Research and Development Policies in the Southeast European Countries in Transition: Republic of Croatia

3. Programmes and projects

The European Science Foundation (ESF) now has 62 members from 21 countries, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) has 18 countries represented. The PHARE Programme was launched not only to provide technical assistance and economic support, but also to spread the notion of “continental responsibility” in these fields. The same logic was followed in the design of the TECO-COPERNICUS Programme of Scientific and Technological Cooperation. In three years of its existence, the Programme financed 3,200 projects (scholarships, joint projects, scientific meetings) to the tune of several dozens million euros. The intention behind these projects is to develop those disciplines in individual countries (in transition) which are traditionally present in these countries and for which there is a critical mass of established scientists available. Such programmes should help reduce the brain drain. Particularly interesting in this regard are the integration structures and programmes that facilitate access to large research machines¹⁰⁶. For very large and very expensive equipment, user groups should be established to coordinate their experiments.

Mention ought to be made of EUREKA, with 700 projects in 21 countries and with funds exceeding 8 billion euros. The genome code studies necessitated an organized network of 147 researchers from 31 European countries. Smaller countries are particularly interested in programmes in the fields of education (ERASMUS and TEMPUS), information science (ESPRIT), etc. In 1994, the European Science and Technology Assembly (ESTA) was established as a consultative body to the European Commission, with the role corresponding roughly to that of the National Research Council in the United States or the Science Council in Japan. The purpose of such integration linkages is to make Europe “a society of friendship”, “society of knowledge”, and “society of understanding”¹⁰⁷. The European Union has adopted a budget of 14.96 billion euros to finance the Fifth European Framework Programme on Research and Technological Development (FPS) for the period of 1999-2000¹⁰⁸. In addition to the EU member countries, this programme is also open to the following countries: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia. These countries are required to pay much smaller contributions, and even these can be co-financed from the PHARE Programme or the EU assistance scheme. It is worth noting that the EU’s Fourth Framework Programme (FP4) funded 6,000 projects with 3 billion euros in 1997 alone. The total number of projects funded through FP4 was over 15,000¹⁰⁹.

In 2003, Framework Programme 6 (FP6) will be launched and will be established on new foundations of the so-called single “European Research Area”¹¹⁰. The budget allocation for the Framework Programme 6 is 16.27 billion euros.

Croatia has been left out of all or most of these integrative efforts and the reasons were mainly political. Just a few possibilities to sustain the international scientific cooperation were preserved. Among these the international centres of excellence should be particularly mentioned.

International centres of excellence are a special form of international scientific activity¹¹¹. Their role is to strengthen the ties with the developed world and ongoing international cooperation. Such centres would be an effective way of reducing the brain drain. They should be managed by best scientists (especially Croats living and working abroad). The existence of centres of excellence would be a good reference for economic investments in Croatia.

Among the international centres of excellence in Croatia, mention ought to be made of the Inter-University Centre (IUC) in Dubrovnik, which has been active successfully for over 30 years.

The International University Centre in Dubrovnik was established in 1971, as an international institution of postgraduate studies. Over the 30 years of its existence it has developed into a major meeting point for the exchange of ideas between academics from the East and West. About 50,000 teachers and students have so far attended the IUC courses and conferences. The Centre focuses on specialized postgraduate classes dealing with regional problems, as well as the challenges of globalization. The courses are designed at the proposal of the IUC member institutions. The funding comes from the member universities and national and international foundations. Although the courses are held at the postgraduate level, they are also open for especially motivated undergraduate students. New international courses are being planned in the following fields: Balkan studies, conflicts and peace, information science, life sciences (especially bioinformatics), Mediterranean studies, public health, reconstruction of science and higher education in the region, regions and regionalism.