site.btaBulgarian, Swiss Scientists to Work Together under Projects with CHF 12 Mln Total Budget

Finance Minister Assen Vassilev, Education and Science Minister Galin Tsokov and Swiss Ambassador to Bulgaria Raymund Furrer signed Tuesday the Agreement on the Swiss-Bulgarian Research Programme (SBRP), the first operational agreement on the implementation of the second Swiss Contribution to selected EU member states. With a budget of nearly CHF 12 million, the programme will support the collaboration and exchange of experience of Bulgarian and Swiss researchers, the Bulgarian ministries of Finance and of Education and Science reported here on Tuesday.

Preserving the interest and support promising young Bulgarian researchers for their career in Bulgaria is another important element of the programme. This will be operated by the External European Programmes Directorate at the Education Ministry, while the Science Directorate and the Swiss National Science Foundation will coordinate jointly the project implementation on the Bulgarian and the Swiss side.

The Swiss-Bulgarian Research Programme (SBRP) is the first operational programme approved in any of the partner countries supported through the second Swiss Contribution to selected EU member states, including 15 countries. The signing of the agreement coincided with the national holiday of the Swiss Confederation, which is celebrated on August 1. 

The Programme features three components:

• Multilateral Joint Research Projects (MJRP) will support multilateral collaborative research initiatives and the establishment of sustainable research partnerships between scientists and research organisations from Bulgaria, Switzerland and other EU countries;
• The Scientific Exchange Programme Component (SCIEX) aims to improve the performance of Bulgarian universities and research institutions by developing the scientific potential of promising young scientists, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows and providing mobility allowing them to visit Swiss research institutions.;
• Promotion of Young Scientists in Central and Eastern Europe (PROMYS) – support to encourage young scientists in the European Union and Switzerland who have studied in Switzerland and want to develop an academic career in Bulgaria.

The programme will run until the end of 2029 on September 20, 2022. Bulgaria became the first Member State to sign a bilateral cooperation framework agreement with Switzerland.