University of Melbourne and CNRS sign MoU

The University of Melbourne has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), or French National Centre for Scientific Research - the largest fundamental research organisation in Europe. The agreement is funded by the university’s ‘Research at Melbourne: Ensuring Excellence and Impact to 2025’ strategy. 

The MoU will support a Researcher Visits Program, which will fund three University of Melbourne projects annually over a four-year period to increase research collaboration between the two countries. Researchers will be eligible for up to $10,000, with an initial total program budget of $80,000 in place. CNRS will provide equivalent funding for its nearly 12,000 researchers.

The University of Melbourne’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Professor James McCluskey, said the program “reflects our mutual interest in collaborating to address some of our most difficult and shared challenges”. Along with the Research Visits Program, the agreement will also promote the organisation of joint conferences and seminars, joint publication of research results and other scientific cooperation.

Professor Dick Strugnell, Pro Vice Chancellor (Graduate Research), who was involved in establishing the program, said “the agreement represents an outstanding opportunity for the university to work more closely with one of the world’s best science organisations”. Professor McCluskey added that the program “reflects our mutual interest in collaborating to address some of our most difficult and shared challenges”.

The CNRS undertakes research via 10 distinct research institutes, covering biological sciences, chemistry, ecology and environment, information and computer sciences, engineering sciences, mathematics, human and social sciences, physics, earth sciences and astronomy, and nuclear and particle physics.