The leaders of the two countries’ research policy groups met in the French capital to discuss strategies on how to cope with challenges that are faced by both countries in the field of research. These include climate change, making universities and research centres more appealing to students and scientists, the further development of research infrastructures, the interaction of science and industry as well as the more effective cooperation between German and French research and funding institutions. Professor Frieder Meyer-Krahmer, Secretary of State in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and the French Minister for Universities and Research, Valérie Pécresse, chaired the meeting.

The agreements, signed at the end of the Forum between the Research Centre Jülich and the Commisariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA), the Leibniz Society and the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), and between the Fraunhofer Society and the Association des Instituts Carnot, are the basis of strategic partnerships dealing, in particular, with topics such as high-performance computing, new technologies in the energy sector and the nanosciences, the sequencing of the wheat and rye genome, nutrition as well as research and development together with industrial partners.

At the end of the Forum, the German Federal Research Minister, Annette Schavan, the French Research Minister, Valérie Pécresse, and the President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Professor Helmut Schwarz, presented this year’s German-French Gay-Lussac-Humboldt Awards. Those who received awards are: Dr. Friedhelm Bechstedt, Physics, Friedrich Schiller University of Jena; Prof. Dr. Jörg Hacker, Microbiology, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg; Prof. Dr. Johannes Masing, Constitutional Law, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg; Prof. Dr. Jörg Rüpke, History of the Early Religions in the Mediterranean Areas, University of Erfurt; Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Werner, Theoretical Chemistry, University of Stuttgart; Prof. Jean Jacod, Mathematics, Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6; Prof. Patrice Pavis, Theatre Studies; Université Paris 8; Prof. Clément Sanchez, Department of Chemistry, Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6. Now in its 25th year, the Prize was awarded to outstanding German and French scientists whose work and dedication has made considerable contributions to strengthening the cooperation between German and French researchers.

Source: BMBF - 29.02.2008