programme are being achieved. All those involved in the Programme have expressed interest in continuing the Programme in the next planning period and see a need for more synergies between science and education within the project.

The Baltic Research Programme Mid-term Conference that took place on October 19 brought together representatives from the EEA Grants and the Norway Financial Mechanism’s Research and Education Programme 2014-2021 activities Baltic Research Programme, Scholarships and Innovation Centres. The video recording of the conference organised by the Ministry of Education and Science in cooperation with the Latvian Science Council can be watched on the Science for Latvia Facebook page.

On October 18, participants had the opportunity to visit several projects of the Latvian Baltic Sea Research Programme and see the successful results. They were introduced to the project of the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia “Aluminium recycling for hydrogen production – from waste through hydrogen energy to alumina – AliCE-WHy“, the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre project “Physical activity as a breast cancer preventive measure: investigation of molecular mechanisms“, University of Latvia projects “Integrated model for diabetic retinopathy screening and monitoring using risk-stratification and artificial intelligence-based automated fundus image analysis (PerDiRe)” and “Improving perennial ryegrass adaptation and plasticity for safe and sustainable food systems using CRISPR-Cas9 technology – EditGrass4Food“, Riga Technical University projects “Development of new concrete types for long-term storage and management of hazardous waste” and “Application of the Waste-to-Resource Strategy for the conversion of eggshells into next generation biomaterials for bone regeneration“.

Innovation centres have also been set up during the Programme In Cēsis, Daugavpils, Liepāja and Ventspils topromote the development of knowledge and encourage young people to choose careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Find out more about the activities of the Baltic Research Programme on the Baltic Sea Research Programme website.