Take two mobile in hand and compare imagesBut these days it seems to me difficultAll disciplines foreigners account for 3 Pressure from the markets could not relaxEvolution of the spiritsRadical change of sceneryExisting housing sales thus increased by 08 billion bushels the course had fallen 3In France photovoltaics is fire all woodWe employ directly more than 2000 people in ChinaUnemployment benefits are almost nonexistentFrench mathematicians outweigh their German counterparts by 11 to 8 and chemists of German fighting hexagonal colleagues by 8 to 5. Research, comparisons between countries are difficult but inevitable. There is no Cup World researchers, or the science Olympics. Some indicators are yet to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the nations: Nobel Prize laureates, the awards collected scientific articles published by major international magazines and the number of citations obtained by their authors. All the agencies and laboratories of the world use Bibliometric tools to assess the performance of their scientists. The Anglo-Saxons were invented a formula to describe this situation: "Publish or perish" (publish or perish).
The comparison between the France and the Germany has all the more sense that these two countries have enough nearby "Universalists" search strategies. All other European countries focusing on priority disciplines, most often in relationship with their industrial strengths. "In fundamental research, the Germany and the France are significantly at the same level taking into account the respective size of the country," judge Pierre Papon, former Director General of the CNRS and now Emeritus Professor at the school superior of physics and chemistry industrial de Paris (Espci). The two countries are also facing similar relitigation: how to reinforce and reward academic research of excellence What are the priority themes for the society and the economy of the country How improve the valorisation of public research and encourage transfers to the private sector In terms of budget, the Germany ahead of the hexagon: 65 billion in 2007 (total public and private expenditure) injected $ 44 billion dollars for the France. But a good part of this advance comes from the industrial fabric of German much more technology than its hex equivalent.
Actions targeted
The Germany intends to accelerate the movement with a high-tech strategy launched by Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel music development. "The objective of the plan is to set up strategic partnerships with companies to improve their international competitiveness." "We selected 17 technology key," said Sonja Kind, of the Ministry of Education and research Germany (BMBF).
In total, more than 20 billion euros over five years will be devoted to these targeted actions aimed at the development of innovative products. To win this bet, Berlin table on a simple principle: 1 euro of public money should be completed by 5 euros from the private sector. Successful programs include automotive electronics (600 million euros in total), flat technology based Oled (EUR 600 million), the photovoltaic sensors in organic materials (360 million), lithium (420 million) batteries and carbon nanotubes (280 million). "We rely on our technological SMEs which are very large exporters", says Sonja Kind. This "Mittelstand" () very dynamic relies on another local speciality: the alternating training. "This allows form bac 3 very well adapted to the needs of the business," adds Pierre Papon.
The academic side, the situation is not so brilliant. The country was catastrophé (as France) by the Shanghai rankings which have established a totally incongruous truth: not a single German University is part of the first 50 global campus. These poor results have not remained without effect. In a recent summit meeting between the Federal State (Bund) and regions (Länder), it was decided to make the country a "Republic of education". Behind this slogan a pompous strand lies a major decision: inject 10 of the GDP of the country in education and research at the horizon of 2015. Currently, the ratio is 8.9 of GDP (6.2 for education and 2.7 for the total of public and private research). It was to find a few additional billion injected into the knowledge economy. For the moment, no concrete action has been decided, if not the creation of a joint (Bund and Länder) working group.
List of priorities
Starting in 2009, the research budget should increase by 8. In a legislature, the staffing of the BMBF thus experienced an historic increase of 33. This umpteenth plan comes after the "high-tech strategy", the "Pact for research" "excellence initiative" and the "Pact for higher education." This proliferation of initiatives has led to several critics, including the President of the Scientific Council supposed to coordinate actions between the federal authority and the regions. The latter, and the Presidents of the universities, estimated that these measures are not enough to boost German universities rather sick. But Berlin has decided to retain the principle of "super-campus", contrary to the tradition of the country. These elite universities will benefit from exceptional means. Objective: at a German University in the World Top 10 by 2015. The same strategy applies to the poles of competitiveness, with the creation of "super-pôles" with additional means.
The France is in a neighboring position. The Government is trying to boost the current organization, while maximizing the return on investment of public expenditure. But the Pact research seduced not really public researchers, scientific institutions dragging feet to transfer their powers to universities, commercialization of academic discoveries little relays in the industry, and hexagonal universities are Anglo-Saxon elites. The street Descartes prepares a list of priority topics which will be well-served by Bercy. But this brand of unexpected affection does not reassures researchers who fear above all the Ministerial pilotage. It is also planned to transfer the ghostly High Council science and technology of the Elysee Palace at Matignon to improve its effectiveness. It has more hexagonal strategy in early December, when two lighthouses in the country, the CNRS and Inserm agencies, will sign the contract of four-year plan with the State.
In the meantime, the massive increase in the tax credit research (CIR) in the 2009 budget fails neither researchers nor young innovative companies. For the first, this tax measure is not the "real money" sounding and stumbling. For the latter, this cash is an additional premium paid to large traditional companies that do not need. "It is an application of the teachings of St. Matthew." "It rewards those who have already given," said Pierre Papon. According to this expert, these incentives will not redress the bar of industrial research. Name of a popular maxim just as evocative as the writings of saint Matthew: "It does not drink a donkey is not thirst."
