LaunchPad

As a result of „Call for draft proposals for collaboration projects“, five project proposals were submitted. The drafted project ideas were evaluated by the experts in the field and received feedback and recommendations for further activities.

Four projects out of five were selected for Coaching and awarded funds for further developing the project idea, team-building, involving additional partners and expertise, organizing project events and travel to research facilities, and other kinds of capacity building activities that would help the projects to take the necessary next steps towards taking the projects to higher level and ensuring better chances of getting access to research facilities or funding at the national or international level. 25 000 euros in total was awarded for this kind of activities.

Selected projects with the Expert Panel’s decision:

• Structural behavior of high entropy alloys and bimodal harmonic structure materials under neutron irradiation (René Bes and his team, University of Helsinki, ILL, University of Lund and KTH involved)

Decision: The project is of high scientific excellence and relevance and would have a great impact on society and industry, therefore the Expert Panel has decided to award 9000 EUR for Coaching activities to further develop the project. The funds of LaunchPad Coaching could be used for activities that will enable expanding the case beyond nuclear technologies, elaboration of the connection between what is being measured and how will the new materials be designed, and involving additional partners, especially from the side of the industry as well as partners from the Baltic Sea Region EU13 countries (including consultations, meetings, etc).

• Undulator Effect by Wakefield in a Periodically Bent Waveguide with Dielectric Filling (Iliya L. Sheinman and Frederic Le Pimpec, Saint-Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI” and European XFEL involved)

Decision: The project is of high scientific and engineering relevance. It is a scientifically very intriguing project idea, which would benefit larger community if successfully carried out, therefore the Expert Panel has decided to award 9000 EUR for Coaching activities to further develop the project. The funds of LaunchPad Coaching could be used for activities that will enable moving towards benchmarking and proof of concept (including involving additional partners, consultations, meetings, etc).

• Towards a Virtual Human Body built on a broad network of Life Science Expertise and Advanced Research Infrastructure Tools in the Baltic Sea Region (Kajsa M. Paulsson and her team, Lund University, MAX IV, European XFEL, Digital Health Cluster Latvia, Southern Federal University of Rostov and its Spin-off Company UniVirLab Ltd involved)

Decision: The project has a great potential for networking, education, connecting different research infrastructures and reaching out to the wider community, therefore the Expert Panel has decided to award 4000 EUR for Coaching activities to further develop the project. The funds of LaunchPad Coaching could primarily be used for activities that will enable moving towards developing virtual beamline and support project management and execution in this regard (including consultations, involving additional partners, meetings, etc).

• Fractal organization of chromatin in the nucleus of a biological cell (Sergey Grigoriev and Jörg Pieper, University of Tartu and NRC “Kurchatov institute” – Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute involved)

Decision: The project is of high scientific excellence and relevance, therefore the Expert Panel has decided to award 3000 EUR for Coaching activities to further develop the project. The funds of LaunchPad Coaching could be used for activities that will enable building the community and involving additional partners, including carrying out the proposed activities concerning the project workshop and travelling to research facility.

The Expert Panel

The Expert Panel consisted of 10 international experts with the different background and connections to photon and neutron methods and different perspectives: scientific (6 experts from different fields of research), research facilities’ (2 experts), industry’s (1 expert) and ministerial perspective (1 expert).

List of experts:

• Martin Meedom Nielsen, the Chairman of the Expert Panel, Professor, Technical University of Denmark
• Andris Anspoks, Deputy Director for Innovation of University of Latvia, Adviser to the Prime Minister of Republic of Latvia for Science and Innovation (Latvia)
• Jackob Becker-Christensen, Chief Executive Officer, LINX (Denmark)
• Christian Bressler, Professor of Physics, Leading Scientist, European XFEL (Germany)
• Giovanna Fragneto, Professor, INSTITUT LAUE-LANGEVIN (France)
• Tom Schumacher, Project Manager of Baltic Science Network from the Ministry of Science, Research and Equalities of Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (Germany)
• Inari Kursula, Professor, University of Bergen (Norway)
• Rasmus Palm, Research Fellow of Physical Chemistry, University of Tartu (Estonia)
• Jörg Pieper, Professor in Biophysics, University of Tartu (Estonia)
• Vladimir Venediktov, Professor, St. Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI” (Russia)

We have therefore entered the final, third phase of LaunchPad – Coaching. The next step is to negotiate a Coaching action plan for Coaching activities with the project team.

Symposium „Photon and Neutron Science in the Baltic Sea Region“ on October 26-29, 2020

• 1st part: online conference on October 26
• 2nd part: online hackathon on October 27-29

Enhancing scientific cooperation in the Baltic Sea region: infrastructures as the drivers of innovation, cooperation and interdisciplinarity:

• Symposium is held for researchers, large- and small-scale research infrastructures and their users, and industry in the Photon and Neutron Science in the Baltic Sea Region. The Symposium provides a good platform for discussing ideas and challenges, and for finding a partner for possible future collaboration projects.
• The Symposium consists of two parts: an international online conference and hackathon.
• The online conference (1^st part of the Symposium) with its speakers and presentations helps the participants to generate/develop collaboration ideas about how research could be carried out in traditional and ‘novel’ ways of using photons and neutrons as methods. The ideas shared and generated during the online conference are further elaborated on and developed during the hackathon.
• The online hackathon (2^nd part of the Symposium) supports the participants in the matchmaking process and facilitates the formation of joint ideas for collaboration. The hackathon results in preparation and submission of draft proposals for cooperation projects.
• The online conference and hackathon are part of testing and evaluation to find out how does the selected method for facilitating research collaboration work. The participants have a unique opportunity to contribute to testing and evaluation of this innovative online approach through participation and personal feedback. This feedback is valuable for the policymakers and funding agencies for their future activities in the field of RD&I.
• The Symposium is followed by the call for draft project proposals for bi- or multilateral collaboration.

More information about Symposium:

Process explained

Process explained and guidelines

The selected projects receive funds for Coaching activities, which will give a better chance of getting access to research facilities or funding.

• Please note that there will be no guarantee for funding to the project or getting “measurement time” at the research facility. What can be offered is a chance for by covering certain costs to receive professional guidance, coaching and support.
• The exact format and specific aim of Coaching is tailor-made and negotiated for each of the selected projects. It will be carried out in the form of supporting development of “soft skills”: e.g. consultation for writing (grant) applications, organizing team-building meetings, travel to research facility for guidance, expert exchange visits, study trips, etc.
• Please note that costs for buying chemicals or equipment will not be funded under Coaching and the funds will not be awarded to the selected proposals in the form of a research grant or co-funding to a research grant.
• Coaching activities for the project can take place within a period of January to May 2021.

“Guidelines for awarding and financing Coaching activities“

Evaluation of LaunchPad concept

In parallel with LaunchPad activities, the LaunchPad concept is evaluated. The aim of testing and evaluation of LaunchPad concept is to find out how does the selected method for facilitating research collaboration work. The participants (symposiym, project teams, members of Expert Panel etc) have a unique opportunity to contribute to testing and evaluation of this innovative online approach through participation and personal feedback. This feedback is valuable for the policymakers and funding agencies for their future activities in the field of RD&I.

MAX IV Laboratory is a Swedish national large-scale research infrastructure and the world’s first 4^th generation synchrotron light source providing researchers with extremely brilliant X-rays for material science. The facility has 11 beamlines in user operation and five more coming online over the coming two years. MAX IV is located in Lund, in south Sweden with easy access from both Malmö and Copenhagen airports.

The talk give a brief introduction to MAX IV but will have a focus on access modes and how researchers from both industry and academia can make use of the tools and techniques available at large-scale research infrastructures. https://www.maxiv.lu.se/

DESY is one of the world’s leading accelerator centres. Researchers use the large-scale facilities at DESY to explore the microcosm in all its variety – from the interactions of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of new types of nanomaterials to biomolecular processes that are essential to life. The accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds are unique research tools. The facilities generate the world’s most intense X-ray light, accelerate particles to record energies and open completely new windows onto the universe. That makes DESY not only a magnet for more than 3000 guest researchers from over 40 countries every year, but also a coveted partner for national and international cooperations. Committed young researchers find an exciting interdisciplinary setting at DESY. The research centre offers specialized training for a large number of professions. DESY cooperates with industry and business to promote new technologies that will benefit society and encourage innovations.
https://www.desy.de/about_desy/desy/index_eng.html

NRC «Kurchatov Institute» – PNPI is a multidisciplinary research center which conducts fundamental and applied research in a wide range of scientific fields including theoretical and mathematical physics, interdisciplinary research in nano- and biosciences with the use of neutron and synchrotron radiation; molecular biology and biomedicine, research with neutrons, protons and heavy ions; neutrino physics; nuclear reactors and accelerator physics; nuclear medicine including isotope production, radiation therapy, nanobiotechnologies for medicine.

The research infrastructure of the Institute is based on:

• high-flux research beam reactor PIK with an unprecedented flux of thermal neutrons. The International Center for Neutron Research (ICNR) is being created on the basis of the PIK reactor.
• proton synchrocyclotron SC-1000 with the energy of 1 GeV.
• isochronous cyclotron C-80 to accelerate negative hydrogen ions up to 80 MeV and the extracted proton beam current of up to 100 µA.

The European Spallation Source (ESS) is a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC), a multi-disciplinary research facility based on the world’s most powerful neutron source. The vision is to build and operate the world’s most powerful neutron source, enabling scientific breakthroughs in research related to materials, energy, health and the environment, and addressing some of the most important societal challenges of our time.

More information: https://europeanspallationsource.se/

CERN´s  work helps to uncover what the universe is made of and how it works. The Laboratory,established in 1954, has become a prime example of international collaboration. CERN´s mission is to: provide a unique range of particle accelerator facilities that enable research at the forefront of human knowledge. perform world-class research in fundamental physics, and unite people from all over the world to push the frontiers of science and technology, for the benefit of all.

More information: https://home.cern/

The Russian-German Laboratory at BESSY II is dedicated to Russian-German collaborations in the use of synchrotron radiation for basic research. The stakeholders comprise currently eight institutions – four from each country* – which organize the experimental user support, financial support, proposal evaluation and further scientific and instrumental development of the infrastructure as well as scientific workshops.

The RGL operates currently one dipole (RGBL1) and one undulator beamline (RGBL2). It has since inauguration lead to more than 700 peer-reviewed publications. 70% of the beamtime at the two beamlines is reserved for research in the framework of Russian-German collaboration and allocated based on scientific qualtiy. Users from any university or research center in Russia can apply. The remaining 30% are for the general user community of HZB.

*The RGL stakeholders are: St. Petersburg State University, Kurchatov Institute (Moscow), Shubnikov Institute for Crystallography (Moscow), Ioffe Institute (St. Petersburg), Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Dresden, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.

For information on user access see:
https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/projects/rgl/users/index_en.html

European XFEL is an international non-profit company located in the Hamburg area in Germany that is owned by 12 European countries. The European XFEL GmbH operates, maintains and upgrades a 3.4 km long X-ray laser, which produces flashes of X-rays of unique quality for studies in physics, chemistry, materials research and the life sciences. The European XFEL ensures that the technologies and methods developed in-house are made available to interested entities in the contracting party countries as well as fostering the general public outreach and knowledge transfer.

The diverse scientific systems of European XFEL enable scientists from across the globe to carry out their experiments with a wide range of experimental techniques. The company provides, free of charge, access to its facilities, laboratories and analytical equipment, and to the X-Ray instrument station that makes use of the X-Ray flashes, to all eligible scientists (private sector or academia) whose intent is to publish the results of their research at European XFEL. The diverse scientific X-ray systems of European XFEL enable scientists (experienced or not) world-wide to carry out their experiments using the wide range of experimental techniques.

The company will also allow proprietary research and access to its facility (including experimental support) for a fee, to industry, academic or private scientists.

More information: https://www.xfel.eu/

The ILL is a service facility. Its purpose is to provide the international scientific community with
• the brightest possible beams of neutrons
• state-of-the-art scientific instruments
• the expertise of its scientists, engineers and technicians.

Most of its neutron beams are used to probe materials. The fields of investigation range from technology applications to biology and health.

Neutrons hold the key to many important questions related to the fundamental laws governing our universe.

https://www.ill.eu/

LINX is a valuable and innovative facilitator of collaboration between universities and industry within the area of neutrons and X-ray technology. Being established in 2016, LINX is releasing the great potential of the established industry portal and continue to generate value through the many projects, workshops and networks connecting the scientific and commercial world. The collaborations take place in a highly innovative but confidential setting, with access to both large-scale facilities and university labs, giving the possibility of exploring the nature of materials in the most detailed manner thus enabling complex analysis with conclusive and clear results. LINX makes businesses, institutions, facilities and geographies around it, stand out as prosperous and attractive for partners and members to engage with. The aim is to prepare and educate the personal and organizational ability to gain maximum advantage and value out of the neutron and X-ray technologies. The LINX Association is the platform for Linking Industry to Neutrons and X-rays. LINX is the focal point for creating commercial value through innovative material science solutions based on advanced neutron & X-ray technology in collaboration with facilities, such as MAX IV, ESS and XFEL.

https://linxassociation.com/

FinEstBeAMS is a materials and atmospheric science beamline at the MAX IV 1.5 GeV storage ring. It provides ultraviolet and soft X-ray radiation with precisely controlled and widely variable parameters. The beamline has two branches: one branch is dedicated to ultra-high vacuum studies of surfaces and interfaces and the other to gas-phase experiments and photoluminescence in solids. The range of research extends from the electronic structure studies of free particles (atoms, molecules, clusters and atmospheric particles) in gas phase and on surfaces to formation analysis and nanoscale characterisation of surfaces and interfaces. The design of the beamline facilitates sample transfer between the end stations, offering synergy between gas phase and solid-state research.
An Estonian and Finnish consortium, supported by the EU through the European Regional Development Fund and the Academy of Finland, has provided funding for the construction of the beamline, instrumentation and staff.

More information: https://www.maxiv.lu.se/accelerators-beamlines/beamlines/finestbeams/

The central goal of the Estonian Research Infrastructures Roadmap object “Center of nanomaterials technologies and research (NAMUR+)”, is to develop a cutting-edge infrastructure for the fabrication, research and implementation of nanomaterials and to merge it with the high-level research capability of the partners into an attractive multifunctional center providing R&D services in nanotechnology and nano-safety.

NAMUR+ is based on the expertise of research teams of the University of Tartu, Tallinn University of Technology and National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics in the fields of material science, nanotechnology, nanotoxicology, and novel energy conversion and storage systems. The center offers high-level research services in nanotechnology and nanosafety to a wide range of partners.

More information: https://sisu.ut.ee/namurplus/namur-0?lang=en

Information about research funding programs, international cooperation and collaboration between research and innovation is on the website of the Ministry of Higher Education and Sciences of Denmark: https://ufm.dk/en/research-and-innovation

Danish Research Infrastructures Roadmap 2015
https://ufm.dk/en/publications/2016/danish-roadmap-for-research-infrastructures-2015

The main funders in Finland are:

1. Academy of Finland. Research Infrastructures funding is intended to support Finnish research infrastructures and research environment. Calls for applications that are currently open can be found here https://www.aka.fi/en/research-funding/apply-for-funding/calls-for-applications/
2. Business Finland be a possibility in some cases, where Photon/Neutron methods are used in product development.

The best way to search for funding opportunities in Finland is the Funding Database for Science and Arts Aurora database, where even the smaller funders (e.g. foundations) can be searched by keywords.

A German-Swedish research collaboration
The Röntgen-Ångström Cluster (RÅC) is a Swedish-German research collaboration in the fields of materials science and structural biology that aims to strengthen research at synchrotron and neutron radiation sources. Enabled by an agreement between the Swedish and German governments in 2009, the RÅC helps initiating and developing cooperative projects between research groups from Germany and Sweden in the above-named fields. Several large-scale facilities from both countries are included in the cluster:

Photon sources
• PETRA III and FLASH at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg
• BESSY II at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie HZB, Berlin
• European XFEL, Hamburg
• MAX IV Laboratory, Lund

Neutron sources
• FRM II at the Technische Universität München
• HFR at the Institut Laue-Langevin, Grenoble
• European Spallation Source ESS, Lund (under construction)

These institutes offer outstanding research possibilities to scientists exploring condensed matter in materials science as well as structural biology. The RÅC and its related calls for applications are handled by the Swedish Research Council and, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the project executing organisation Projektträger DESY.
More information: https://www.rontgen-angstrom.eu/

HALOS – The Hanseatic League of Science
HALOS – a platform to establish Northern Europe into a globally recognised hub of world leading Life Science and innovation
The specific aim of HALOS is excellence in Life Science research and innovation around the four unique research infrastructures: MAX IV & ESS in Lund, and DESY & European XFEL in Hamburg. This will be achieved by developing a common and internationally recognized Life Science research and innovation hub, matching Life Science research questions with expertise on how to apply electrons, neutrons, synchrotron- and FEL-light. HALOS connects research infrastructures with both academic and industrial ecosystems, including complementary infrastructures and gate-way environments.
More information: https://halos-science.eu/

European XFEL – European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility

European XFEL is an international non-profit company located in the Hamburg area in Germany that is owned by 12 European countries. The European XFEL GmbH operates, maintains and upgrades a 3.4 km long X-ray laser, which produces flashes of X-rays of unique quality for studies in physics, chemistry, materials research and the life sciences. The European XFEL ensures that the technologies and methods developed in-house are made available to interested entities in the contracting party countries as well as fostering the general public outreach and knowledge transfer.

The diverse scientific systems of European XFEL enable scientists from across the globe to carry out their experiments with a wide range of experimental techniques. The company provides, free of charge, access to its facilities, laboratories and analytical equipment, and to the X-Ray instrument station that makes use of the X-Ray flashes, to all eligible scientists (private sector or academia) whose intent is to publish the results of their research at European XFEL. The diverse scientific X-ray systems of European XFEL enable scientists (experienced or not) world-wide to carry out their experiments using the wide range of experimental techniques.

The company will also allow proprietary research and access to its facility (including experimental support) for a fee, to industry, academic or private scientists.

European XFEL

• has an internal PhD program open to everyone and linked to in-house R&D calls issued once a year by our management; regarding experiments, European XFEL reimburse the travel and logistic costs of up to 6 users for each experiments carried out at the facility. The reimbursement is only available to users coming from the shareholder countries.access to the facility for experiment is free of charge upon intent to publish (data collected will be published after an embargo period) and is based on scientific excellence.
• European XFEL participates in many calls of the EC (H2020) or from Germany. The list for 2019 is provided in the annual report (page 35/54 of the pdf) https://www.xfel.eu/news_and_events/flyers_and_brochures/index_eng.html
  More information: https://www.xfel.eu/

DESY
DESY is one of the world’s leading accelerator centres. Researchers use the large-scale facilities at DESY to explore the microcosm in all its variety – from the interactions of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of new types of nanomaterials to biomolecular processes that are essential to life. The accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds are unique research tools. The facilities generate the world’s most intense X-ray light, accelerate particles to record energies and open completely new windows onto the universe. That makes DESY not only a magnet for more than 3000 guest researchers from over 40 countries every year, but also a coveted partner for national and international cooperations. Committed young researchers find an exciting interdisciplinary setting at DESY. The research centre offers specialized training for a large number of professions. DESY cooperates with industry and business to promote new technologies that will benefit society and encourage innovations.
More information: https://www.desy.de/about_desy/desy/index_eng.html

The DESY Research Magazine Femto – Anniversary Issue 2019

Photon Science 2019 – Highlights and Annual Report

The DESY Research Magazine Femto 02/20

Center for X-rays in Swedish Materials Science (CeXS)
CeXS is the academic host of the Swedish Material Science beamline at PETRA III, DESY in Hamburg.
Focusing on enhancing the use of high energy X-rays for materials R&D, CeXS is:

1. Securing Sweden’s privileged access to PETRA III
2. Engaging researchers to use the opportunities
3. Educating and disseminating results

CeXS is currently orchastrating instrument proposals, for the future PETRA IV, which can give new insights into material science. Read more here https://www.cexs.kth.se/petraupgrade about how you can support and get engaged in this key issue for the Swedish material science community
More information: https://www.cexs.kth.se/

The Russian-German Laboratory at BESSY II
The Russian-German Laboratory at BESSY II is dedicated to Russian-German collaborations in the use of synchrotron radiation for basic research. The stakeholders comprise currently eight institutions – four from each country* – which organize the experimental user support, financial support, proposal evaluation and further scientific and instrumental development of the infrastructure as well as scientific workshops.
The RGL operates currently one dipole (RGBL1) and one undulator beamline (RGBL2). It has since inauguration lead to more than 700 peer-reviewed publications. 70% of the beamtime at the two beamlines is reserved for research in the framework of Russian-German collaboration and allocated based on scientific quality. Users from any university or research center in Russia can apply. The remaining 30% are for the general user community of HZB.
*The RGL stakeholders are: St. Petersburg State University, Kurchatov Institute (Moscow), Shubnikov Institute for Crystallography (Moscow), Ioffe Institute (St. Petersburg), Freie Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Dresden, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.

For information on user access see:
https://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/projects/rgl/users/index_en.html

Research infrastructures and international collaboration projects involving research facilities

• Laser RI – High-intensity and Broad Spectral Range Ultrashort Pulse Laser Research Infrastructure of National and International Access
Laser RI is a Laserlab-Europe member, and a future national node of the most advanced laser research infrastructure in the world ELI-ERIC. Current Laser RI projects revolve around cooperation with Laserlab-Europe, participation in H2020.
• Experimental nuclear and particle physics center
The Experimental nuclear and particle physics center is focused on projects for collaboration with CERN.

• PTC – Centre of Semiconductor Technology
PTC is participating in CERN activities and as a member of the European Association of Research and Technology Organisations (RTOs) is aiming to participate RTO promotion projects.

• SPECTROVERSUM – Centre of Spectroscopic Characterization of Materials and Electronic / Molecular Processes
SPECTROVERSUM is a MAX IV infrastructure member. International collaboration projects include projects financed under the Lithuanian-French program “Gilibert”, Baltic-German University Liaison Office.

• CossyBio – Centre for Computational, Structural and Systems Biology
CossyBio is a national node of EMBL and Instruct-ERIC infrastructures. CossyBio carries out activities in the sphere of Crystallography and so contributes to Photon and Neutron Science. CossyBio aims to carry out international projects at EMBL and Instruct-ERIC.

Research infrastructure funding in Lithuania may come from different sources. Research infrastructures, which are present in the national Roadmap, may receive funding (which is established by an approval of an infrastructure membership/action plan or a EU SF project) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport or the Research Council of Lithuania when sufficient financial resources are present and a strategical decision is made. Researchers, whose infrastructure is not separately financed by the approved membership/action plan or as EU SF project, can use mobility measures of the Research Council of Lithuania for the aim of using research infrastructures abroad.

More information is on website of Research Council of Lithuania: https://www.lmt.lt/en/
Lithuanian Research Infrastructures Roadmap 2015: https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/roadmaps/lithuania_national_roadmap_2015_en.pdf

• Research funding opportunities in Norway are available on the website of The Research Council of Norway www.rcn.no
• Information on plans and funding of research infrastructures: https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/about-the-research-council/programmes/infrastruktur/
• Complete list of Research infrastructure that already receives funding from RCN: https://prosjektbanken.forskningsradet.no/#/explore/projects/ProgAkt.3=FORINFRA

Information about research funding opportunities and cooperation is on the website of the National Science Centre (NCN) of Poland: https://ncn.gov.pl/o-ncn/zadania-ncn?language=en
Information about Research Infrastructures: http://en.kpk.gov.pl/ri/research-infrastructure/

SOLARIS – The National Synchrotron Radiation Centre
SOLARIS is a Polish national research centre providing scientists with synchrotron radiation. SOLARIS NSRC is providing open access to research infrastructure. As a unique source of synchrotron radiation in Central Europe, it opens new perspectives in many areas of basic and applied research, offering a wide spectrum of modern research techniques. SOLARIS NSRC is a platform for the development of national and international cooperation, as well as an incubator of new technologies.

More information: https://synchrotron.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/centrum

Information about the cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region, funding and grants is available on the webpage of Swedish Institute: https://si.se/en/how-we-work/capacity-building-baltic-region/

Research Infrastructure
MAXIV
MAX IV Laboratory is a Swedish national large-scale research infrastructure and the world’s first 4th generation synchrotron light source providing researchers with extremely brilliant X-rays for material science. The facility has 11 beamlines in user operation and five more coming online over the coming two years. MAX IV is located in Lund, in south Sweden with easy access from both Malmö and Copenhagen airports.
https://www.maxiv.lu.se/

BARI stands for Baltic Science Network Mobility Programme for Research Internships.

After one challenging year we have successfully completed the pilot phase of the BARI programme. More than 158 applicants, 182 internship offers from 72 universities and research institutions, 12 calls for applications, and 10 participating countries in the Baltic Sea Region, proved that a mobility programme for research internships is highly desirable, in the interest to capitalise on the research capacity present in the Baltic Sea Region.

The Helmholtz-Lund International graduate School (HELIOS), aims at preparing a new generation of scientists on “Intelligent instrumentation for exploring matter at different time and length scales”. The increasing complexity of instrumentation development and control, as well as the increase in data volumes requiring novel data acquisition and analysis tools, are creating new and common challenges in several disciplines of physics. To face these challenges, scientists need to develop new advanced methodologies.

HELIOS merges competences from different physics domains in instrumentation development and control as well as data acquisition and data handling, to reach this goal and to prepare young scientists for the next generation of instruments. The interdisciplinary approach of this school, across different disciplines including particle physics, atomic and molecular physics, nano science, and laser science, allows us to engineer novel solutions for instrumentation development and data acquisition at the next generation of photon sources and particle accelerators.

More information: https://www.heliosgraduateschool.org/

RACIRI Summer School

The RACIRI Summer School is a joint initiative by Sweden, Russia and Germany embedded in the collaborative frameworks of the Röntgen-Ångström-Cluster (RAC) and the Ioffe-Röntgen-Institute (IRI). The format of the RACIRI Summer School is driven by scientific frontier themes and challenges in the field of materials sciences with a strong connection to current and future research infrastructures for photons, X-rays and neutrons in the Baltic Sea region: synchrotron radiation and free-electron-laser facilities as well as research reactors and spallation sources.

For who?
senior master students in the final phases of their study programs (master, diploma), PhD students, young scientists & postdocs, predominantly from Germany, Russia, Sweden.
Next RACIRI Summer School: 15-21 August in Varberg, Sweden.

More information: www.raciri.org

HALOS – The Hanseatic League of Science is a unique collaboration between Hamburg and South-West Scandinavia. It brings together the four unique research facilities MAX IV, ESS, DESY and European XFEL, and create a centre for integrated, world-leading Life Science innovation and research.

More information: https://www.maxiv.lu.se/news/halos-a-unique-collaboration-in-life-science/

CAROTS aims to establish a new type of private or public-private company in the Baltic Sea region: a Commercial Analytical Research Organisation (CARO). CAROs, as intermediary bodies between Industry and academia, provide enterprises with much quicker yet complete assistance in analytical research in the fields of e.g. new materials, nanotechnology and life sciences.
Activities include:
• Business model and financing of CAROs
• Networking and visibility of CAROs
• Cooperation
• Public support programs
• Policy recommendations
• CAROs as associated project partners

More information: https://www.carots.eu/

The iNEXT-Discovery partnership, a renewed team from the one that conceived, organised and successfully run the iNEXT consortium, brings together structural biology facilities for X-rays, NMR, cryo-EM and macromolecular biophysics, and aims to make them accessible to new user communities, to develop the methods further through joined research efforts, and to offer better integration between scientific fields and within the field of structural biology through scientific meetings, practical courses, and training workshops.
iNEXT-Discovery aims to enable access to structural biology research infrastructures for all European researchers, and especially non-experts in structural biology. For that reason it brings together a diversity of large research facilities and other groups in a single consortium. Funded by the European Commission Horizon-2020 framework program, iNEXT-Discovery is built in three pillars:

• Allowing trans-national access for users, based on rapid peer-review on scientific excellence and translational research potential.
• Performing networking and training activities, such as practical courses and workshops, to enlarge and strengthen the structural biology community.
• Undertaking joint research activities, to increase the quality and quantity of the offered access.

We encourage all academic and industry researchers to use our high-end structural biology facilities at different locations in Europe, to perform translational research relevant for the sectors of health (e.g. drug discovery, target validation), biotechnology (e.g. new enzymes), biomaterials, and food science.

More information: https://inext-discovery.eu/network/inext-d/home

A presentation explaining the project: Youtube_iNEXT-Discovery Introduction

A webinar for the KETBIO community: https://inext-discovery.eu/news/inext-disovery-presented-at-ketbio/

Baltic-American Freedom Foundation provides fellowships for professors and academic researchers to conduct independent or collaborative research projects in the U.S. for up to 12 months.

More information: https://balticamericanfreedomfoundation.org/programs-awards-research/

BAFF information