(26.09.2013) On September 18th the DFG Office for Latin America held a meeting with European and North American funding organisations and their representatives in Brazil. Reason for this meeting was the exchange of experiences regarding collaboration with Brazil in the area of scientific research and research funding.

Apart from the DFG, ten participants from seven countries joined in the discussions, including representatives from the US National Science Foundation, the French organization CNRS, the German organisations Alexander von Humboldt and DAAD, as well as representatives from the Canadian, Danish, French, Austrian, Swiss and US embassies and consulates in Brazil.

Main discussion points were the increasing interest in Brazil and current cooperation with the Brazilian ministries and funding agencies, cooperation agreements with Brazilian funding agencies, cooperation between research and industry, bureaucratic and language barriers for foreign researchers in Brazil, as well as the Brazilian programme Science without Borders, which aims to enable up to 100.000 Brazilian students to spend a year abroad at universities all over the world.

The participants moreover presented their countries´ and organizations´ strategies in the area of scientific research cooperation and research funding and therewith provided the other contributors with a better overview of the various cooperation possibilities with Brazil.