BUSINESS
Ireland and China sign research pact
19-12-2002
by Andrew McLindon
A EUR1m agreement between Ireland and China was signed on Thursday that aims to forge closer links between bio-tech and ICT researchers in the two nations.
The Ireland-China Research Collaboration Fund, which comes into effect from January 2003, will provide for exchanges of researchers in biotechnology, and information and communications technology. It is a jointly funded programme that will run until 2006 and support a number of projects each lasting up to two years.
The accord is between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, and is a follow-up to a framework agreement on scientific and technological co-operation by the two countries' governments that was signed in 2000.
According to William C. Harris, director general of SFI, the SFI's area of interest is in attracting and retaining leading researchers and engineers in the ICT and biotech areas in Ireland, and this deal will allow for the exchange of "first-rate" graduate students, post-doctoral students and researchers in these sectors between Ireland and China. "Building links between leading Irish-based researchers and their Chinese counterparts will be mutually beneficial in exchanging research ideas and raising the standard of research in both countries," he told ElectricNews.Net.
Although Japan is regarded as Asia's scientific and technological powerhouse, China is regarded as a coming power as it becomes increasingly industrialised. In 2001, its state-level high and new technology industrial development zones employed close to three million people.
However, a recent forum on China's science and technology zones heard that companies in such sectors needed to become more innovative. In particular, products produced in such zones have a relatively low technology content, and Chinese enterprises tend to be innovatively weak and lack core technology.
The Chinese deal is one of a series of agreements signed between Ireland and countries in the Australasian region over the last 18 months. Ireland has also endorsed deals with Singapore and Australia, and, most recently, with Hong Kong. The latter was designed to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, particularly in the ICT area.
Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Harney, TD, who signed the first agreement between Ireland and China, said that building research links with leading scientists and engineers in another cultural environment like China will help Irish-based researchers.
The Chinese Ambassador, Dr Sha Hailin, was equally positive about the deal, saying that it will build on the developing links between China and Ireland.
Under the National Development Plan, EUR635 million has been allocated to SFI to recruit and retain both researcher and research groups capable of developing "high-impact, internationally significant discoveries" in bio-tech and ICT. The SFI recently awarded EUR32 million over five years to 13 researchers working in these areas.
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