Europe & International
The aim of CNRS Physics' international policy is to increase the impact and relevance of its research by promoting exchanges with research teams from around the world. The Institute uses CNRS structures for this and the policy is implemented through the creation of shared laboratories. Two thirds of CNRS Physics' scientific publications are now the result of international collaboration initiatives.
A discipline which is open to the whole world
CNRS Physics' international strategy promotes relations with the European Union and countries with high scientific potential, such as the United States, Japan and Canada. The Institute also maintains strong collaborative links with Russia and Singapore and has expanded these in recent years to India and to Latin America. CNRS Physics pays particular attention to all projects which promote the expertise behind French research, worldwide.
International influence
The CNRS's different tools enable CNRS Physics to give structure to the multitude and wealth of its research teams' international interactions.
The first main example of these tools is the International Emerging Actions initiative (IEA). There are currently 58 IEA running. On average, 66% of the CNRS Physics' publications are co-authored with international partners.
In addition, there are currently 12 International Research Networks (IRN, ex-GDRI) and 21 International Research Projects (IRP), whose respective objectives are to give a structure to networks of laboratories and of "laboratories without walls".
Finally, there are 6 International Research Laboratories (IRL, formerly called International Joint Units or UMI);
At the forefront of Horizon 2020
CNRS Physics laboratories are strongly involved in the construction of the European Research Area. From 2014 to 2016, they submitted 580 applications to the European Commission in response to calls for tenders in the framework of the Horizon 2020 program.
These applications covered subjects relating to scientific excellence (European Research Council, ERC), Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) and Marie Sklodowska-Curie projects.
A central role in two flagship projects
The CNRS Physics plays a central role in two European flagship projects, within the framework of the Future and Emerging Technologies program:
- Graphene: dedicated to the development of applications for this two-dimensional material;
- Quantum Technologies: built around four sub-domains - sensors and metrology, communication and cryptography, quantum simulation and quantum computing.
The ERC - Supporting scientific excellence
The European Research Council (ERC) funds scientific excellence at the frontiers of knowledge. This program is dedicated to exploratory research and its sole selection criterion is scientific excellence. Since the ERC's creation in 2007, nearly 75 researchers from CNRS Physics have benefited from its support for work on their scientific projects.