Vitebsk scientists gain access to advanced European experience thanks to the EU program "Horizon 2020"

Vitebsk scientists, thanks to the EU framework program "Horizon 2020", gain access to advanced European experience. This opinion was shared by Vasily Rubanik, Director of the Vitebsk Institute of Technical Acoustics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.

"Our institute's participation in the "Horizon 2020" program gives us the opportunity to undergo internships using European funds. This year, five of our employees, including young scientists, have already been able to work with modern European equipment alongside distinguished scientists. This means that young scientists gain access to advanced global experience. Moreover, thanks to such an exchange, we can work in parallel with foreign colleagues on various topics, not only within this project, and publish in high-ranking scientific journals worldwide. This helps us gain recognition in Europe," noted Vasily Rubanik.

The Vitebsk Institute of Technical Acoustics of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is a participant in one of the projects of the European Union's framework program "Horizon 2020", namely - "Tunable multiferroics based on oxygen-octahedral structures" (TUMOC). The project involves 10 organizations from Portugal, Germany, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom. Their working meeting took place in Vitebsk.

As explained by the project leader, Doctor from the University of Aveiro (Portugal) Andrey Salak, the work is aimed at modifying the process of creating a material that could become a universal sensor. Each participant is engaged in a separate stage according to their specialization. In particular, Vitebsk scientists activate new material properties using ultrasonic technologies. Such a base can be used, for example, in the production of safety sensors that react to various changes in temperature, humidity, pressure, sound, etc. Furthermore, the final product of the development can be used in medicine and everyday life. The main goal of the project participants is the implementation of the RISE (Research and Innovation Staff Exchange) mobility program. This is an exchange of research experience aimed at creating scientific and technological

foundations for the further formation of a unified European research area and the promotion of scientific developments of different countries to the EU market.

"The world is so dynamic now. It is difficult to create something new alone, but in a team, optimal solutions can be found for specific practical scientific problems and fundamental discoveries can be made," concluded Vasily Rubanik. "Horizon 2020" is the framework program of the European Union for scientific research and innovation for 2014-2020, which replaced the 7th framework program (ended in 2013). The program's budget is about 80 billion euros, making it the largest in the history of the European Union program to support science and innovation and one of the most expensive government science support programs in the world. This time, special attention is paid to the commercialization of the results of scientific research projects - continuous support for developments from idea to market.

Ekaterina Knyazeva - BELTA.