Previous Fora / 2003
Speakers
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Achilleas Mitsos, |
A Greek national, Achilleas Mitsos holds an MA since 1972 and PhD since 1975 in economics from the University of Pittsburgh, and speaks fluent Greek, English and French. He has taught at the University of Athens and the London School of Economics and he is Robert Schuman Fellow, London School of Economics and Political Science. He has served with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1981 until 1984 as advisor. Since 1985, he has been with the European Commission: Chef de Cabinet of Mr. Varfis, Member of the Commission of the European Communities (1985-1988); Director for Vocational Training, Directorate-General for Education, Training and Youth (1993-1996); Director, Research Directorate-General, Directorate F: Human Potential and Mobility (1996-2000). In his current position, he is the top-ranking career official in the Directorate General responsible for European Community research. Achilleas Mitsos is author of many articles and three books (in Greek) on European integration.
His policy focuses on better financial and strategic coordination of European research, in order to achieve better results in the area of knowledge, including not only research but also education in the ERA (European Research Area). Achilleas Mitsos points out the need for a clear definition and analysis of concrete topics, such as human resources and private investment in research, as well as the use of composite indicators providing an overall view of the research sector. That benchmarking is not only an academic procedure for evaluating the performance of research activities at universities and research centres, but should refer to research activities in the country in general. It is an exercise that provides each State with information, examples and experiences from other States, as well as elements necessary to best formulate policies in the area of research.
As Mitsos puts it, the aim is a European integration in the research initiatives, as it was the introduction of the Euro in economic integration. Raising the governmental financing is only one point, but it is also the public sector's responsibility to create an attractive environment for private investment.
Web resources
European Comission, Research Directorate-General
http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/research/index_en.html
Communiti & Research Information Service
American Association for the Advancement of Science