SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN CROATIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BUDAPEST 000056 SIPDIS EUR/NCE FOR MARC NORDBERG ZAGREB AND LJUBLJANA FOR SCIENCE OFFICER E.O. 12959: N/A TAGS: TSPL HR HU SUBJECT: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN CROATIA Summary ¶1. The December 18-19 visit to Zagreb of the Regional ESTH Hub Office's OES/STC TDYer provided a timely opportunity to discuss Croatian S&T governmental infrastructure. Croatian officials expressed a strong desire to continue and expand cooperation with the United States on S&T issues. Croatian officials made it clear they would be interested in broad U.S. representation when the next joint committee meeting (JCM) is held to clarify the mechanisms on how to make this agreement work to its fullest potential. Croatian officials were also supportive of a combined Slovene-Croatian-U.S. JCM because of strong scientific cooperation Croatia currently has with Slovenia. Background ¶2. The governments of the United States and Croatia first signed a science and technology agreement on March 18, 1994. That agreement entered into force on May 5, 2000. That agreement contained a joint funds annex in which Croatia received part of the funds allocated to the Yugoslavia Joint Fund Agreement. The fund was formally closed in February 2003. A new science and technology cooperation agreement was signed September 27, 2004, under which current cooperation is conducted. S&T Policy of Croatia ¶3. The Ministry of Science, Education and Sports conducts Croatian science and technology policy. Current policy supports development in the IT, natural, technical, biomedical, bio-technical, social science and humanities fields. Croatia's S&T policy is EU focused because of upcoming accession to the EU, but Croatian officials expressed a strong desire to continue cooperation with the United States. Meetings with Scientists/Academics ¶4. Visiting ESTH Hub TDYer and Embassy Zagreb Economic Officer and Economic specialist met with three scientists in three separate meetings to discuss science technology in Croatia as well as current cooperation: Professor Vladimir Paar, Croatian Academy of Sciences; Professor Vladimir Taksic, Dean of Science and International Affairs at the University of Rijeka; and Professor Hrvoje Babic, Croatian Academy of Sciences. ¶5. Vladimir Paar described the current situation in Croatian academia. He said there has been some movement in the education system toward a more interdisciplinary and participatory format. Paar also said Croatia needs more teachers and new equipment, as current equipment is behind Western standards. When asked about investment in science, Paar said that funding for science is too low, but added that no reasonable project has been refused government funding. He said the ministry has largely depoliticized the funding process by implementing a system of scientific councils to review proposals. In regard to the private sector, Paar said industries support research and development in only a couple sectors. He said current partnerships with Swedish pharmaceutical companies have helped bolster research in that sector, and biomedical research and chemical engineering are fairly strong fields in Croatia. In Paar's opinion, a U.S.-sponsored workshop to bring scientists and U.S. agencies together would do much to further cooperation. ¶6. Vladimir Taksic had a number of questions about a cooperation project that was accepted in 2003, but never moved forward. The project was a psychological study to be worked with a professor at the University of New Hampshire. Taksic then described the University of Rijeka's newly- established Office of International Collaboration. The office will focus on EU institutions but will reach out to the U.S as well. The goal of the office is to support researchers and students at the university in finding and pursuing opportunities for international cooperation. ¶7. Our meeting with Hrvoje Babic focused on how S&T cooperation works under the present agreement. Babic explained that his department alone received 11 of the 20 grants awarded in the last round of EU S&T funding. He said that because of this meeting his scientists will pursue contacts they have in the U.S. to apply for NSF grants. He also said he and his colleagues at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing need support particularly for infrastructure and to cover the high fees of accessing international databases. Former Minister of Science and Education ¶8. Visiting ESTH Hub TDYer and Embassy Zagreb Economic Officer met with Professor Milena Zic-Fuchs, the former Minister of Science and Education for the Republic of Croatia. Describing current research funding in Croatia, Zic-Fuchs said the main focus areas include security, natural and technical sciences, and bio-medicine. Zic-Fuchs expressed frustration with the inability of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts to adapt. She blamed this inability on the preponderance of old members in the academy. She said the academy has so many requirements that most academics cannot become full members until they are in their 60s and 70s. When asked about ways to increase cooperation, Zic-Fuchs supported the idea of an NSF workshop or, alternatively, an Embassy science fellow to help in grant writing. She also stressed the importance of the Fulbright Program in facilitating connections and allowing Croatian academics to experience the less hierarchical American academic culture. Ministry of Science ¶9. Visiting ESTH Hub TDYer and Embassy Zagreb Economic Officer and Economic specialist met with Marija Crnic, senior advisor for international cooperation at the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. Crnic presented us a matrix detailing all cooperation between the U.S. and the Ministry. The matrix includes 23 projects, 9 of which are current. These projects are in cooperation with NSF, USDA, NIH and ONR. The matrix show a much healthier cooperation than realized before the meeting. Crnic did say that Croatian scientists could use more help with the application processes for grants; in this regard an NSF workshop or an embassy science fellow would be welcomed. ¶10. (SBU) When describing Croatia's international science partners, Crnic said Croatia is EU focused because of upcoming accession. Most cooperation is done with Croatia's neighbor to the north, Slovenia. When asked if a JCM would be helpful, Crnic said she thought it would. When asked if the Ministry would consider a joint JCM with Slovenia, Crnic again responded positively and reiterated the strong science relationship among the former Yugoslav republics. (Note: ESTH Hub TDYer had hoped to visit Ljubljana as well, to discuss science and technology issues prior to the upcoming JCM, but this was not possible because of scheduling. There have been problems scheduling the Slovene JCM and visiting ESTH TDYer is hopeful that a joint JCM in which agencies can conduct business with both Slovenia and Croatia would be a possibility.) Conclusion and Where To Go From Here ¶11. (SBU) Cooperation with Croatia is very healthy. Some concerns were raised about the application process and thus ESTH Hub TDYer would recommend either an NSF workshop or the visit of an Embassy science fellow to help with the application process. A JCM is needed as there has not been a JCM since 2005. Considering the problems setting up a Slovenia JCM, the prospects of a stand alone Croatia JCM may not be good either, though the cooperation is much stronger. As such, a combined Slovene/Croatian JCM with U.S. technical agencies could be both more beneficial and more effective. Considering the strong science relationship between Slovenia and Croatia, this option may also help those two countries further develop partnerships between them. ¶12. This cable was drafted by Embassy Budapest ESTH Hub TDYer and cleared with Embassy Zagreb and Embassy Ljubljana.