31. March 2011 15:41
Dr Monica Dietl starts as COST Office Director
Dr Monica Dietl
Brussels, 1 April 2011 - Dr Monica Dietl is joining the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) as the new COST Office Director. COST is one of the longest running intergovernmental programmes supporting collaboration between scientists and researchers in Europe and beyond. The COST Office is provided by the European Science Foundation (ESF) through a European Commission contract.
COST provides a platform for European scientists to cooperate on a particular project and exchange expertise. These projects, called COST Actions, increase the mobility of researchers across Europe and foster the establishment of scientific excellence in the nine key domains.
As Director, Dr Dietl will support the COST Committee of Senior Officials (CSO), the decision-making body of the programme with representatives from the 36 COST countries, with the implementation of new research networks (called COST Actions) as well as strategic matters. She will also support ESF in its capacity of implementing agent of COST activities.
Dr Dietl joins COST from the French National Research Centre (CNRS), where she was representative and Director of its Brussels office. Previously she worked as policy officer at the European Commission, Directorate General for Research, where she contributed to the preparation of the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP7) “Ideas” programme and to the setting up of the European Research Council. Prior to that she was responsible for European and industrial partnerships in the CNRS life sciences department.
“COST plays an important role in the European Research Area and I am excited to be joining the organisation,” said Dr Dietl. “As a researcher with experience in and with private and public institutions, I believe that its bottom-up approach gives COST a unique experience in linking research and innovation through scientific, often interdisciplinary, research performance which is of significant added value in shaping the European research landscape.”
“Dr Dietl does indeed join us at a very important time for the programme,” adds Dr Ángeles Rodríguez-Peña, COST CSO President. “For COST, 2011 is not only the halfway point of FP7 but also the year to highlight our 40 years of existence with an eye towards defining our contribution to the Europe 2020 strategy. The COST Office is the backbone of COST’s structure and I am glad to have been able to attract someone of her calibre to the important role of COST Office Director.”
Dr Dietl is a biologist specialising in neuroscience. She has carried out research at Université Paris VI ‘Pierre et Marie Curie’, the Lainz Hospital in Vienna, Sandoz in Basel, and the Collège de France in Paris. She has lived and worked in a wide range countries and multicultural environments, in both the private and public sector.
“Dr Dietl's experience in science and science policy at the European level will help ensure COST play its role in the European Research Area. I wish her every success in her new position,” said Professor Marja Makarow, Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation.
Notes to Editors
For more information, please contact
Chloe Kembery, ESF press office Cell +33 (0) 643-172-382
Inge De Prins, COST PR and Communications Manager Tel +32 (0)2 533 38 03
http://www.cost.esf.org/ COST is the oldest and widest intergovernmental framework for European Cooperation in Science and Technology, making it possible for the various national facilities, institutes, universities and private industry to work jointly on a wide range of Research and Development (R&D) activities. COST is presently used by the scientific communities of 36 European countries to cooperate in more than 250 common research networks (called COST Actions) supported by national funds. www.cost.eu
The European Science Foundation (ESF) coordinates collaboration in research, networking, and funding of international research programmes, as well as carrying out strategic and science policy activities at a European level. Its members are 78 national research funding and performing agencies, learned societies and academies in 30 countries. www.esf.org
