Videos

On the occasion of COST 50 year anniversary in 2021, this special video was produced giving the floor to some key personalities who played a key role throughout the development of the COST Programme.

Interviewees are:

– Prof. Paulo Ferrão, current President of the COST Association

– Prof. Janet Mifsud, COST Committee of Senior Officials for Malta

– Dr Emmanuel Pasco-Viel, former member of the COST Committee of Senior Officials for France, of the Executive Board and former interim Vice-President of COST

– Mr Robert-Jan Smits, former Director General DG Research and Innovation (2010-2018) at the European Commission

– Mrs Rita Ward, former Member of the COST Committee of Senior Officials for Ireland, National Coordinator and Executive Board member

– Prof. Sierd Cloetingh, former President of the COST Association (2017-2019)

– Dr Ángeles Rodríguez-Peña, Former President of the COST Association (2010-2017)

– Prof. Francesco Fedi, Former President of the COST Association (2004-2010)

– Dr Eva Klaper, Former member of the Committee of Senior Officials for Switzerland, Executive Board member and COST National Coordinator

Read more about COST 50 years here

Brenda Rojas Delgado interviews Dr. Ronald de Bruin, Director of COST Association – European Cooperation in Science and Technology, to discuss how the COST programme helps young researchers, so that they can conduct their researches in the European Union.

100 people from 32 European countries met in Belgrade in September 2018 for ‘The voice of research administrators – Building a network of administrative excellence’ (BESTPRAC) working group meeting.

BESTPRAC is a COST Targeted Network, which aims to promote better and more consistent administration of transnational research projects, supporting excellence in research. The network serves as a platform for exchanging experiences, sharing and developing best practices, encouraging knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer and increasing efficiency in these fields.

View the BESTPRAC website here 

Here is how the COST programme helped to further research in the field of neutron stars.

Neutron stars are unique laboratories that allow us to probe the building blocks of matter and their interactions at regimes that terrestrial laboratories cannot explore. These exceptional objects have already led to breakthrough discoveries in nuclear and subnuclear physics, QCD, general relativity and high-energy astrophysics.

The nature of science has changed. It has become interconnected, collaborative, multidisciplinary and data-intensive.

The European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) has been a building block of Europe’s research for 45 years. It funds research networks across borders and spanning all scientific disciplines.

Because science is all about people, COST creates spaces where people are empowered and ideas can grow without limits. It connects people in high-quality networks that deliver value for money and opportunities to excel. This is a flexible and open approach focused on cooperation, which creates a unique dynamic. It creates a fertile ground for science to flourish.

Academia, industry, public and private sector laboratories work together in networks, sharing knowledge, leveraging diversity and pooling resources.

COST is now more relevant than ever. It is the perfect example of how governments can make a real difference, ensuring that cooperation optimises national investment in research and technology and unlocks the full potential of science.