Page 43 - Revista del Observatorio de la Internacionalización de la Educación SuperiorVol 3. 2019

State of Play in the EU–CELAC Common Research Area
de sole, m.

Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Honduras, Mexico, monitored, and new and more ambitious coo-
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. peration instruments may be proposed if their
Their contact details can be found on the Horizon evaluations produce positive results.
2020 Participant Portal. The new President of the European Commission,
The central role of MSCA NCPs is to provide, Ursula von der Leyen, appointed the Bulgarian
in the appropriate language, general information Marya Gabriel as Commissioner for Innovation
on MSCA funding opportunities, to raise awareness and Youth, Research, Education and Culture.
of the programme, to guide potential applicants In her In her Mission Letter to Ms. Gabriel, Ms.
in choosing the most appropriate type of action, von der Leyen laid emphasis on the importance
to advise on administrative procedures and con- of young people, innovators and researchers as
tractual issues (including such means as info days, ‘the best investment in our future’, stating that
conferences, seminars and newsletters), to provide ‘Education, research and innovation will be key
training and assistance on proposal writing and to our competitiveness and our ability to lead in
to assist in partner search. The exact portfolio of the transition to a climate-neutral economy and
activities of the MSCA NCPs in the CELAC region new digital age ...By cooperating across langua-
varies from one country to another and depends on ges, borders and disciplines, we can collectively
the given level of experience. address the societal challenges and skills shorta-
In the framework of the EU-funded Net4Mo- ges that currently exist.’ She also referred to the
bility and Net4Mobility+ projects, training and need to ‘maximise the potential of our exchange
twinning activities for MSCA NCPs have been programmes to foster international cooperation in
organised to enhancing their competences and education, research and innovation.’
the quality of service they provide. In 2017, a The new commission will enter into force on
CELAC-dedicated twinning event took place in 1 December 2019, and we expect continuity and
Bogota, Colombia, gathering experienced and advancement in the establishment of an EU–CELAC
recently appointed MSCA NCPs from Colombia, common research area.
El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Spain
and Uruguay with the main objective of exchan-
ging knowledge and best practices.
References
What are the next steps?
EU-CELAC. (2016). EU-CELAC cooperation in
Currently, the MSCA are the most international part Research Infrastructures.
of Horizon 2020, accounting for more than 50% of EU-CELAC. (2017a). EU-CELAC Joint Initiative
all participation of third countries. on Research and Innovation (JIRI). Retrieved from
The European Commission is fully committed to http://alcuenet.eu/assets/Joint%20Communique_
building upon MSCA goals and supporting around clean.pdf
15 000 non-EU researchers by 2020. It intends to EU-CELAC. (2017b). EU-CELAC Joint Initiative
further strengthen the international mobility and on Research and Innovation (JIRI). Retrieved from
cooperation components of the programme under https://ec.europa.eu/research/iscp/pdf/eu-celac_
the next Framework Programme. joint_032017.pdf
The next SOM meeting will be held in Brus- EU-CELAC. (2017c). Roadmap for EU - CELAC
sels before the end of 2019. During the meeting, S&T cooperation. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.
the progress towards CELAC integration will be eu/research/iscp/pdf/policy/celac_roadmap_2017.pdf

Revista Obies • Bogotá-Colombia • Vol. 3 de 2019 • pp. 38-43
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