The EU and Japan has concluded a new agreement to encourage top Japanese researchers to join teams in Europe that are funded by the European Research Council (ERC). The initiative is a collaboration with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and is the second of its kind for the ERC with a Japanese funding body. It is the eleventh such agreement aimed to help the ERC attract the brightest mind to Europe and to encourage cooperation.
The European Commission's Director General for Research and Innovation, Jean-Eric Paquet, and the President of the JST, Michinari Hamaguchi, signed the deal during the "Science and Technology in Society" forum in Kyoto, in presence of the Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Masahiko Shibayama, the ERC President, Jean-Pierre Bourguignon and the Ambassador Designate of the European Union Delegation to Japan, Patricia Flor. The initiative aims to encourage high-calibre researchers, who are supported by the JST, to make research visits to Europe, where they will temporarily join ERC-funded research teams.
ERC President Jean-Pierre Bourguignon said: "I am very pleased to launch another research initiative with a key funding body in Japan – a country that takes broad investment in R&I very seriously. Science knows no borders and the ERC is a strong believer in more scientific collaboration, which ultimately benefits all."
The ERC, part of the EU Horizon 2020 programme, provides grants to top research talent of any nationality who are willing to be based in Europe. So far, 32 scientists of Japanese nationality have obtained an ERC grant, hosted by universities and research organisation across Europe. In addition, it is estimated that around 300 team members of Japanese nationality have been engaged in ERC-funded projects. Following an agreement with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 2015, 18 Japanese researchers, funded by JSPS, have also visited ERC teams.
Further information: ERC