The aim of this scheme is to drive the establishment of new international collaborations between Scotland and Europe. Initially, this pilot will focus on driving connectivity between Scotland and two key bilateral partners for the Scottish Government, France and Germany.

This pilot has a Life Sciences focus, however, the scheme is not exclusive to life scientists and is open to other discipline networks.

Researchers from across Scotland, France and Germany will be matched with one other researcher for an informal 1:1 15 minute ‘coffee break’ conducted over Zoom.

The researchers will be matched based on their selected topic and their location. We will not match researchers based on career level or discipline. Coffee Breaks will then occur between two researchers, either Scotland-Germany or Scotland-France, who are interested in the same topic. Scottish researchers will also be given the opportunity to connect with other Scottish researchers. 

The Process:

• Researchers will complete SULSA’s short form stating their area of interest and location
• SULSA will contact researchers once a match has been made and create a Doodle poll for both parties to complete their availability for around 10 days later
• A 15-minute Zoom call will be set up by SULSA (participants are welcome to speak for longer if they wish)
• A short feedback form will be sent to the participating researchers

Our current coffee break topics are based on SULSA’s Strategic Groups and include:

• Infectious Disease
• Environment, Bioeconomy and Sustainability
• Diagnostics and Therapeutics

We’re moving to an automated system! This is currently under design and will be launched over the coming weeks. Sign-ups have been paused during this phase but please check back soon. 

For any enquiries regarding this scheme please contact SULSA’s Senior Operations Officer Jill.Inkster@glasgow.ac.uk

SULSA’s Rheinland-Pfalz Research Funding aims to support the development of ECRs including their international networks, research outputs and technical skills and knowledge. This fund has been jointly created by Scottish Government, the State Government of Rheinland-Pfalz, and SULSA to support research collaborations between Scotland and the Rheinland-Pfalz region of Germany.

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The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) have considerable funding available for collaborative academic research and a strong interest in working with Scottish researchers. Learn more via our Scotland-Germany Research Collaborations page.

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Research Map is a helpful tool to search German universities by discipline or keyword.