The final term workshop of the third bilateral programme between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet) took place on February 16, at the Residence of the Ambassador of Italy in Stockholm Vinicio Mati.
The results of the eight jointly funded projects, ranging from the fields of nanoscience to neuroscience, cultural heritage, cybersecurity, clean energy and ageing & society were presented by the principal investigators.
Ambassador Vinicio Mati welcomed the attendees together with the Director General of the Swedish National Research Council Dr. Katarina Bjelke, accompanied by the Heads of the Research Funding Lucas Pettersson and of International Coordination Stefan Törnqvist, and stressed how scientific cooperation is one of the most important sectors in bilateral relations between Italy and Sweden.
The various sessions scheduled for the day involved the Italian and Swedish coordinators coming respectively from the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, University of Genoa, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Molise, University of Padua, University of Pavia, University of Turin and the CNR, while for the Swedish part from: Lund University, Uppsala University, Mälardalen University, Stockholm University, Swedish University of Agricultural Science.
The roundtable at the end of the meeting offered an opportunity to exchange opinions and suggestions on possible ways to further stimulate bilateral collaboration between Italy and Sweden. A new agreement is under way, planned to jointly provide funding for the next round of eight research projects for the three-year period 2023-25.
These four priority sectors have been identified as qualifying fields of research:
– Life sciences (e-health & medical technologies; pharmaceutical chemistry & technology)
– Physics and accelerator technologies
– Information and Communication Technologies
– Polar Sciences (in Arctic, sub-Arctic regions, and in the Antarctic)
