On February 22nd an International Conference "EU-Russia Cooperation: Priorities for Science and Technology 2007-2013" took place in Moscow, hosted by the Russian State University - Higher School of Economics. It has been organized by the Ministry of Education & Science of the Russian Federation and the European Commission under the auspices of the German Presidency of the European Union. The conference was dedicated to strengthening international S/T cooperation between the EU and Russia during the next seven years.

An all-around report about the conference as well as the entire set of presentations can be downloaded from the web-site of the Higher School of Economics.

The prospects for EU-Russia S/T cooperation of mutual interest were discussed in parallel thematic afternoon sessions focusing on different priority areas of the 7th Framework Programme of the EU (2007-2013) and the Russian Federal Targeted R/D Programme(2007-2013).

The main attention during the afternoon session on “Research Infrastructures” has been paid to prospects of cooperation between Russia and EU in creation of new and Russian participation in already existing Research Infrastructures, as well as to discussion of the experience in this area.

Mr. Jacek Gierlinski, Vice-president of Executive Board of the European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) has presented the Roadmap of the general cooperation strategy on Research Infrastructures (RI). He has highlighted the primary goals of ESFRI: to foster an “open method of coordination” between different countries, to discuss the long term vision at European level and to support the development of a European RI policy, to bring initiatives and projects to a point where decisions by ministers are possible.
35 major projects from about 200 proposals have been chosen for the ESFRI roadmap addressing 7 priority fields of research: "Social Science and Humanities", "Environmental Sciences", "Energy", "Biomedical and Life Sciences", "Material sciences", "Astronomy, Astrophysics and the Nuclear Physics", "Computer Data Treatment, Particle and Space Physics". Several of them require a global approach, implying participation of Australia, China, India, the USA, Russia, Japan and Southern Africa. In short- and intermediate term perspective critical issues for ESFRI are developing of transferable and global financial and legal structures for Research Infrastructures, ensuring of the human capacity and making it attractive for young people; building of interfaces with industry.

The coordinator of Research Infrastructures Unit of Directorate-General for (EC) Ms. Elena Righi-Steel has explained in detail in her presentation what may be understood as "Research Infrastructures" in 7th Framework Programme of the EU. These are facilities, resources, and related services used by the scientific community for conducting leading-edge research, as well as transmission, exchanges and preservation of knowledge. This can in particular include major scientific equipment; scientific collections, archives and any other kind of structured information; ICT-based e-infrastructures and entities of a unique nature, used for research.
The objectives of the RI action of the EC are enhancement of the use and development of the best existing research infrastructures in Europe, help in building of new research infrastructures of pan-European interest needed by the European scientific community, supporting the effective implementation of the programme by fostering cooperation among National Contact Points (NCP) and promoting measures to identify emerging needs. The RI action under 7th FP is open to participation of operators of research infrastructures, any public research organisations (e.g. universities), industry (e.g. equipment manufacturers) and public authorities or funding agencies at national and/or regional level.

The idea that the common Europe needs a new “knowledge-based, instead of resource-based” diversified economy has been underlined in the speeches of Mr. J.Gierlinski and Mrs. E.Righi-Steel. This is the main reason for new efforts on creating European Research Area (ERA), like strategic planning (for at least 10-20 years), a drastically increased funding (40% compared to 6th FP), better consistency within FP7 (targeted calls), better opportunities for participation of 3rd Countries (e.g. Russia), with or without EC contribution and, at last, the simplified procedure of participation (compared to the preceding FPs).

The middle part of the session was dedicated to the reports of European and Russian scientists, presenting existing (or planned) research infrastructures.

Prof. Gennady Kulipanov, Head of Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has introduced constructed in Novosibirsk Free Electron Laser (NovoFEL), being the most powerful FEL worldwide at the present time. The scientific and technological applications of this unique installation can vary in a wide range: from separation of isotopes and mass producing of stable isotopes (e.g. 28Si, 15N, 13C) up to treatment of polymer surfaces (aiming changes in their mechanical and chemical properties) and even energy transfer to space. He has advanced, that Russian scientists would invite European colleagues to use this and to take part in constructing new equipment. One of the greatest technological problems in the modern industry is recycling of waste. This issues an urgent social challenge for chemists: to create new raw materials basis for the sustainable development.

Prof. Valery Bukhtiyarov from Novosibirsk, has shown what solutions Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) could provide. This organization with branches in St.-Petersburg, Volgograd and Omsk, has developed and flexible infrastructure, which can be used for the development, demonstration and scaling up new high-tech processes of the conversion of renewable feedstock into valuable chemical products. The chemists have been working on a wide range of processes, as e.g. transformation of a-pinene (the main component of available pine-tar oil), lactic acid, starch, tallic acids, rice husk and other large-ash-biomass; utilization of bioethanol, hydrogenation of vegetable-oils and production of biodiesel. The speaker gave special accent to the BIC’s Volgograd pilot plant for fine organic synthesis, allowing in brief terms (less than 2 weeks) to shift production from one compound to another.

Global climate changes are, apparently, the most essential problem in the modern world. Especially rapidly they are shown in polar areas; therefore polar researches are a subject of intensive scientific and ecological debate. In this context the construction of the new research ice breaker “Aurora Borealis” under the guidance of ESFRI becomes to one of the major infrastructural projects of the next years.
Dr. Nicole Bibow from Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research (Bremerhaven) has presented this plan. Due to a branch of technical innovations like twin hull of a special shape; high propulsion power; azimuth propulsion system; azimuth bow thruster system, “Aurora Borealis” will belong to the most modern and powerful polar research ice-breakers worldwide, with an all-season and drilling capabilities. Its novel design and redundancy of main systems make the total loss of the vessel very unlikely, allowing it to operate as a “clean” ship and giving it potential for rescue operations. “Aurora Borealis” will be equipped with a suite of mission specific, modularised and containerised laboratories, allowing the ship to solve diverse scientific tasks.
The major challenges for this project are inter alia to generate a multinational polar research platform, motivating new countries to invest into their Arctic research programs, to develop into a „floating university” for education of a new generation of polar researchers, to build a platform for public outreach and educational activities and at last to prepare the road for commercial enterprises in the Arctic Ocean.

Prof. Yaroslav Strombach from RRC “Kurchatov Institute” presented the Research Infrastructure opportunities of this organization in nanotechnology and materials science area, which have received the special urgency at the recent time.
The Kurchatov Center for Synchrotron Radiation and Nanotechnology (KCSRNT) is the first facility in Russia dedicated to the production and use of synchrotron radiation. The combination of specific properties of synchrotron radiation like high flux, collimation and polarization, temporal structure and a wide wavelength range from infrared to the hard X-rays makes the source a powerful tool for the research in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and micro and nanotechnology. Alongside with the fundamental research in the various fields of science, particular attention at KCSRNT will be given to: structural diagnostics with subatomic resolution for designing of new materials with specific properties; creation and study of organic and inorganic thin-film nanostructures and two-dimensional systems with the assigned parameters; new methods of medical diagnostics; development of the technology based on the use of deep X-ray lithography for optical, electromechanical, biomedical, technological and other problems; precision chemical analysis for ecological researches.
The radiation source of the KCSRNT is optimal for the solution of such scientific and industrial problems and it has an essential advantage over the nuclear facilities used earlier for the scientific research and technologies, - it is ecologically safe. Kurchatov Center for Synchrotron Radiation and Nanotechnology, mentioned the speaker, is open for cooperation in all the directions with potential users of synchrotron radiation, with the scientific and technical research institutes.
Prof. Ya.Strombach also has noted, that the RRC “Kurchatov Institute” disposes of a branch of a new investigation equipment: two 300-keV electron microscopes “Titan”; focused ion beam “Helios NanoLab™”; electron lithography and other lithography systems; materials deposition and etching systems; ion implantation system; biological and medical investigation systems. The final part of the session was dedicated to the existing experience of cooperation between the EU and Russia in the field of research infrastructures.

Prof. Rustam Dagkesamanskii, the Head of Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (PRAO), a division of the Astro Space Center (ASC) of the Lebedev Physical Institute, has presented this institution and its participation at the international SKADS project.
PRAO is the main radio astronomy center in Russia, employing 45 astronomers and over 60 engineers and technicians. Three large radio telescopes have been building the unique experimental gear of the observatory: DKR-1000, a wide-band (30-120 MHz) cross-type meter- wave-lengths radio telescope with two arms of 40m x 1 km; BSA, a large phased array of 16384 full-wavelength (λ = 2.7 m) dipoles with total size is 187mx384m; and RT-22, a 22-meter fully steerable dish with λmin=8mm. In fact, the observatory represents a center of collective using, considering all applications the observation time on its radio telescopes irrespective of, in what country or what establishment the author of the corresponding proposal works.
PRAO has been taking part at the European consortium on designing huge radio telescope SKA (Square Kilometer Array) which construction is planned for 2012-2020. With a million square metres of radio-wave collecting area, the SKA will be 50 times more sensitive and able to survey the sky 10,000 times faster, than any existing radio telescope. It will make such new developments in astronomy possible, as studies on dark matter and dark energy, fundamental physics and particle astrophysics, origin and evolution of the Universe as a whole. The project joins around 30 institutions from the European Union, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Russia.

Prof. Dmitry Shtansky from the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys (MISA) has informed the audience about Russian experience in the development of European Research and Educational Infrastructure in the frame of the FP6 Project “EXCELL”.
The network joins 13 participating organizations from 7 countries under the coordination of the Arcelor Mittal Group and aims to address the current fragmentation of European research in multifunctional films by creating a virtual research institute and by organizing a European school for training in nano-films. EXCELL will coordinate and focus excellent research in nano-technologies, by creating a Virtual Institute for Multi-Functional Nano-Films (VINF). VINF will become a world driving force in doing advanced research on multifunctional films. Secondly, the Institute will establish a permanent European School of nanofilms, to train scientists and to encourage best practice in the exploitation of results. EXCELL, as primarily a basic research network, will benefit the exploitation of new technologies to address important social objectives, including improved safety, quality of life, gender equality, EU standardization, etc.
The EXCELL instruments are training courses (short courses of lectures and practical trainings in specific field for young scientists and PhD students); summer schools (clustered courses of lectures for young scientists and PhD students); Advanced Research Workshop (Review the state-of-the-art in the certain field by EXCELL members and invited world leaders and attraction of PhD students; International Congress (International forum which crowns two-year EXCELL stage); Industrial Oriented Workshop (special meeting and exhibition for dissemination and spreading of EXCELL results among industrial partners).

Concluding the session the co-chairman on Russian side Mr. Alexander Suvorinov, Head of Department for Innovation Development and Infrastructure of Federal Agency for Science and Innovation, resumed that Russia already has some experience of teamwork with the European collegues in the field of research infrastructures. However the presentations and the particular proposals of this meeting on European and Russian side have shown greater perspectives of mutually rewarding cooperation and use of unique research sets, installations and industrial complexes which would be of interest for potential European partners. Today, mentioned the speaker, the first step for full-fledged participation of Russia in 7th Framework program of the EU is made.