The Russian Federation

Cooperation in education, research and technology is one of the main pillars of German-Russian relations. In April 2005, both countries issued a "Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership in Education, Research and Innovation", which reiterated the political willingness of both countries to continue and intensify their successful cooperation in a wide range of research areas. The 1987 treaty on scientific and technological cooperation was amended on 16 July 2009. Germany's Federal Minister of Education and Research Annette Schavan and her Russian counterpart Andrej Fursenko launched the 'German-Russian Year of Education, Science and Innovation 2011-2012' to further strengthen this partnership.

---

German-Russian inter-governmental consultations, July 2011

The 13th Round of German-Russian inter-governmental consultations took place in Hanover on 19 July 2011. The governments of the two countries convened to exchange views on matters of bilateral cooperation in education and research. Federal Minister Annette Schavan and her Russian counterpart Dr. Andrej Fursenko inaugurated the German-Russian Year of Education, Research and Innovation in Moscow on 23 May 2011. The Ministers drew their preliminary conclusions and also agreed on measures and projects to be started in the months to come.

Germany's experience with its successful dual system of education and training is in great demand in view of the urgent need for skilled staff in Russia. Both parties agreed to host a German-Russian vocational training conference. The BMBF will also support the organization of a number of different conferences, symposia, workshops and exhibitions scheduled to take place in both Germany and Russia until May 2012. These events will address a broad range of topics and provide a platform for intensive dialogue. They include the German-Russian Symposium on the transfer of know-how and technology as the core responsibilities of institutions of higher education within society and a touring exhibition of the countries' joint marine and polar research. The results of German-Russian research will be on public display in various cities in both countries.

During their meeting the ministers agreed to assume joint patronage of an initiative introduced by the Goethe Institute in Moscow. The initiative entitled 'Deutsch unterwegs' (German on the move) is aimed at awakening and sustaining interest in learning the German language at over 200 schools in 18 cities throughout Russia.

The ministers also discussed the possibility of setting up a joint German-Russian funding programme for cutting-edge research. The objective is to provide even better and more focused support for future projects, for example on the protection and efficient use of natural resources. Federal Minister Schavan and Minister Fursenko emphasized that this would also provide the impetus for exchange among the younger generation of scholars.

Finally, the two ministers agreed in a Memorandum of Intent to strengthen cooperation in the field of supercomputing and to seek closer cooperation in general. 
 

Political framework for scientific and technological cooperation

The agreement on scientific and technological cooperation was signed at the German-Russian inter-governmental consultations held at Schloss Schleißheim near Munich on 16 July 2009. With the Federal Chancellor in attendance, Germany's signatories were Federal Minister Schavan and State Secretary Ammon of the Federal Foreign Office, and Minister Fursenko signed on behalf of Russia. The new agreement replaces the one signed between the Federal Government and the Government of the USSR on 22 July 1986, thus taking account of the changes which have occurred in the past twenty years. The main aims of Germany's cooperation with Russia are the development of collaborative relations between universities, non-university research institutions and scientific organizations, the intensification of bilateral cooperation in the area of innovation-orientated applied research between German and Russian companies, cooperation in vocational education and training, the exchange of young scientists, and the support of joint research and innovation structures.

The two heads of government signed the German-Russian "Joint Declaration on a Strategic Partnership in Education, Research and Innovation" in Hanover on 11 April 2005. The declaration is based on the Presidents' Programme that was agreed in 1998.

This joint initiative, which is coordinated by the BMBF, concentrates the joint activities in the fields of science, education, industry and public administration into three main areas:

• Research and Innovation (Partners: BMBF and Russian Ministry for Education and Science),
• Further training and qualification of senior staff in science and administration (Partners: Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation),
• Advanced training for senior staff in the public sector (Partners: Federal Ministry of the Interior and Presidential Administration of Russia).

There is a wide range of activities within the framework of the Strategic Partnership. In addition to the initiatives and direct measures initiated by both governments, these activities include the programmes and projects run by education and research institutions in both countries. The long-standing sectoral cooperation agreements between Germany and Russia in different fields of research are an important instrument for the implementation of the Strategic Partnership. The partnership is mainly geared towards the topics of the Federal Government's High-Tech Strategy.

The joint protocol signed by the German-Russian Commission for scientific and technical cooperation in March 2009 paved the way for even closer cooperation in the future. Cooperation in research and technology is also a component of the Saint Petersburg Dialogue. This discussion forum was launched in 2001 under the patronage of the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the President of Russia. The discussions take place alternately in Germany and Russia and aim to give fresh impetus to German-Russian relations. Participants are representatives from the public sphere and the private sector who are capable of acting as multipliers.
Federal Minister Schavan paid a visit to her colleague Fursenko in Moscow in February 2011. The main purpose of her trip to Russia was to make preparations for the German-Russian Year of Education, Science and Innovation 2011-2012.

The annual inter-governmental consultations are evidence of the special nature of the German-Russian partnership. The two governments convened in Hanover on 19 July 2011 for what was to be the 13th round of consultations. One outcome of the meeting was the signing of a Joint Declaration of Intent to intensify cooperation in the area of managing large volumes of data in supercomputers.

Key areas of cooperation

The national research priorities funded by the BMBF, which derive from the High-Tech Strategy 2020 for Germany, are reflected in the Ministry's specialist programmes. On the Russian side, the national research focus areas are defined in the Federal Target Programmes for 2007-2012. A comparison of the programmes in place in the two countries reveals considerable overlap of interests and thus potential to establish bilateral cooperation agreements. These areas of common interest in German and Russian research are expressed in special sectoral agreements which have determined key focus areas of cooperation since 1992.

• Development and Application of Accelerator Based Photon Sources
• Optical technologies
• Marine and polar research
• Innovation strategies and technologies for sustainable environmental protection and the efficient use of natural resources
• Information and communication technologies
• Biological research and biotechnology

Basic research at large facilities

(formerly Development and Application of Accelerator Based Photon Sources)

Cooperation between Germany and Russia in the area of basic research in physics at large-scale scientific facilities is traditionally very close and fruitful. Cooperation is founded on the scientific and technological cooperation agreement of 22 July 1986 as well as the cooperation agreement on the development and application of accelerator-based photon sources signed on 15 October 2007. These agreements define the priorities of cooperation as the joint development of synchotron radiation sources and free-electron lasers, the development of theoretical and practical foundations in accelerator technology and photon research. The cooperation is deriving new impetus from the current German-Russian commitment to the international large-scale scientific facilities being set up in Hamburg and Darmstadt. These are: The European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility (XFEL) and the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR).

A current research project at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (Centre for Materials and Coastal Research) and the Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (PNPI) will strengthen cooperation in the area of neutron scattering through the joint use of equipment. Neutron instruments no longer needed at Geesthacht are passed on to PNPI, where a new research platform was established in 2011 where German and Russian scientists will work together.

Optical technologies

Optical technologies are rapidly becoming a boom market in Russia. The annual market volume in the field of laser technology is estimated at 150 million US dollars - with average growth rates of 10%. Russian researchers are currently focussing on fibre optics as well as on non-linear and diffractive optics.

Germany and Russia are very successful in the field of optical technologies: Russia has produced several Nobel laureates in this area, and Germany is home to global market leaders in laser materials. A number of German-Russian testing and consulting centres for laser technology have been set up in Russia in the last few years to concentrate these strengths.
The purpose of the facilities for the industrial use of laser technology in Russia, headed by the Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH) and the Bavarian Laser Centre (BLZ), is to modernize Russian production processes with the help of laser technology and know-how from Germany.
In return, German enterprises will have easier access to the market in Russia's economically lucrative regions. As a result, the network, which is currently comprised of five laser centres, is equipped with modern laser technology from German market leaders such as Trumpf, LIMO Lissotschenko, Rofin Sinar, Jenoptik and Maschinenfabrik Arnold Ravensburg. Depending on their equipment, the centres are specialized in either the cutting or welding of metals, plastics and other non-metal raw materials, or in surface treatment.

Information and communication technologies

The many different contacts and partnerships in the area of information and communication technologies were established by the sectoral agreement on cooperation in information and communication technologies signed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Russian Ministry or Education and Science (MON) in February 2005. Russia and Germany are pursuing a systematic policy of innovation in this area, which involves all of the stakeholders in the innovation chain. The policy provides for improving access to technological know-how for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The bilateral funding provided through the BMBF's International Bureau and the Russian Fund for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises has now integrated this field as a new funding area, which will enhance German-Russian cooperation in this respect. A few initial active cooperation projects have already resulted, for example in the areas of embedded systems, human-technology interaction, logistics, and the provision of services. Microsystems engineering has been established as a field of its own. The largest number of applications for funding in any single field received in the past three years (32 of 150) and 14% of all funded projects were in ICT.

Biological research and biotechnology

The 21st century is the life sciences century. The life sciences provide essential insights into living organisms and ecosystems. Untold opportunities to find cures to diseases and devise new treatments will unfold. Germany and Russia recognized the scientific potential of this field back in 1994 and started to work on joint projects (sectoral agreements). The established cooperation projects in the areas of genome research and proteomics, bioinformatics, molecular medicine, systems biology and nutrition research will continue.

The fundamental new findings, the progress made with related technologies and their broad application in health, environmental and nutrition research will have a far-reaching impact on health care, the control of environmental hazards and the life of our society as a whole. Biotechnology applications are already reflected in many domains of life today, whether in the development of new drugs or the production of energy-efficient detergents.

Russia and Germany will expand their cooperation through a multitude of research projects. The two countries see cooperation in biotechnology as an important instrument for speeding up innovative developments in industry and agriculture. It involves not only networking premier scientific expertise in cutting-edge fields of biotechnological research, but also ensuring the speedy transfer to market of research results through transnational technology transfer processes.

Cooperation between Russia and Germany is supported by the biotechnology cooperation alliance. The main objective of the alliance is to initiate and establish a systematic and sustainable basis of cooperation between enterprises and scientific institutions in both countries. The alliance takes up classic research fields such as molecular biology or biochemistry as well as newer fields such as environmental and resource management.

Nanotechnology

Nanotechnological applications are already key in a wide variety of products and processes. The technology exploits the new functional properties of objects and material structures whose dimensions are on a nanometre scale, most commonly under 100 nm (1 nm = 10-9m). New electronic, magnetic and optical properties of materials are created as melting points are shifted and the catalytic activity, solubility and transportability of materials undergo complete change.

Knowledge gained in nanotechnology has an immediate impact on a wide range of scientific fields: whether it is the natural sciences, medicine or material science, nanotechnology opens up a new area of knowledge and scientific approaches to many researchers. Nanotechnology is considered an innovative key technology because of its interdisciplinary relevance and enormous exploitation potential.

Germany and Russia want to further intensify cooperation in the field of nanotechnology. An outstanding example of fruitful cooperation has been the establishment of the Russian-German Research Center 'Multifunctional nanostructured materials and formulations for life science' in Hamburg and Moscow. New technologies were developed for the production of customized multifunctional nanostructured materials. Another example is the German-Russian institutional partnership "Energy-relevant nanomaterials" between the University of Ulm and the Lomonosov University in Moscow. This institutional partnership resides at the Ulm Helmholtz Institute for Electrochemical Energy Storage (HIU) founded in January 2011. In cooperation with Prof. Alexej Khoklov, an eminent researcher and Vice-President of Lomonosov University in Moscow, funding will be provided in a three-year pilot project to establish the new German-Russian centre of excellence. The planned research on energy-relevant nanomaterials is clear proof of German-Russian cooperation in world-class research. 

Highlights of bilateral cooperation

In July 2010 Minister Schavan and her Russian counterpart Minister Fursenko agreed to launch the German-Russian Year of Education, Research and Innovation in 2011-2012 as a sign of mutual cooperation. The bilateral Year of Science aims to increase the visibility of successful existing cooperation agreements in both countries. It also provides the impetus to engage in future research and education cooperation projects between Germany and Russia. The governments of the two countries are working together with stakeholders from education, science and research to tap the potential of German-Russian cooperation. Industry will also participate in this process. This means that world-class research will benefit from the expansion of cooperation between institutions. The establishment of bilateral partnerships in vocational training will be funded in a German-Russian vocational training initiative. In addition, joint innovation partnerships will ease the translation of research results into marketable products. Finally, both sides will promote efforts to foster young research talent more intensively.

In addition to the joint Year of Science, a campaign to raise the visibility of German research excellence in Russia will begin in early 2012. This will be part of the campaign to promote Germany as a key location of innovation under the "Research in Germany - Land of Ideas" brand. The country-specific campaign in Russia seeks to raise awareness of Germany as a location for innovation and to further increase the visibility of German top-class research and cutting-edge technology. Efforts are meant to boost Germany's image in Russia as an attractive partner in education, research and innovation. A wide variety of different measures will enhance cooperation between German and Russian research institutions and innovation market leaders; new collaborative projects in the area of specialist training and education will be launched, and on the whole, they will trigger activities that advance even greater scientific exchange between both countries as well as economic ties.
Russian trade fairs will feature German presence, including that of small and medium-sized enterprises with research expertise.
The German Embassy in Moscow, in collaboration with the BMBF, the German Center for Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the regions of Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk, and the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences hosted a series of German-Russian conferences entitled "Innovations at Universities and Research Institutions: pathways to the economy". The first took place in Nizhny Novgorod on 17-18 June 2010 and the second in Novosibirsk on 23-24 June 2010. The conferences introduced plans and strategies to promote innovation at German and Russian institutions of higher education and research establishments and drew more than 200 participants from the sphere of politics, science, administration and industry in different regions of Russia and Germany.

One promising model of bilateral research activities is the meticulously coordinated collaboration between both countries on the development and construction of internationally renowned large-scale scientific facilities. The two countries are close partners in the financing and realization of the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg and the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt.

Activities of the science and intermediary organizations

TheGerman Research Association (DFG) considers science in Russia to be especially important and has been running a liaison office in Russia since 2003. It acts as a local contact partner for German and Russian scientists, advises on the establishment of new partnerships, and provides support to existing collaborations. The systematic development of institutional collaboration with Russian partner organizations enables the joint support of cooperative projects in all areas of basic research. Framework agreements on co-financing and mobility for researchers are in place with the following partners:

• Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN)
• Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFFI)
• Russian Foundation for the Humanities and Social Sciences (RGNF)

DFG provides support for cooperative projects with Russian partners in a number of ways. In addition to facilitating German-Russian cooperation projects (about 120 applications received in 2010), the DFG is funding 104 bilateral projects, increasingly through its Coordinated Programmes, and is also supporting two international research schools to foster young research talent. Funding was also granted for two Mercator visiting professorships in 2010. The DFG GEPRIS online database provides more extensive information about its funded research projects in progress, including information about research areas and participating individuals and institutions.

The 17 research centres in the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres network have sustained a number of cooperation projects with Russian partner institutes - for years and in some cases, for decades - in all of the research fields in which the Association is active (energy, Earth and environment, health, key technologies, structure of matter, aeronautics, space and transport), and in the field of basic research in particular. The Helmholtz Association cooperates closely with Russian research institutions through numerous international large-scale projects and in the development and operation of joint research infrastructures. Two outstanding examples of this cooperation are the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg and the international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt.
The GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and its Russian partner institute, the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics in Moscow, founded a FAIR-Russia Research Centre (FRRC) to facilitate the coordination of Russian funding for FAIR. The FAIR-Russia Research Centre is supported by funding from the impulse and networking fund of the President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres. Fifteen countries will make joint use of the facility, as resolved by government regulation on 27 February 2010.
The Helmholtz Association has had a Liaison Office in Moscow since 2005 which provides support to the Association's joint projects in Russia, facilitates information flow between the Helmholtz Centres and Russia's research elite and maintains contact with Russian and international partners in Russia in the area of research funding. Formal agreements exist between the Helmholtz Association and the following strategic partners:

• Russian Academy of Sciences (agreement signed in 2005)
• ROSATOM State Atomic Energy Corporation (memorandum on cooperation in nuclear science and technology signed in 2007)
• Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna (agreement signed in 2008)
• Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFFI) (cooperation agreement signed in 2006)

The Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Helmholtz Association instituted the Helmholtz-Russia Joint Research Groups funding programme under which the Helmholtz Association not only supports international cutting-edge research but also makes a contribution to boost the careers of first-rate young research talent in Russia. The cooperation between the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research in Braunschweig and the Moscow Central Institute for Tuberculosis is one example of efforts in this regard. Research is carried out on the genetic factors which contribute to the outbreak of tuberculosis. The Helmholtz Association, in collaboration with RFFI and its other Russian and German partners, engages in intensive dialogue about the opportunities and means to continue fostering and developing bilateral cooperation in research between Germany and Russia.

The wide range of research and the potential of the Fraunhofer Society are ideal for Russian partners to tie in their activities. Many of the Fraunhofer Society's institutes maintain strong cooperation agreements with businesses and scientific institutions in Russia. In particular, the fields of microelectronics and automotive technology, mechanical engineering, power plants, and transport and logistics are key focus areas that the Fraunhofer institutes pursue in their collaboration with Russian partners.

The Max Planck Society (MPG) concluded an agreement with the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2001 on general cooperation in science, the exchange of scientists, and the joint support of young scientists through the establishment of junior research groups and partner groups. In addition, the MPG concluded an agreement with the Siberian Branch of the Academy in 2003, in which the two partners agreed to construct a measurement tower in Siberia and also to cooperate at a more general level.

Through its partner groups the MPG supports top-class young scientists from abroad who return to their country of origin after a research internship at one of the Max Planck institutes to head a working group set up by their home institution. This 'returnee' programme has met with great success in Russia. There are currently three active partner groups in Moscow and Ekaterinburg.

There are a total of 87 research institutes and scientific institutions which belong to the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Association. Their efforts focus on the strategic and topic-oriented study of issues that affect the whole of society, providing jobs for more than 16,000 people. The Leibnitz institutes focus on topics ranging from the natural sciences, engineering and environmental sciences to economics, the social sciences, aeronautics, and the humanities. A number of institutions within the Leibniz Association have close contacts to Russian scholars; projects are in areas that include agricultural economics, materials research, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, and soil zoology.

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) also has an office in Moscow. It has information centres in St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. DAAD is also represented by some 40 lecturers at Russian institutions of higher education. The DAAD provides funding for mobility between Russia and Germany to nearly 4,000 Russian and 1,600 German academics every year and supports about 200 cooperative agreements between Russian and German institutions of higher education. This makes Russia the partner country with the highest number of exchanges in Eastern Europe. New partnership scholarship programmes such as the Michail Lomonosov and the Immanuel Kant Programmes, which are co-funded by the Russians, have assumed a special role. The German Centre for Research and Innovation, which is currently under construction in Moscow, is meant to further strengthen ties.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Russia has four core focus areas:

• Providing support to young scientists
• Initial and continuing vocational training for management and young future senior management staff in administration and industry
• Expansion of a strategic cooperation network
• Operation of a network of scientists in leadership positions at central and specialized scientific organizations, associations and academies to enable long-term cooperation between institutions of higher education, scientific institutions, researchers and scientists.

In addition to receiving research fellowships and research prizes from the Foundation, scientists from the Russian Federation have the opportunity to travel to Germany and carry out their own research projects with a hosting institution and cooperation partner.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation promotes scientific cooperation between world-class researchers from abroad and Germany. More than 800 research fellowships and prizes are awarded for this purpose every year. The Foundation fosters a worldwide network of more than 25,000 Humboldt scholars from all disciples in over 130 countries, 44 of whom are Nobel laureates.
In recent years the German Rectors' Conference (HRK) has directed the focus of its relations with Russia on implementing the objectives of the Bologna process. A number of measures funded by the BMBF have been carried out in the 'Bologna' working group in the course of the Saint Petersburg dialogue. One such project conducted with the Competence Centre Hessen for Cooperation in Research and Higher Education with Central and Eastern Europe was the compilation of the trilingual "Glossary on the Bologna Process: English-German-Russian". This was published by the German Rectors' Conference in 2006 and is also available online.

It has become apparent in recent years that the implementation of the Bologna Process in the Russian Federation has made significant progress. In respect of cooperation among institutions of higher education, the German Rectors' Conference Higher Education Compass (Hochschulkompass) reports 714 cooperation projects between German and Russian universities and scientific institutions (as of 30 June 2011).

The Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) is the centre of excellence for vocational research and for the progressive development of vocational education and training in Germany. The Institute works to stimulate innovation in vocational education and training systems and develops recommendations for improvements in initial and continuing vocational training. Representatives from BIBB signed a cooperation agreement with the Institute for Development in Vocational Training in Russia back in 1993. More than 20 joint projects to modernize Russia's vocational education and training system were carried out in the 1990s alone. The BIBB's iMOVE initiative supports German providers of vocational education and training in designing programmes to meet Russian needs.

The Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina is Germany's National Academy of Sciences. It brings together leading scientists to develop the scientific expertise with which to advise policy-makers and society. At international level the Leopoldina and other national academies bring their expertise to bear in the EU and the G8 countries. Under the leadership of the Russian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the national academies of the G8 countries and those of Brazil, China, India and South Africa issued a 'Joint Science Academies' Statement: Energy Sustainability and Security', which was addressed to their respective countries. The establishment of a 'Young Academy' composed of young scientists from Germany and Russia was announced at the opening ceremony of the Year of Science on 23 May 2011 in order to further strengthen ties. The foundation of a German-Russian academy is a matter of high priority for the BMBF.