A team led by NUS' International Relations
Office (IRO) with participants from the
Office of Research (ORE), the Faculty of
Engineering (FOE) and the Faculty of Science
(FOS) braved the Russian winter to call on
leading Russian universities and institutes,
which have been a source of research and
development in recent years. They
successfully signed twelve memorandums of
understanding (MOUs) for educational and
research collaboration.
The twelve institutions
in Moscow and St Petersburg will kick off
the IRO-led Eastern Europe Research
Scientists and Students (EERSS) Programme.
The program, targeted for an initial run of
three years, will eventually cast its net
wider to cover other institutions in the
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and
other East European countries.
The EERSS will provide
opportunities for academics and students to
experience different educational,
intellectual and research environments. The
interactions between academics, scientists
and students from these institutions and NUS
are likely to spawn new exchanges and
project collaboration, leading to closer,
long-term institutional relationships.
With funding for 90
scientists over the initial three-year
period, the program has already attracted
over 60 applications from Russian academics
and scientists. By 2003, the program will be
extended to students. It hopes to benefit at
least 30 students (15 from NUS and another
15 from the Russian institutions).
NUS hosts who collaborate
with these scientists will be funded for
average two-month stints at their Russian
partner institutions to work on joint
projects, conduct seminars, build rapport
with Russian colleagues and experience the
research environment and developments there
first-hand. NUS students selected for the
program will spend six months at the
respective partner university working on
related research projects and attending
relevant coursework where applicable. They
will receive monthly allowances.
- Joy
Tan
|
