The biggest project in the history of Latvian science to date, CAMART2, has been launched in the face of stiff competition, this major project has been awarded not only Horizon 2020 funding, but has also received support from the Latvian government.
The project is being conducted in collaboration with Swedish partners: the KTH Royal Institute of Technology and RISE Acreo, which are experts of global standing in the realm of innovation and technology transfer. It is hoped that this collaboration with its Swedish colleagues will foster the development of the University of Latvia’s Institute of Solid State Physics Centre of Excellence into a major materials science centre within Latvia and the Baltic Sea region with a high commercialisation capacity and the capability to operate effectively in the international research and innovation market. The project will facilitate the formation of a more comprehensive innovation and technology transfer ecosystem in the realm of research into modern materials and the use of such materials in innovative products, thus paving the way for the launch of new advanced technology and high added value manufacturing companies.
“The launch of the biggest international science project to date once again clearly attests to the high competence of our scientists, which is recognised globally. Through CAMART², an international science project with a very high potential for discoveries, Latvia is becoming a Baltic Silicon Valley. Many preconditions have already been met in order for significant changes to be achieved in the field of new discoveries dictated by the modern world by unlocking the creative potential of Latvia’s talented scientists,” emphasised Kārlis Šadurskis, Minister for Education and Science.
The European Commission has allocated EUR 15 million in funding to support the development of the Institute of Solid State Physics Centre of Excellence. This funding is intended to cover all costs related to the institutional upgrading of the centre of excellence over a seven year period. In addition to this sum, the Latvian government plans to invest over EUR 16 million in upgrading the centre’s scientific infrastructure.