Potential benefits of collaboration

Potential benefits of collaboration

Computer science and engineering research provide the foundations upon which information technologies are developed. These technologies are driving fast changes of, among other aspects of everyday life, economic models, communication infrastructures, business practices, and international relations. International in both dimension and nature, global information systems require international cooperation to arrive at a fundamental understanding of their behavior and engineering. The challenge of arriving at this understanding and the need to leverage multi-country expertise is increasingly apparent in e-commerce, Internet security, international corporation operations, telecommunications, and financial transactions. In these fields, the U.S. has been a leader in establishing information infrastructures and practices that, to be truly universal and effective, need to be enhanced before they can be generalized to other countries. Likewise, Chile must be prepared to be a full participant in the definition and establishment of global information systems in the near future if Chile is to remain a leading country in South America and maintain a stable, growing economy.

A thorough discussion of the benefits of international collaboration appears in the final report of an NSF-sponsored workshop on international collaboration on computer science [1]. The report makes the case for international collaboration as a vehicle for (see also Appendix 4)

• 
  leveraging international investments in science and technology
  
• 
  cost-sharing in efforts too large for the resources of a single country
  
• 
  accessing a large and diverse pool of international talent
  
• 
  discovering new paradigms for scientific exploration
  
• 
  developing international information processing infrastructures
  
• 
  training leaders in science and policy
  
• 
  training an information technology workforce to serve the needs of industry
  
• 
  establishing new companies through entrepreneurial efforts
  
• 
  amplifying the capabilities of individual researchers
  
• 
  creating well-educated, informed and empowered scientists and citizens.
  

The benefits described in this section indicate an urgent and vital need to accelerate international collaboration in computer science, computer information, and computer engineering. Providing the means and motivation for scientists to collaborate effectively across national and political boundaries would create infrastructure and synergies needed to advance knowledge, create new and improved technologies and provide solutions to coordinated global problems that cannot be solved locally. In addition, international collaboration will train U.S. researchers to participate in global projects, and position U.S. industry to both provide and participate in the development of new technologies to support international efforts.[1]

While the benefits are stated in the context of U.S.-realities and interests, similar benefits are readily apparent for Chile. Recent events in the U.S. and Chile make this a critical time and a unique opportunity for collaborative efforts among CISE scientists. In the U.S., the NSF has just initiated a large initiative on information technology research. In Chile, several successful research programs have been established between Chile and countries in Europe, South America, and Asia. Chile has a strong computer science research community that is the best in South America in terms of numbers of publications and research proposals per capita (see Appendix 5). Chile is well-positioned to be a leading country in information technology development in South America, and the timing is right for the establishment of new initiatives in information systems research. There is a clear opportunity and sense of urgency in moving now to establish cooperative initiatives that will positively impact CISE research and information technology in both the U.S. and Chile for many years to come. Establishing programs to stimulate and sustain international collaboration in information technologies requires a strong national commitment and national policies that ensure long-term investment in both computer science research and national information infrastructure.

I.Meeting the challenges of international collaboration

The working groups identified several current challenges to scientific cooperation between the United States and Chile. Some of the challenges are inherent to the nature of the research area considered by each group, but several challenges cut across areas and have a systemic or structural nature. To address the identified challenges, the participants proposed strategies for the implementation of collaborative projects and recommendations for systemic change to funding agencies.

Personnel challenges

International collaborative research requires a vital community of researchers in each of the participating countries. To be successful researchers, academics must have time to conduct research (in addition to teaching activities) and easy access to a computing and communications infrastructure. To attract and retain graduate students who often are subjected to intense recruiting by industry, it is necessary to provide them with motivation, incentives, and excellent conditions under which they can pursue graduate studies.

Currently, in the U.S., the overhead costs associated with establishing international efforts are significantly higher than for national projects, thus discouraging potential participants from engaging in joint U.S.-Chile research. In Chile, there are several international collaboration programs that provide simpler mechanisms for the submission and funding of proposals than the procedures required by the U.S. NSF. Communication among participants is essential; failure to communicate through visits and electronic meetings produces “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” consequences. Solutions to these issues require, above all, a long-term commitment to research projects through programs that are sufficiently capitalized, and policies at both universities and funding agencies for creating and sustaining collaborative efforts. One example of such a policy is for federal agencies to support faculty time for research, and for universities to allow reduction in teaching responsibilities proportional to this time commitment. Specific mechanisms that should be explored to address the above-mentioned challenges include the following:

• 
  Students and faculty should be given time and means for short- and long-term visits to collaborating institutions. In particular, scholarships should be promoted for PhD students from Chile to carry out research and graduate studies in the U.S. for periods of time that could range from six months to three years; these students could be jointly supervised by U.S. and Chilean faculty.
  

• 
  In order to further promote CISE research in Chile, a center for information technology research involving multidisciplinary researchers from several universities should be established; new CISE faculty positions should be created and the number of graduate training scholarships should be increased. Faculty supported for research projects within the institute should be released from teaching responsibilities proportional to the time required to meet research obligations.
  

Download 203.48 Kb.

Share with your friends: