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IRB and the French Embassy sign a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen scientific cooperation

Dec 2nd 2025
IRB and the French Embassy sign a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen scientific cooperation

dr. sc. David Matthew Smith i Nj. E. Fabien Fieschi

Today, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) between the Institute and the Embassy of France in Croatia. On behalf of the IRB, the Memorandum was signed by Director Dr David Matthew Smith, while the French side was represented by the Ambassador of the French Republic to the Republic of Croatia, H. E. Fabien Fieschi.

The signing was attended by Ms Jeanne de Wendel, Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs at the Embassy and Director of the French Institute in Croatia, Ms Jasna Bas, Science and Higher Education Attaché, and Dr Marin Roje, member of the Governing Board of the Alliance Française de Zagreb and an active promoter of Croatian-French scientific cooperation.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the IRB and the Embassy of France in Croatia is aimed at strengthening French-Croatian cooperation in the fields of research, science, technology and innovation, with a particular focus on researcher mobility and the development of joint projects.

The cooperation will build on existing and successful bilateral initiatives, including the Hubert Curien “Cogito” programme, as well as scholarships and mobility schemes offered by both sides. In the short term, the Memorandum envisages further strengthening of existing researcher mobility schemes between the IRB and French research organisations, while in the longer term it aims to encourage the establishment of new partnerships and consortia for research, development and innovation projects between Croatian and French institutions.

grupna fotografija

Jeanne de Wendel, Marin Roje, Fabien Fieschi, David Matthew Smith and Jasna Bas

The envisaged forms of cooperation include co-funding of mobility initiatives, exchanges of researchers, students and technical experts, exchange of information on the research and innovation ecosystems in both countries, joint organisation of seminars, symposia, conferences and workshops, as well as more intensive cooperation in the field of science popularisation, including media outreach and activities on social networks.

The Memorandum represents an important strategic framework for strengthening ties between the IRB and French partners, and an incentive for new joint initiatives that will contribute to the development of science and innovation in Croatia and France.

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