Argentina

Argentina is highly active in the field of scientific research and development. The country's R&D structure is well integrated in international collaborations.

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Political framework for bilateral cooperation in education and research

Alongside Brazil, Chile and Mexico, Argentina is one of the Latin American countries with which Germany has been engaging in bilateral scientific and technological cooperation for many years.

The 1969 intergovernmental agreement between Germany and Argentina forms the basis of bilateral cooperation in science and technology. Our cooperation partner in Argentina is the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation (MINCyT), which was established in November 2007.

The Argentine government under Cristina Fernández de Kirchner strengthened the role of research and education for social development with the establishment of the Ministries of Science, Technology and Innovation and of Education and Culture in December 2007.

The key areas of scientific and technological cooperation (STC) are determined by a Mixed STC Commission, which last met in Buenos Aires in November 2008. The next STC Cmmission meeting is planned to take place in Germany in 2012.

Key areas of German-Argentine cooperation

Germany and Argentina cooperate very intensively in various fields of biotechnology, particularly for medical and agricultural applications.

Climate-relevant Antarctic research is a significant and active area of cooperation. On the German side, this is largely thanks to the initiative of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Core areas of cooperation include joint expeditions on the vessel Polarstern and work undertaken at the Argentine Antarctic Station Jubany and its Dallmann laboratory. In addition to Argentina and Germany, the Netherlands is also involved in this work. A follow-on contract for scientific collaboration at the Dallmann laboratory was concluded on 5 April 2006, further extending the partnership established in 1994.

The Pierre Auger Observatory, which is located in the Argentine Pampas, is the world's largest facility for the measurement of highest-energy cosmic rays. In addition to the Karlsruhe Research Centre at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Universities of Aachen, Karlsruhe, Siegen and Wuppertal and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn are also involved in the Pierre Auger project. The inauguration ceremony for the Pierre Auger Observatory took place in Malarüe, Mendoza, from 13 to 15 November 2008. High-ranking government representatives and scientists from 17 countries (including Germany) took part.

Highlights of bilateral cooperation

The DAAD-funded International Master Programme in Biomedical Sciences (IMBS) of the Albert-Ludwig-Universität Freiburg an the University of Buenos Aires was launched in August 2008. The official opening event took place on the occasion of the first German-Argentine Week of Scientific and Technological Cooperation.

The Science Week took place in Buenos Aires in mid November 2008. The bilateral government commission for scientific and technological cooperation met as part of this Science Week. Further events included a seminar to present the bilateral collaborations of the past ten years, an innovation forum on climate protection through sustainable technologies as well as further events of the DAAD and the German-Argentine Chamber of Commerce (AHK).

The bicentenary festivities also included an exhibition of the Science Tunnel of the MPG in Buenos Aires in March and April 2010, which was supported by the BMBF and MinCyT. More than 45,000 people visited the science exhibition, including almost all school classes of Buenos Aires.    

A BMBF innovation forum on environment and sustainability was held in Buenos Aires in June 2010, focusing on water protection and renewable energy. A total of 39 joint future cooperation projects were planned at the forum, and their feasibility is currently being considered. 

A survey on the research landscape in Argentina, the Forschungslandkarte Argentinien, was conducted on behalf of the BMBF. This was published at BMBF's information portal "kooperation-international.de" in May 2011.

The MPG partner institute for biomedicine will be officialy opened in early September 2011. The institute was established in 2007 as the world's second MPG partner institute. A State Secretary of the BMBF will probably visit Buenos Aires on that occasion and will conduct intergovernmental consultations on education and research.

Funding for collaborations with Argentina

Bilateral scientific and technological cooperation (STC) with Argentina has evolved continuously since 1999. Current topics of mutual interest include environmental research and technology (including renewable energy and marine and Antarctic research), biotechnology, medicine, materials research, nanotechnologies, physical and chemical technologies, information and communication technologies, and social sciences.

Joint calls for proposals are important for bilateral cooperation and they act as catalysts for Argentina's research community. Antarctic cooperation continues to be of special common interest. The BMBF and MINCyT publish joint calls for mobility projects on an annual basis (current/most recent period for submission of proposals: 1 March to 1 July 2011).

Special activities of scientific and intermediary organization

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) has been supporting research fellows from Argentina since 1954 and has awarded a total of six research prizes to Argentine scientists, four of them in the 1990s. In recent years, the Humboldt fellows in Argentine have organized several Humboldt Club meetings as well as regional and interdisciplinary conferences (Humboldt-Kollegs).  

The DAAD has been supporting the International Master Programme in Biomedical Sciences (IMBS) of the Albert-Ludwig-Universität Freiburg and the University of Buenos Aires since it was launched in August 2008. This is the first German cooperative course of study in Argentina. The first year group completed the programme in 2010.
Twenty bilateral mobility projects are currently being supported as part of the PROALAR programme for project-based personnel exchange. Furthermore, the DAAD is strongly involved in the DAHZ project (German-Argentine Centre for Higher Education), which was initiated by the German Embassy in Buenos Aires as a gift for Argentina on the occasion of the country's bicentenary. The German coordination office of the DAHZ is hosted by the DAAD in Bonn.  A call that was published to initiate bilateral university collaborations and establish joint study programmes ended in mid 2011. Funding of the project in an initial phase is ensured jointly by the DAAD, the Argentine Ministry of Education (MinEdu) and the Science and Technology Association of the German Industry in Argentine (ACTAA), which was established in 2009.
 
The German Research Association (DFG) and the Argentine National Research Council (CONICET) concluded a framework agreement on scientific cooperation in 1987. Mobility and research projects with Argentina are being funded under DFG programmes. For example, two thematic workshops on physical chemistry were held in Argentina in 2009 and 2010 which were funded together with CONICET.    

A Max Planck Society (MPG) partner institute was established in Argentine in late 2007 specializing in biomedicine. This was the second MPG partner institute worldwide following the establishment of the institute in Shanghai. Its official opening as a centre of excellence for biomedical research is planned for early September 2011. The institute was funded by the Argentine Ministry of Research (via CONICET); the MPG is involved indirectly through the cooperation projects of various Max Planck Institutes. An Argentine researcher was selected in summer 2008 under a call to participate in a three-stage support programme for young Latin American researchers. He will establish a research team at a German MPG partner institute within a period of five years. Subsequently, the Volkswagen Foundation will support his research activities in Argentina for another five years, with the prospect of a further five years' funding from the Argentine Research Council CONICET.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology (IWS) is working on a research project to develop micro- and nanostructured materials for the production of biofunctional components and surfaces together with the Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. The researchers can work and exchange experience and expertise at the partner institution for a period of up to one year. The research partners are tackling different tasks: the Argentine side is developing polymers, which are structured by researchers at the IWS and then developed further for application in the field of biotechnology. Beside the IWS, the Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing (IZFP) is also involved in cooperation with Argentina. A cooperation agreement was signed with the Argentine Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) in Buenos Aires in 2007. The thematic focuses include non-destructive testing, risk analysis and materials reliability.

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), a research centre of the Helmholtz Association, is involved in the Pierre Auger Observatory in the Argentine Pampas.  

According to the Higher Education Compass of the HRK (German University Rectors' Conference), there are currently 101 collaborations between German and Argentine research institutions.