Berlin Process Western Balkans – 2nd Joint Science Conference

Moving Forward: Guidelines for Improved Science Systems

The 2nd Joint Science Conference of the Berlin Process Western Balkans was organised by the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina together with several partners: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Austrian Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Austrian Ministry for Science, Research and Economy and the Platform PERFORM (Performing and Responsive Social Sciences; funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by Helvetas).

The Vienna conference brought together: national academies of sciences and arts, rectors’ conferences, distinguished scientists and science managers ad personam as well as junior scientists and invited representatives of the European Commission (Directorate-General for Research and Innovation) and the Regional Cooperation Council (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina). The junior scientists were selected within a side-project realised together with PERFORM, including several national and regional workshops held in the Western Balkans. The programme also featured a dialogue day with Austrian political decision makers and the Vienna based embassies of the countries involved in the Berlin Process Western Balkans.

The proceedings concretised the results of the 1st Joint Science Conference of the Berlin Process Western Balkans, focusing on three levels / areas of action:
(1) systemic and institutional change in the Western Balkans science systems,
(2) quality assurance in higher education, research and innovation in compliance with standards of the European Research Area as well as
(3) design of measures to implement improvements and new approaches.

The results were summarised in a Joint Statement, which was inserted into the 3rd Western Balkans Summit of heads of state and government, held on 4. July 2016 in Paris (France).