The 15th Joint Coordination Committee on RSA-JINR cooperation

News, 24 September 2015

The 15th Joint Coordination Committee on RSA-JINR cooperation was held on 23 September 2015 in the JINR Club of scientists in Dubna. On the JINR side the Committee was headed by JINR Chief Scientific Secretary N.A. Russakovich; Deputy Director General of the Department of Science and Technology of RSA Thomas Auf der Heyde represented the interests of the Republic of South Africa.

The event was preceded by a meeting of experts which was held on 22 September to discuss the interim results of existing projects and the results of the selection of proposals for joint research projects to be implemented in the next three years. Taking into account all proposals and budget constraints the cooperation programme was formed for approval by the Coordination Committee. The meeting of experts was attended by responsible executives for the thematic areas from South Africa and Directors of JINR Laboratories.

The Coordination Committee considered the full range of existing relations of South Africa and JINR and approved the cooperation programme proposed by the experts. The success of the educational programme was noted along with enhancing scientific contacts and joint publications. The Committee discussed the prospects for enhancement of cooperation in the frames of the NICA project and possibility of joint projects of JINR and the Square Kilometre Array. The Committee has started preparation of the large-scale scientific forum RSA-JINR "10 years together", dedicated to the tenth anniversary of the cooperation, which is scheduled for November 28 – December 3, 2016 in South Africa. It is expected that it will be attended by representatives of the JINR Member States.