The fourth and last call between the Japan Science and Technology Agency and the ETH Zurichhas now been launched within the specific topic «Medicine for an Aging Society». Joint applications from Swiss and Japanese researchers are invited.
Deadline for submission is February 22, 2013. The aim of the program is to strengthen the collaboration between Japan and Switzerland within the field «Medicine for an aging society» to achieve world-class results, leading towards new innovative technologies. This specific area is currently undergoing remarkable development and is considered important by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), ETH Zurich and other Swiss Universities in order to achieve steady growth and sustainability in the long run. Specific research areas include:
- Mental illnesses and neurological disorders;
- Pre-emptive medicine
- Robotics and Rehabilitation
- Perspectives of Social Science (such as an interdisciplinary approach integrating social welfare, medicine, sports science, clinical psychology and politics. A pure social science proposal is not expected.)
Each selected project will be funded for a period of three years.
Background on the Japanese-Swiss Cooperation
The Japanese-Swiss Cooperation is one of several programmes established after the definition of priority countries for bilateral science and technology cooperation by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education and Research (SER) in their ‘message for the promotion of education, research and innovation 2008-2011’. Selected countries include: China, India, South Africa and Russia as first, and Japan Korea, Chile and Brazil as second priorities. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) is acting as Leading House for China and coordinating the cooperation programmes with Japan and Korea.
The SER is funding the Japanese-Swiss Cooperation over a period of four years (2008-2011). Based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed on March 7, 2008 between the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and ETH Zurich, the two partners have thus agreed to establish a new scheme for funding of Japanese-Swiss cooperative research projects in the field of “Medical Research” with a special focus on molecular aspects. The scheme thus enables to support joint research projects with a maximum sum of CHF 50’000 per annum over a period of three years.
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