On 6 and 7 September 2017, the heads of research funding organisations from five Central European countries met in Ljubljana. The presidents of ARRS (József Györkös, Slovenia), FWF (Klement Tockner, Austria), GA ČR (Alice Valkárová, Czech Republic), NCN (Zbigniew Błocki, Poland) and NKFIH (József Pálinkás, Hungary) agreed to further strengthen the scientific ties in Central Europe, particularly benefiting from a joint rich cultural heritage. The participants expressed their commitment to support mutual collaboration among leading researchers and research institutions in this region, increase their voice at the European level, and harmonize evaluation procedures. At a later step, the partners plan to expand the network to include partners from other Central European countries.

(From left to right) Zbigniew Błocki - Director of the NCN (Poland), Klement Tockner - President of the FWF (Austria), Alice Valkárová – President of the GA CR (Czech Republic), József Pálinkás – President of NKFIH (Hungary) and József Györkös – Director of the ARRS (Slovenia).

Foto: Marko Vitas