Annual Meeting Global Research Council 2024
The Global Research Council is a virtual organization, comprised of the heads of science and engineering funding agencies worldwide, that promotes the sharing of data and best practices for high-quality collaboration among funding agencies worldwide.
The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Fonds Ivoirien pour la Science, la Technologie et l'Innovation (FONSTI) are pleased to host this year's Annual Meeting. The meeting will take place from Monday 27 to Friday 31 May 2024 in Interlaken, Switzerland. The topic discussed this year is "Sustainable research".
On the first two days, side events and the GRC regional meetings will take place. Then, the 12th Annual Meeting will be held on the 29 and 30 of May, followed by technical visits on the last day.
Side events are workshops or round table discussions that are organized before the GRC Annual Meeting and focus on topics that the host(s) of the side event suggest. They are separate events from the Annual Meeting and, therefore, are not part of the main program. All GRC member organizations are invited to the side events and they may also be opened to other guests. Participation in the GRC Annual Meeting, on the other hand, is by invitation only and targets a reduced circle of participants.
May 27, 2024 - May 31, 2024
Congress Kursaal Interlaken AG
Schedule
May 27
May 28
May 29
May 30
May 31
08:30
Arrival and registration side events
09:00
Side event Multilateral Engagement
Introduction
Theatersaal
09:00
Executive Support Group Meeting
Brünig 1-3
09:25
Side event Multilateral Engagement: Session 1 (part 1)
Harmonising Transdisciplinary Collaboration and Multilateral Funding for Global Sustainability
Multilateral funding tools to address global challenges: The Global Centers Program in Climate Change and Clean Energy (organisers: NSERC/NSF US)
Theatersaal
10:40
Coffee break
Konzerthalle
11:00
Side event Multilateral Engagements: Session 1 (part 2)
Novel arrangements to foster sustainability research (organisers: IAI/CONFAP/FAPESP)
World café
Summary, discussion and conclusion session 1
Theatersaal
12:00
Lunch
13:00
Side event Multilateral Engagement: Session 2
Scaling MLE Projects Globally: Best Practices for Synergy and Inclusion
The Science Granting Councils Initiative in sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI): experiences in public funder capacity-strengthening and network-building (organizers: NRFSA/FONSTI/IDRC/DFG)
Leveraging regional research council networks for more effective partnerships and greater impact on a global scale (organizers: IDRC/FONSTI/NRCT/SENACYT)
Summary, discussion and conclusion session 2
Theatersaal
13:00
WG Responsible Research Assessment
Brünig 1-2
15:00
Side event Multilateral Engagement: Session 3 (part 1)
Towards Equity and Solidarity: Fostering Inclusive and Responsible Cooperation in Global Research
Enhancing Bilateral and Multilateral Collaboration between Large and Small Research Entities (organiser: Science Fund of Serbia)
Panel on the topic North-South Partnerships for Effective Decolonisation of Science towards Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa(organisers: CSRS / Swiss TPH)
Theatersaal
15:00
WG Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (1)
Brünig 1-2
16:00
Coffee break
Konzerthalle
16:20
Side event Multilateral Engagement: Session 3 (part 2)
Responsible Internationalisation: A funders dialogue towards building reciprocal, impactful, and equitable international research partnerships (organisers: JST/NSERC/NSF/STINT)
Research Software - Challenges and Funding (DFG, NWO, FAPESP)
Summary, discussion and conclusion session 3
Wrap-up of the day
Theatersaal
16:30
WG Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity (2)
Brünig 1-2
18:30
Executive Support Group Meeting
at Hotel Metropole
Booklet and Agenda
With this link you get access to the booklet with the programme of the Annual Meeting.
You can find the agenda here.
Side Events
Overview of Side Events (incl. description, rooms, other information) is available here.
Technical Visits
The technical visits will take place on Fiday, 31 May 2024. Please find more information on the different options available here: details
Bilateral Meetings
Many organisations use the Annual Meeting as an occasion to have bilateral meetings. To support this, dedicated slots have been introduced in the programme of the Annual Meeting this year.
Regarding the spaces where such meetings can take place, we suggest the following options:
Social spaces: There will be seating occasions where meetings can take place that are not confidential in an informal setting.
Meeting room (ad hoc): A meeting room downstairs will be available most of the duration of the Annual Meeting for bilateral encounters. The hosts will set up a white board outside this room for booking management (no reservations possible in advance).
Meeting room booking (at venue): The venue has rooms that can be rented directly by interested organisations per half day. If you are interested in this option, please contact the Kursaal at info@congress-interlaken.ch.
Registration
Visas
If you are a citizen of an EU or EFTA state, you do not require a visa to enter Switzerland. If you are a citizen of a non-EU or EFTA state, please check the overview of ID and visa provisions to see if you require a visa. If you have a visa of category C or D of another Schengen member state, this visa is also valid for Switzerland during its period of validity.
If you need a special/specific invitation letter for your VISA, please indicate this in your registration form or contact grc24@snf.ch. Please note that this invitation letter may also need to be sent to the relevant consulate/embassy in your country of origin. If you need a letter of invitation for VISA purposes, please contact us with the following information:
Address of the visa issuing embassy
Surname (as stated in passport)
Given name (as stated in passport)
Title
Gender
Organisation
Job title
Email address
Nationality
Date of birth
Passport number
Home address
Purpose/role at meeting (e. g. participant, speaker)
Venue and arrival
Congress Kursaal Interlaken AG
Strandbadstrasse 44, Interlaken
3800 Interlaken
Internet access
Due to Switzerland's new data protection law, participants must register in an identifiable manner in order to obtain Internet access. Specifically, this means participants must either register with a Swiss mobile phone number or a credit card. Internet however is accessible for free.
Parking
Public parking spaces are available around the Kursaal Interlaken, which can be paid via parking meter / parking machine. If necessary, a gravel parking lot opposite the Kursaal Interlaken can be reserved. This would incur additional costs. If you are interested, please contact info@congress-interlaken.ch.
Arrival by air
Please consult sbb.ch for exact departure, transfer and arrival times.
Interlaken has two train stations: Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West. The Kursaal Interlaken is in the middle between the two stations. Most of the hotels are closer to Interlaken West with the exception of the Hotel Carlton.
Accommodation
Meeting attendees will be responsible for making their own reservations. We have reserved a number of rooms in different hotels in Interlaken and we encourage you to book as soon as possible. Below you can find a list of suggested hotels with special rates. Reservations for hotels can be made via Kursaal.
Please be aware that the block reservations for the suggested hotels end on 26 March 2024. This is the high season for tourism in Interlaken. After this date, only a very restricted number of rooms can be booked via the Kursaal Interlaken platform. Please make sure to book your rooms before this date.
If you can no longer find a suitable room for your arrival dates, we advise you to look for possible accommodation via the usual hotel portals (www.booking.com, www.trivago.ch, www.swisshotels.com, www.hotels.com, https://www.interlaken.ch/planen/unterkuenfte/hotels, https://www.bern.ch/en). If you do not find any rooms available in Interlaken, you can extend your search to neighbouring towns such as Spiez, Brienz, Lauterbrunnen and Thun, which are around 20-30 minutes from Interlaken (direct train line), and to the city of Bern, which can be reached in around 60 minutes by direct train from Interlaken.
All information about walking routes and times from the hotels to the venue you find in this document.
Metropole Hotel Interlaken
Höheweg 37
3800 Interlaken
metropole-interlaken.ch
6 minutes walking distance to Congress Kursaal Interlaken
Route Google Maps
Hotel Carlton
Höheweg 92-94
3800 Interlaken
carltoneurope.ch
9 minutes walking distance to Congress Kursaal Interlaken
Route Google Maps
Hotel Krebs
Bahnhofstrasse 4
3800 Interlaken
krebshotel.ch
10 minutes walking distance to Congress Kursaal Interlaken
Route Google Maps
Hotel Essential by Dorint
Rugenparkstrasse 8/10
3800 Interlaken
essential-hotel-interlaken.dorint.com
15 minutes walking distance to Congress Kursaal Interlaken
Route Google Maps
Hotel Bernerhof
Bahnhofstrasse 16
3800 Interlaken
bernerhof-interlaken.ch
11 minutes walking distance to Congress Kursaal Interlaken
Route Google Maps
Contacts
Swiss National Science Foundation - GRC 2024 Team:
+41 79 573 98 23
Emergency numbers in Switzerland
The most important emergency number in Switzerland and in Europe is 112.
If you dial 112, you will be connected with the police emergency control centre. You can also call this number using a foreign SIM card or when using a prepaid mobile phone card with no credit.
Other emergency numbers
Police: 117
Fire service: 118
Ambulance: 144
SBB Transport Police: 0800 117 117
"Helping Hand" counselling helpline (CHF 0.20 per call): 143
Toxicological information centre (in case of suspected poisoning): 145
Medical consultations
Hospital Interlaken, Alpine Emergency Center
Phone: +41 33 826 26 26
E-Mail: i.notfall@spitalfmi.ch
Pharmacy
Grosse Apotheke Dr. G. Bichsel AG
Bahnhofstrasse 5A, 3800 Interlaken
Phone: +41 33 827 60 00