Successes of the COST programme 30 th January 2013 Nadine Castillo Director, Policy and Strategy Unit Malta Council for Science and Technology

2 Bringing researchers together to promote trans- national coordination of nationally-funded research COST contributes to reducing and opening the European Research Area to cooperation worldwide Funded through the EU’s Framework programme

 The 27 EU Member States u EFTA Member States  Iceland  Norway  Switzerland  Acceding & Candidate Countries  Croatia  Acceding & Candidate Countries  Croatia  FYR of Macedonia (FYROM)*  Turkey  Other Countries  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Republic of Serbia *  Republic of Serbia *  COST Co-operating States  Israel * not associated with FP COST Countries 36 COST Countries

A bottom-up approach to Research COST operates through Actions, grouped under 9 domains depending on the area of research they cover. Each Action lasts for 4 years Requires a minimum participation of 5 COST Member countries. Proposals for Actions submitted through a bi-annual open call for proposals. Researchers from different countries, who were not involved in the original consortium can also apply to join the COST Action

Importance of COST in Research 1.Capacity a)COST acts to connect high-quality scientific minds across Europe and internationally b)Enables the creation of communities of research in various fields 2.Networking a)Building consortia that can lead to the submission of transnational project proposals for the EU’s Framework Programme. b)Interdisciplinary, facilitating the participation from researchers outside the academic community, such as SMEs, public entities and NGOs. 3.Impact a)Formulation of publications and dissemination of information increasing impact on policy-makers and decision-making bodies.

§ Science management meetings (MC + WG) § Scientific workshops § Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) § Training Schools § Dissemination What is funded by COST? No funds for research as such but researchers get reimbursed for expenses in conjunction with flights and accommodation to COST meetings

Malta’s Representatives Dr. Janet Mifsud is the COST National Contact (CNC) and represents Malta in the Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) 1.Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences (BMBS) - Prof Giuseppe deGiovanni 2.Chemistry and Molecular Sciences and Technologies (CMST) – Prof Joe Grima 3.Earth System Science and Environmental Management (ESSEM) – Prof Ray Ellul 4.Food and Agriculture (FA) - Dr Anna McElhatton 5.Forests, their Products and Services (FPS) – Larry Shoemake 6.Individuals, Societies, Cultures and Health (ISCH) - Dr Helen Grech 7.Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) – Eng Saviour Zammit 8.Materials, Physical and Nanosciences (MPNS) – Prof Luciano Mule Stagno 9.Transport and Urban Development (TUD) - Dr Maria Attard 10.Transdomain Proposals Standing Assessment Body (TDP-SAB) - Dr Vincent Buhagiar

COST in Malta Since 2010, Malta’s participation in COST continued to increase several times fold, compared to other EU countries, across all the domains YearNo of new COST actions Malta participated in Number of new researchers from Malta taking part in COST actions

COST Events in Malta in 2012 April 2012: –“Quantum Malta 2012: Fundamental Problems in Quantum Physics” Joint Conference MP Fundamental Problems in Quantum Physics and MP Black Holes in a Violent Universe –Fire Engineering Conference and PhD Training School TU 0904 International Fire Engineering and Response November 2012: –Training School in Underwater Site Recording & Conservation TD 0902 Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology and Landscapes of the Continental Shelf (SPLASHCOS) Four COST Meetings being planned in Malta for 2013

10 Contact: Janet Mifsud Nadine Castillo