BSN

The project Baltic Science Network strengthened the political ownership of a joint, macro-regional approach towards science policy by setting up a network of ministries and other public bodies responsible for higher education, science and research policies in seven countries around the Baltic Sea.

The opportunity

Society expects research and higher education to respond to global challenges, such as climate change, energy and resource efficiency, food supply, welfare, health and demographic change. The countries around the Baltic Sea have an excellent structure of leading universities and research institutions which makes the Baltic Sea region one of the most competitive and innovative science regions in the world. However, not all levels of research and innovation perform equally well across the macro region, the existing facilities are not evenly distributed and not all are well interconnected.

For the time being, science policy around the Baltic Sea is organised mainly from a regional, national or European angle. Yet, national or sub-national answers are not sufficient anymore to respond to global questions, and the European angle is typically too wide to consider the specific features of every single country. A macro regional dimension in science policy could be the right scale to respond to the challenges of society. This would require a joint approach of the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea towards higher education and research and more cooperation in research and higher education. However, there is a lack of political ownership of such a macro-regional dimension of science policy.

details

Budgets

BSN
in numbers

3.00

Million

Total
2.34

Million

Erdf
0.00

Million

Eni + Russia
0.00

Million

Norway

Achievements

The project established a network - the Baltic Science Network – which gathers regional and national ministries and other public bodies responsible for defining and implementing higher education, science and research policies. Seven countries (Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden) have confirmed their intention to continue the joint work and to turn the project into a permanent and independent network. These countries formulated a joint statement within a High-Level Meeting of the Representatives of the Ministries for Science of the Council of Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and formulated statutes for the network.

The Baltic Science Network analysed the current state of science and research cooperation in the Baltic Sea region and issued recommendations accordingly. The project also identified potential solutions to improve the cooperation in this sector and to increase the participation of less performing regions in transnational research activities. Besides, the Baltic Science Network developed a mobility concept for researchers and students. The partnership identified mobility tools which seem particularly relevant for the region and decided to pilot one of them - the Research Internship Tool - in the extension stage project BSN Powerhouse.

Outputs

Action Plan: The Baltic Sea region - a science powerhouse

This document identifies the challenges and potential solutionsti improve the framework conditions for cooperation between countries of the Baltic Sea region in research and higher education. This regards scientific excellence, mobility in research and higher education, widening participation (to the countries of the Baltic Sea region which are less active) in research consortia and international research projects, and outreach to the EU institutions. The document includes joint strategies to improve the cooperation in specific scientific areas, namely photon and neutron science, life sciences and welfare studies. It makes concrete proposals at the level of funding instruments, mobility schemes, and tools for widening participation on national and regional level.

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Concept: Connecting through science - mobility funding instruments

This report elaborates a concept for mobility in research and higher education in the Baltic Sea region and singles out three of them as having the best potential to be implemented in test cases. The report presents minuses and pluses of each tool and described the reasons why these three tools were prioritised. The tools: 1. Summer Schools with a focus on large research infrastructures: one-week course with the aim to give comprehensive knowledge about a specific subject and to provide potential new users with knowledge on a specific large research infrastructure. 2. Research Internships for Students within the Baltic Sea region: matching PhD students in one country with students from another country based on the specific scientific interests of both groups. 3. Short-Term Scholarships for PhD Students: a PhD student identifies appropriate universities/research institutions in other Baltic Sea region countries and joins them for a limited period in order to work on a specific research question.

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Project Stories

18.04.2019

Baltic Science Network Shapes Common Perceptions and Solutions

The Baltic Science Network shapes not only policies, but, most importantly, it develops perceptions about the value and importance of cooperation in higher education, research and science domains. Baltic Science Network started as the Interreg Baltic Sea Region project BSN in March 2016 and will continue as BSN_powerhouse until January 2021.
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