Seeking increased Norwegian participation in EU research:
New head at Research Council’s Liaison Office in Brussels
The Research Council's Liaison Office for EU RTD in Brussels works to give the Norwegian research and innovation community a better basis for participating in EU research activities. A new head of office, Tobias Bade Strøm, will be starting in the late summer.
The main task of the Norwegian Liaison Office in Brussels is to promote international cooperation, primarily through participation in the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), but also through Norway’s participation in activities related to the establishment of the European Research Area (ERA).
Tobias Bade Strøm (Photo: Ingebjørg Aadland)
“I want to help Norway achieve even greater success in EU research by keeping my ear to the ground and acting as a go-between between the Norwegian and EU research communities, and by drawing greater attention to Norwegian research in Brussels,” says Mr Strøm.
High level of activity
Mr Strøm will be taking over a broad-based operation. The Liaison Office in Brussels is the hub of the Research Council’s international activities and serves as an important meeting place. Over the past three years the office has organised nearly 500 meetings between Norwegian actors and representatives of the European Commission. The Liaison Office has helped many visitors from Norwegian universities, university colleges, research institutes, companies and the authorities to learn more about EU research activities.
In recent years Tobias Bade Strøm has worked as an adviser at the Research Council where he has been international contact person for Asia as well as contact person for the NORFACE partnership (New Opportunities for Research Funding Co-operation in Europe) under the ERA-NET scheme. He is a political scientist, who also has experience from the National Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS), where his area of responsibility was Schengen cooperation.
Increasingly important for Norway
Participation in EU research is a critical part of Norway’s overall research activities. EU cooperation will become even more crucial once the vision of the ERA is fully realised. There will be a much greater need for information, knowledge and not least international positioning in the years to come. The Research Council can help to meet these needs via its Liaison Office in Brussels.
Mr Strøm will take over from Gudrun Langthaler, who has served as head of the office for three years, in mid-August.
- Published:
- 22.06.2010
- Last updated:
- 22.06.2010
See also
Contact
- Tobias Bade Strøm Special Adviser +32 25 49 09 96 tbs@forskningsradet.no
