WP15 - Objectives

To initiate, develop, and foster relationships with leading international groups undertaking research in the technical areas covered by the NoE. The overall aim is to establish the NoE as instrumental in establishing research collaborations as viewed for outside Europe. These activities are expected to enhance the reputation of EU-based institutions, research groups and individuals involved.

 WP15 - Activities

It is clearly important to focus NoE collaborations so that interaction with the leading international research groups, with particular attention to US, Canada and Japan, but also with Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, is fostered and extended. Currently individual partners have many international contacts, some formal some informal. The work of WP15 will commence by collecting these existing contacts, together with information on the type and extent of the collaboration. Based on this, WP15 task force will develop a policy for international collaboration which will include mechanisms for establishing and sustaining relationships. This policy will also ensure that individual relationships are not disturbed.

WP15 will exploit the possibility to establish collaborative activities under bi-later funding with international partners. One of the strong examples is a possible collaboration with US-based researchers funded by the National Science Foundation. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the U.S. Government, established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, with one of the main missions to ¿initiate and support, through grants and contracts, scientific programs to strengthen scientific and engineering research potential, and education programs at all levels, and appraise the impact of research upon industrial development and the general welfare.¿ The international dimension of the NSF mission is to advance U.S. science and engineering through international activities and to ensure that U.S. scientists and engineers develop the international experience and capabilities to support and participate in these activities. The international activities, such as organization of bi- laterally funded workshops are supported and managed by many of the Foundation's divisions. Additionally the Foundation manages a set of programs that are explicitly dedicated to the collaborative projects and advanced training of U.S. scientists and engineers overseas. A task force defined by the Dissemination and Training Board (DT-B) of the JPA Committee will exploit international interaction possibilities and set up a (limited) number of formal international collaborations. A joint workshop on the future of research in optical networks will be organized