Residential prosumers are Smart Buildings, which are capable of feeding  energy into the grid based on renewable energy sources like photovoltaics  and at the same time can limit their energy consumption through controllable loads (e.g. heat pumps). Energy storage is an important element of residential prosumers, allowing to decouple production and consumption of electricity with the help of an energy management system (EMS). Residential prosumers play a fundamental role in realizing the full potential of the future European and Russian energy market and will participate in the energy transition process.

BERN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES is the leading house in Switzerland for testing and developing components and systems for smart buildings. Their unique infrastructure called "Prosumer-Lab" allows their researchers to emulate the electrical energy flows of a single-family home or apartment building with photovoltaics and battery storage in a reproducible manner – up to a maximum power of 50 kW. The structure is deliberately kept modular and flexible, hence different system components of a smart home can be compared and tested, e.g. energy managers, inverters and battery storage. Grid simulations with RLC components or real cables allow the investigation of grid effects such as those occurring at a weak grid connection point.

SKOLKOVO INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow, established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT. The Skoltech Center for Energy Systems and ist Microgrids laboratory is  a unique laboratory in Russia offering facilities to test novel control technologies in hardware. Skoltech would like to take advantage of the lab to establish it as a leader in Russia in developing and testing in real hardware and new strategies for controlling microgrids.

WATTS BATTERY is a Moscow based company, developing the first consumer friendly uni-cell modular storage system with an integrated energy management system, making it possible for everyone to manage power sources at their home or apartment. It’s  an all-in-one design, integrating all components for a home energy storage and supply system into one power cell, with the dimensions of a suitcase and with a weight of only 10 kg per unit. The system connects seamlessly to a cloud platform and will learn from user statistics, adjusting it's performance to the user profile.  When used in conjunction with home on-grid power, the management system will automatically switch between battery, on-grid power and solar generation to maximise cost savings for the user.

Within the frame of an Innovation Seed Grant, Watts Battery is willing to support the establishment of academic and technical bridge between Bern University of Applied Sciences and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology to share knowledge, best practices and help to ease the integration of distributed energy solutions, increase sustainability, safety of existing and newly made energy systems and devices for RES, energy storage and management.

In this project the academic partners will establish a testing procedure for the development of the Watts Battery energy management system and help Watts Battery to implement and test optimized self learning optimization algorithms.

 

Participants 

Federico Martin Ibanez Ph.D.
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Center for Energy Systems, Microgrid laboratory

Prof. Dr. Andrea Vezzini
Bern University of Applied Sciences
BFH Energy Storage Research Centre

Prof. Keith Stevenson Ph.D.
Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology
Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage, Center for Energy Systems

Yuriy Vlasov CEO
Watts Battery Ltd.

Machine learning is becoming an unavoidable component for companies to remain competitive in today’s economy. Defined as a data processing discipline in which algorithms can “learn” from great range of data, those algorithms continuously review and refine models to do predictions (Vidal, 2017)*. Within the context of Supply Chain Management, predictive analytics can be defined as using both quantitative and qualitative methods to improve supply chain design and competitiveness (Schoenherr & Speier-Pero, 2015).

Recent examples of applied machine learning corroborate this statement. Amazon now has algorithms to predict demand for hundreds of millions of products it sells, often as much as 18 months ahead (The Economist, 2018). However, it seems like this technology is not only reserved to giants such as Amazon or Google. In Germany, Otto, an e-commerce company, is using machine learning to predict what will be sold within 30 days with 90% accuracy which allows automatically replenishment of around 200’000 items a month with no human intervention (The Economist, 2017).

Goals:

By these examples, the aim of this project is to organize a conference and a workshop with private partners, both in Russia and in Switzerland, to further discuss and highlight the potential of applied machine learning and its impact on Supply Chain Management with the following goals:

• To strengthen the collaboration between Russia and Switzerland
• To further develop complementary skills in both academic institutions
• To train young researchers in Smart Supply Chain Management
• To reinforce interdisciplinary (engineering and management) projects
• To develop an applied project with a private partner

Concept:

The conference in both countries will present the state of the art and results of the several applied researches conducted in this domain and by the partners. In addition, it will share the vision of the private partners about the benefits and constraints of this technology.

Then, the workshops will be organized and held in a company (could be the partner’s company or another one) where machine learning solutions are being developed or already being used. The purpose of the workshops is to better understand and discuss the impact on the day-to-day Supply Chain Management, how it can positively influence the key performance indicators and ultimately lead to operational excellence. Target audience will be companies interested in a joint collaboration with Russia and willing to implement innovative solutions.

We have already reached out to several companies that could potentially become partner of this project.

Farm SKD Ltd., a drug distributor based in the Samara region, already confirmed their willingness to participate in the project.  This company intends to use machine learning technology in order to optimize inventory planning and prevent counterfeit products. Working with the Swiss and Russian academic institutions will be an opportunity for this company to increase its knowledge in smart Supply Chain Management to increase efficiency.

It is expected that, once the project is started, additional Swiss and Russian business partners will collaborate in this project.

 

Participants 

Prof Karine Doan
Haute école Arc, HES-SO

Prof. Dr. Stefano Carrino PhD
Haute école Arc, HES-SO
HE-Arc Ingénierie

Nina Racine
Haute école Arc, HES-SO
Centre de recherche et de formation suisso-russe Runo

Dr. Tatiana Evtodieva Phd
Samara State University of Economics
Department of commerce, services and tourisme

Prof., Dr. Dana Chernova
Samara State University of Economics
Department of commerce, services and tourisme

Dr. Natalia Ivanova
Samara State University of Economics
Department of commerce, services and tourisme

The proposal is aimed to exchange the expertise from the Russian team in glaciers and remote sensing and natural hazards and tree-ring sciences from the Swiss team, and to form the next generation of young researchers in the field, and more precisely in the Mt Elbrus region (Caucasus).

The Russian team will be led by Dr. Dmitry Petrakov and Dr. Olga V. Tutubalina from the Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University. The Russian team specializes in glacier and glacier lakes ground-based and remote monitoring, mountain hazards assessment, debris flow and GLOF field recognition. The members of the Russian team have experience of similar studies in different mountain regions of the world including the Andes, Cordillera Mts., Scandinavian Mts., Heng Duan Shan Mts., Kamchatka, Altai, Khibiny, Caucasus, Pamir, and Tian Shan.

The Swiss partner will be led by Prof. Markus Stoffel and Dr. Juan Antonio Ballesteros-Cánovas, Chair for Climatic Change Impact in the Anthropocene (C-CIA), Institute of Environmental Sciences at the University of Geneva. The C-CIA team has extensive experience in climate change impacts research in mountain environments and has gathered baseline data on the occurrence and magnitude of disasters in general and in the field of debris flows in particular. Team members are performing fundamental research to identify geomorphic changes in high-elevation environments and have developed and/or applied models (mainly 1 and 2D hydrological / hydrodynamic models) to study hydraulic, hydrogeomorphic, and fluvial processes.

The exchange of both teams will be fundamental for an improved understanding of disaster processes in high mountains, and to increase chances of success during future project submissions to calls which have been identified already.

 

Participants

Dr Juan Antonio Ballesteros Cánovas PhD
University of Geneva
Department of Earth Sciences

Prof. Markus Stoffel PhD
University of Geneva
Institute for Environmental Sciences

Dr Dmitry Petrakov PhD
Moscow State University
Faculty of Geography

Dr Olga V. Tutubalina PhD
University: Moscow State University
Départment: Faculty of Geography

The principal goal of this pedagogical and scientific PSG is to enhance the PhD studies at both Department of Actuarial Science (DSA) of University of Lausanne (UNIL) and Probability Theory and Mathematical Statistics Department, Math & Mech (PTMS) of Saint Petersburg State University (SPbSU). Currently, at DAS there are no specific courses in probability and statistics concerning the PhD program. As per September 2018, there will be four PhD students at DSA coming from Russian universities, two of them from PTMS of SPbSU. It is important for PhD students, that along with scientific research on a specific topic, to increase and broaden mathematical knowledge. Through planned lectures and mini-workshops on probability, statistics and stochastic dependence modelling of insurance risks, this project aims at enhancing the current level of the PhD studies at DSA. At the same time, also Master students at DSA will be able to participate in many planed activities. PTMS is one of top probability and statistics department world-wide, with very deep master and PhD program, whereas DSA is internationally known as the best actuarial department in the world mainly due to Professor Hans-Ulrich Gerber. Therefore this PSG envisages to enhance also the PhD program at PTMS of SPbSU concerning insurance modelling and insurance applications.

Through various planned teaching and exchange activities between PSG partners, this PSG shall pave the way for joint PhD supervision from both departments, comprising the mid-term objective.

In a further perspective there will be planned mid-term contacts
on the base of events of the Euler International Mathematical Institute
in Saint Petersburg, PSG partners as well as collaborators at High School of Economics (HSE) and Moscow State University.

Nowadays, PhD students need to successfully publish in an internationally very competitive environment. Aiming at enhancement of their PhD programs at both DSA and PTMS, this project envisages also the development of joint research and scientific exchange focusing on probabilistic modelling and approximation of random fields and insurance applications of extreme value theory. In the mid-term perspective a joint research program is envisaged, involving joint PhD students of both departments and PSG partners. Successful application for funding of the envisaged joint research in the mid-term perspective will be searched through European Research Council (ERC), Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and Research Council in Russia.

The scientific committee of this project consists of Prof. Yakov Nikitin  (Head of PTMS), Prof. Mikhail Lifshits and Dr. Yuri Yakubovich. The key coordinator with Steklov Mathematical Institute, HSE  and Moscow State University is Prof. Alexander Gushchin.

 

Participants 

Prof Oleg Rusakov
St. Petersburg State University
Chair of Probability and Mathematical Statistics, Faculty of Math and Mechanics

Prof Enkelejd Hashorva
University of Lausanne
Actuarial Department, HEC Lausanne

The scientific study of biblical texts is nowadays a highly complex interdisciplinary enterprise. It is no longer sufficient to master Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek and to possess the conventional text-critical skills. Rather, it has come become clear that it is also necessary to acquire a set of tools which allows to see different forms of the ancient textual tradition in their mutual relation. In particular, the relationship between the main pre- and extra-Christian manifestations of these texts (the Hebrew Bible, as it is available in the Masoretic text (MT) and in the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS), as well as the Septuagint (LXX)) is a rich source of information about the textual tradition of the pre-Christian era in its confounding plurality, as well as about  the history of its interpretation. This interplay of texts is part of the history of the spiritual and religious development in the Eastern Mediterranean towards the end of the 1st millennium BCE. However, extracting and implementing this information is a delicate task: the procedure as such as well as each individual result are currently the subject of intense scientific debate. The traditional curricula in biblical studies, be it in Western Europe or in the United States, be it in Eastern Europe or in Israel, are slow to adapt to the new requirements. The subject is in transition, the new teaching forms and contents must first be developed.

The planned Summer School at the University of Bern sees itself as part of this methodological-pedagogical, but also genuinely research-oriented initiative. The Septuagint summer schools or postgraduate seminars are already an established tradition, be it in Göttingen, Salzburg or Oxford. In contrast to these, the Summer School in Bern does not aim to concentrate on a specific manifestation of the texts, such as the Old Greek translation. Rather, it focuses on the Hebrew (both in the traditional consonant basis and the Masoretic interpretive vocalization) as well as the Greek, whose relationship, we believe, makes the intended meaning and the development of the texts comprehensible. To this end, we intend to offer to advanced students of Biblical and Jewish Studies who have sufficient knowledge of Hebrew and Greek 12 reading seminars of 1.5 hours each in five days, prepared by three lecturers from the Berne Institute of Jewish Studies and three Russian colleagues from the new program "Bible Studies and the History of Ancient Israel" at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow. The latter will bring along 6 of their best students. Each of the instructors will guide two reading sessions, the  whole groupe of 12 people participating in each seminar. One focus will be the Dead Sea Scrolls, another the Greek Bible manuscripts. Yet another focus will be the commentaries of the pre-Christian Jewish interpreters (Philo and Josephus). Three remaining sessions will be reserved for a theoretical introduction to the principles of using the respective text form (MT, DSS, LXX), each conducted in pairs by a lecturer from Bern and from Moscow.

 

Participants 

Prof. Dr. René Bloch
University of Bern
Theologische Fakultät, Institut für Judaistik and Institut für Klassische Philologie

Dr. Maria Sokolskaya
University: Göttingen/Bern
Theologische Fakultät, Seminar für Neues Testament (im Forschungsauftrag)

Dr. Peter Schwagmeier
University of Bern
Theologische Fakultät, Institut für Judaistik

Prof. Dr. Mikhail Seleznev
Moscow Higher School of Economics
Faculty of Humanities / Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

Maria Yurovitskaya
Moscow Higher School of Economics
Faculty of Humanities / Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

Alexey Lyavdansky
Moscow Higher School of Economics
Faculty of Humanities / Institute for Oriental and Classical Studies

This PSG Program brings together two research teams from two universities, Saint Petersburg State University and the University of Lausanne, as well as Leman Russe Cultural Association, in Lausanne.

The members of Swiss and Russian research teams will coordinate joint activities -- a workshop and a doctoral school -- in 2018-2019 and onwards.

These initiatives will lay the foundation for future activities.

Our goals:

• set up a creative innovative network between young scholars in both countries;
• boost research in humanities by starting interdisciplinary studies, including Linguistics-Civilization-History;
• promote academic excellence among graduate, postgraduate and PhD students;
• support graduate students' and Phd candidates' promising researches through research advisors;
• create a basis for future long-term initiatives in Cross-Cultural Studies;

 

Participants 

Mrs Elena Simonato PhD
University of Lausanne
Départment: SLAS

Mrs Marina Nechaeva PhD candidate
University of Lausanne
Départment: SLAS

Mrs Irina Ivanova PhD
University of Lausanne
Départment: SLAS/ Leman Russe

Mrs Maria Miretina PhD
Saint-Petersburg State University
Department of Romance Philology, Philological Faculty

M Mikhail Marusenko Prof
Saint-Petersburg State University
Department of Romance Philology, Philological Faculty

Mrs Marina Samarina Dr
Saint-Petersburg State University
Department of Romance Philology, Philological Faculty

Mrs Svetlana Kokoshkina PhD
Saint-Petersburg State University
Department of Romance Philology, Philological Faculty

Mrs Natalia Bichurina PhD
University: Lausanne

This project aims to develop a long-term training exchange program between PhD students of EPFL and MIPT/INEPCP, involved in the field of cutting-edge bioinformatics of (MIPT/INEPCP) and state of art experimental cold ion spectroscopy (LCPM, EPFL). MIPT is a leading Russian technical university in physics/chemistry/biology. Institute of Energy Problems of Chemical Physics hosts PhD students of MIPT to perform their PhD projects. Our partners at INEPCP (PI Dr. M. Gorshkov, institute director) have worldwide recognition for their developments of bioinformatics software tools for proteogenomics. The group of PI at EPFL is known for development of cold ion spectroscopy of biomolecules and for pioneering analytical applications of this innovative experimental approach. The fields of expertise of the two groups are therefore complementary, enabling a synergy of collaboration for PhD students.

While both groups collaborate in research, there was only a limited exchange of young PhD students between the two labs. We propose to train our EPFL PhD students to the new bioinformatics tools during short visits to INEPCP, while Moscow University of Physics and Technology students, working at INEPCP will be trained at EPFL for experimental cold ion spectroscopy of biomolecules. Each training will be organized as a mini research project, which, if successful, will become a part of the student’s PhD thesis. This exchange will allow the students to complement theory by experiment and vise verse.

EPFL group is particularly interested in proteogenomic analysis, predicting the targets (e.g., isomeric peptides), which identification is critical for discovering of biomarkers (e.g., of cancer), but challenging to perform with conventional techniques. The complex two-dimensional UV-MS experimental method of EPFL has demonstrated its performance for such identifications. The worldwide expertise of the Russian partner in proteogenomics is very valuable for such predictions, but also for training of EPFL's students. In return, training on a state of the art cold ion spectrometer at EPFL will bring an unique experience to MIPT students. They may experimentally verify some of their theoretical predictions, derived by proteogenomic tools, for the presence of certain genetic point mutations in proteins.

We preview 4-5 monthly visits to EPFL for 4 PhD students from Moscow and 3  10-day visits for EPFL students to Moscow.  The duration of the visits is dictated by the complexity of the experiment at EPFL and by the possibility to work remotely from EPFL with bioinformatic tools of the Russian partners.

We also preview a few mutual visits of PI’s, who will give one tutorial lecture each for the students of the respective  courses, regular lectured by the partner.

An indirect objective of the project is to set up a positive example for Russian authorities to increase financing of student’s exchange programs, which so far are largely supported by the Swiss agencies.

 

Participants

Dr. Oleg Boyarkine MER
EPFL
LCPM, ISIC, FSB

Mr. Erik Saparbaev MA
EPFL
LCPM, ISIC, FSB

Dr. Mikhail Gorshkov PhD
Russian Academy of Science
Institute of Energy Problems of Chemical Physics

Mrs Elizaveta Solov'eva MA
MIPT
Department of Molecular and Chemical Physics

Mr. Lev Levitsky MA
MIPT
Deapartment of Molecular and Chemical Physics

Mrs Victoria Aladinskaya MA
EPFL
LCPM (from 01.06.2018)

Mrs Julia Bublis
MIPT
Department of Molecular and Chemical Physics

Inverted classroom, a flipped classroom model for higher education, is a form of blended learning consisting of self-learning classroom instruction. The learning phase is focused on factual knowledge and can be drawn from online multimedia support whereas the face-to-face classroom phase is designed to help assimilate and implement the acquired knowledge. Its aim is to pass from passive learning to active learning that requires more demanding competencies and cognitive learning process such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The approach promotes self-reflection, debate and teamwork: competencies that are often required in health professions. The model has been implemented successfully in many medical school programs. However, little is known on the use of modern technologies and distance learning in an inversed classroom setting. Benefits of using such models are to help students address and overcome cultural and language challenges when managing clinical cases.

The aim of this project is to develop distance learning materials and technologies to support students to learn and apply concepts of evidence informed individualised patient care. This project will focus on developing and testing technologies and teaching concepts for an innovative distant learning educational programme on how to recognise, understand and manage cultural and social differences when facilitating patient centred decisions. This is to be achieved through the collaboration of two higher education institutions teaching primary healthcare in Russia and Switzerland and by integrating multimedia into existing inverted classroom model that covers socio-cultural challenges in clinical practice.

Through this innovative approach, technologies could be used to help the students:

1. Develop skills for managing complex psychosocial situations in different cultural context
2. Learn to reframe treatment approaches depending of the health care system
3. Learn to listen to patients and adapt treatment plan depending of patients’ socio-cultural framework.
4. Practice communication skills when communicating with someone from another culture.

This proof-of-principle study is to rely on a mixed methods design approach to test the feasibility of implementing an inverted classroom using multi-media technologies between two cultures, that of Switzerland and Russia. We will develop, implement and pilot test the new program on students from both institutions in autumn of 2018 and in spring 2019. The students will be followed-up for one year.

The project is organised in four stages:

Stage 1. Define teaching goals and educational package.

We will conduct qualitative interviews with 5–10 educators in both schools. We will extract information pertaining key learning outcomes and course content and then re-present the data to the educators to test these and seek consensus using a modified Delphi consensus approach.

Stage 2. Develop teaching material and implementation

The course will be designed and organised using the following template for the inverted classroom:

1. The students are presented with the clinical situation (vignette) and attached documents (exams, reports, etc.)
2. Groups of 10 students are then given 3-5 underlying concepts to investigate (one per 2-3 students) on their own using online support (guidelines, videos, publications, etc.).
3. A theoretical restitution is organised with the lecturer as a facilitator
4. Students practice palpation, clinical exams and techniques under the lecturer’s supervision with simulated situations and peer feedback.

We will seek feedback from the educators by asking them to complete a short questionnaire about their experience of delivering the programme. Four sessions, two on each site, will be observed to assess adherence to the programme and competence of the educators for example facilitation skills, engagement of students in the process.

Stage 3. Measuring student learning.

A quantitative approach will be used to assess before-after skills in managing cultural aspects of care with a particular focus on the notion of patient dignity and treating patients as persons.

Stage 4. Exploring student experience

Finally, semi-structured interviews are to be used to explore gained experience using semi-structured interviews with students. Content analysis using a phenomenological approach will have two research collaborators from each institution explore and analyse interviews from both settings.

We are requesting funds for the planned meetings, workshop and seminar within the research part of the project.

 

Participants 

Prof. Paul Vaucher Ph.D
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
School of Health Sciences Fribourg

Prof. Natalia Krasilnikova Ph.D
The First State Medical University of St. Petersburg I.P. Pavlov
Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of postgraduate Education

Mr François Allart DiO
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
School of Health Sciences Fribourg

Prof.ass Iulia Smirnova Ph.D
The First State Medical University of St. Petersburg I.P. Pavlov
Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of postgraduate Education

Dr. Marina Stepanova MD, DiO
The First State Medical University of St. Petersburg I.P. Pavlov
Department of Nursing Science

Mr Sandro Fossetti DiO
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
School of Health Sciences Fribourg

Prof. Nina Vantchakova Ph.D
The First State Medical University of St. Petersburg I.P. Pavlov
Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of postgraduate Education

Joel Liengme BSc Ost
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (HES-SO)
School of Health Sciences Fribourg

Anna Barabochina BSc edu
The First State Medical University of St. Petersburg I.P. Pavlov
Department of Education and Psychology, Faculty of postgraduate Education

The goal of the present PSG is to trigger an active scientific and educational collaboration between the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Bern (UBE) and Department of Quantum Electronics at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). In order to rapidly start a collaboration, a topic has been selected in which both applicant groups are world experts: Photonic High Dimensional entanglement.

The processing of quantum information requires the coherent control of complex quantum states. Photons are the medium of choice for studying and transmitting entanglement, thanks to their insensitivity to decoherence. The distribution of complex entangled states is relevant both to answer fundamental questions related to non-locality and for practical applications, the most direct being quantum cryptography. However, the generation and manipulation of complex photonic states is hampered by the absence of direct photon-photon interaction. Fortunately, spontaneous parametric downconversion creates photon pairs that are directly entangled in polarization, in transverse momentum or in energy. Most of the experiments involving photonic entanglement for quantum information have been performed with entangled two dimensional systems. However, higher dimensional entangled states are a key resource for advanced device-independent quantum cryptography protocols, but also for a better fundamental understanding of the relation between non-locality and entanglement. Therefore, there is a recent growing interest in studying photonic spatial or energy modes that provide in principle very high entanglement.

The group of Prof. Kulik at MSU has recently develop a range of new methods for the generation  [1] and detection  [2,3] of spatially entangled photon pairs. Those methods rely strongly on the ability to shape the transverse field distribution of the photons with spatial light modulators (SLM). The group of Prof. Stefanov at UBE has introduced the use of so-called “pulse shaping” to manipulate the energy of entangled photons for encoding of quantum information  [4]. This is performed by addressing each energy component of the photons spectra with the combination of a diffractive element and a SLM  [5,6]. In addition the flexibility of the SLM allows to perform adaptive quantum state reconstruction both in the spatial  [7,8] and in the energy  [9] domains.

In order to further increase the complexity and dimensionality of the quantum states, it will be relevant to develop new methods allowing to simultaneously access both spatial and energy degree of freedom of the states. The present project aims at evaluating their feasibility by exchanging the know-how from both applicant groups, with the future goal of achieving the control and detection of the whole spatio-temporal states of entangled photons. This will be the first step towards a more intensive collaboration, supported by common applications of collaborative projects. This topic will also be ideal for future join PhD students.

[1]  E. V. Kovlakov, I. B. Bobrov, S. S. Straupe, and S. P. Kulik, Phys. Rev. Lett. 118, 1 (2017).
[2]  I. B. Bobrov, E. V. Kovlakov, A. A. Markov, S. S. Straupe, and S. P. Kulik, Opt. Express 23, 649 (2015).
[3]  I. B. Bobrov, S. S. Straupe, E. V. Kovlakov, and S. P. Kulik, New J. Phys. 15, (2013).
[4]  S. Schwarz, B. Bessire, A. Stefanov, and Y.-C. Liang, New J. Phys. 18, 035001 (2016).
[5]  B. Bessire, C. Bernhard, T. Feurer, and A. Stefanov, New J. Phys. 16, 033017 (2014).
[6]  C. Bernhard, B. Bessire, T. Feurer, and A. Stefanov, Phys. Rev. A 88, 032322 (2013).
[7]  I. A. Pogorelov, G. I. Struchalin, S. S. Straupe, I. V. Radchenko, K. S. Kravtsov, and S. P. Kulik, Phys. Rev. A 95, 1 (2017).
[8]  G. Struchalin, E. Kovlakov, S. Straupe, and S. Kulik, arXiv:1804.05226 (2018).
[9]  S. Lerch and A. Stefanov, Opt. Lett. 39, 5399 (2014).

 

Participants

Prof. André Stefanov
University of Bern
Institute of Applied Physics

Dr. Bänz Bessire
University of Bern
Institute of Applied Physics

Prof. Sergey Kulik
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Department of Quantum Electronics, Faculty of Physics

Dr. Stanislav Straupe
Lomonosov Moscow State University
Department of Quantum Electronics, Faculty of Physics

Prehistoric archaeology is a scientific discipline characterized by a pronounced interdisciplinarity. It deals with early human communities using modern scientific methods of analysis. The conservation conditions in archaeological sites are of fundamental importance for research. Of particular relevance are sites that favour the preservation of organic finds. These materials are generally not found in archaeological sites on well-ventilated terrestrial soils. In underwater sites of lakes and rivers or in water-saturated sediments of bogs, however, organic materials are preserved for thousands of years. In Switzerland and Russia, the investigation of archaeological sites under water in lakes or in water-logged sediments of fluvial landscapes and bogs has a long research tradition since the 19^thcentury.

In the Alpine Space, the UNESCO World Heritage Sites "Prehistoric Lake Dwellings around the Alps" include a selection of 111 of the almost 1000 known archaeological lake-dwellings in six countries around the Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia). These are the remains of prehistoric pile-dwelling settlements dating from 5000 to 500 B.C. Thanks to the extraordinary wealth of finds, these sites provide precise and detailed insights into the world of the early farmers of Europe - their everyday lives, agriculture, animal husbandry and technical inventions. Due to the extremely precise dating of wood remains and wooden architectural elements (dendrochronology or tree-ring dating), complete prehistoric villages and their spatial development can be traced over a very long period of time. In Russia, in numerous lakes and bogs in the north-western part of the country, comparable prehistoric settlement remains have also been preserved in large numbers. In terms of conservation conditions, they can be compared very well with the sites found in the Alpine Space. However, while the southern sites were mainly inhabited by agricultural communities, in the north-western regions they were societies that practised a combination of hunting, fishing and cultivation.

The project aims to communicate the great scientific potential of archaeological sites in lakes and bogs to students from Russia and Switzerland. Two preparatory workshops will be held in Switzerland and Russia and a summer school in Russia. The courses are intended to introduce methodological principles and practical skills. Above all, however, an exchange across language borders is intended to overcome the boundaries of previous research traditions. Archaeological research in the Alps and north-western Europe, which has so far been largely isolated from each other, is to be enriched by the involvement of students and experienced researchers.

The aim of the project is an exchange of experience in order to overcome the previous limits of paralell research. To achieve this aim the following events are scheduled:

• Workshop 1: Archaeological material from prehistoric peat-bog sites: New aspects of material analysis, technology and conservation (Venue: The Hermitage State Museum, Saint-Petersburg, Russia).
• Workshop 2: Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps: UNESCO World Heritage since 2011. Background information on the nomination process and what other European regions can learn from this process (Venue: University of Bern, Switzerland).
• Summerschool: Archaeology of peat-bog sites (Venue: Archaeological sites near Serteya, Smolenskaya Oblast, North-Western Russia).

 

Participants 

Prof. Dr. Albert Hafner
University of Bern
Institute of Archaeological Sciences

General curator Andrey Mazurkevich, General curator
The State Hermitage Museum Saint Petersburg
Department of Archaeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia

Igor Garbuz
Saint-Petersburg State University
Department of Archaeology

The aim of the project is to organize two workshops that will lay the foundation for a program of regularly held workshops in the field of literary translation. The project will be carried out by lecturers of the Department of Slavic Studies at the University of Basel and the Faculty of Translation at the Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University (LUNN). Furthermore, the project will be supported by the cultural centre Philosophicum in Basel as well as the National Centre for Contemporary Arts Arsenal in Nizhny Novgorod.

The pilot project comprises two workshops that will be held over the course of one year. It will enable the students to deepen their theoretical knowledge and complement it with practical skills in the field of translation. At the same time it will provide a basis for the intensification of the already existing cooperation between the participating universities.

The translation of various text types, especially of literary texts, forms an ideal basis for the consolidation of theoretical and linguo-cultural as well as intercultural competences; it enables the inclusion of areas of practice that relate to cultural mediation. Apart from translating and editing texts, the students will be made familiar with essential aspects of publishing, which includes choosing and editing texts as well becoming acquainted with publication processes.

The project will be rounded off with a public presentation including a reading in Nizhny Novgorod and in Basel. We are considering further presentations in other Russian partner cities (e.g. at the Krasnoyarsk Book Fair) and planning to issue a bilingual publication, the funding of which has already been secured.

 

Particpants

Prof. Dr. Thomas Grob
University: University of Basel
Department: Department of Slavic Studies

Dipl.-Phil., Dipl.-Übers. Maria Chevrekouko
University: University of Basel
Department: Department of Slavic Studies

Dr. Irina Zinoveva
University: Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University
Department: School of Translation and Interpreting

Dr. Svetlana Averkina
University: Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University
Department: Chair of Russian Philology, Foreign Literature and Intercultural Communication

Irina Razina
University: Nizhny Novgorod State Linguistic University
Department: Chair of Russian Philology, Foreign Literature and Intercultural Communication

We request a funding for establishing a high standing network for long-term exchange and collaboration on education and research between the University of Geneva and Astrakhan State University working in the field of aquatic sciences. Water is critical for  human and planetary well-being, and water-related challenges are in the hearth of the quest toward sustainable future. Among the challenges water quality, monitoring and protection have been defined as a focal point of the network with two areas of excellence: water resource quality and pollution, biodiversity and ecosystem services. We will focus on the Volga-Caspian Basin, an exceptional and diverse ecosystem including the Volga Delta adjoining arid territories, semi-desert landscapes of the Peri-Caspian Lowland and the unique Caspian Sea-Lake. This basin is very rich of natural resources, numerous endemic species of animals and plants, thus representing a unique “natural laboratory” to explore the structure and function of large water bodies and their watershed basins. It is very rich in oil and gas and thus dominated by the petrochemical industry. The increased economic use and intensification of the local economic activities induced different alterations, imposing negative effects on its natural ecosystem and thereby potentially putting it at risk. These alterations were the “drivers” of recent efforts for the monitoring, analysis and prognosis of Caspian Sea Basin conditions. All these different aspects of ecology, biodiversity and potential environmental impacts on Caspian Sea Basin water resources will be therefore considered via the educational network activities.  The planned activities includes set up a standing interactive Swiss-Russian field summer school (at ASU) for gaining knowledge on the Caspian Sea ecosystems and hands-on research experience participating in field observations, knowledge exchange of water quality monitoring practices and fostering the practical skills and water quality assessment (at UNIGE) as well as activities related with the  long-term extension of the educational network. The Educational Network for Sustainable Water Resources will provide very favourable environment for personal development of young  and talented researchers at PhD level and a unique opportunity to obtain an interdisciplinary training experience with an integrative approach to a societal and ecological issue representative of current challenges humanity faces worldwide on its quest to the development of a sustainable future. It will also enable the young participants to conduct comparative studies between Caspian Sea and lake Geneva, as well as to provide them first networking opportunities for future transboundary collaborations, an essential skill for prospective environmental science specialists. The setting up educational network for sustainable water resources and related activities corresponds to  long-term plans for the development of the Department F.-A. Forel for environmental and aquatic sciences (UNIGE) and Chair of Biotechnology, Zoology and Aquaculture (ASU) and fosters the already existing institutional agreement between the two universities.

 

Participants

Prof. Dr. Vera Slaveykova
University: University of Geneva
Départment: Deprtament F.A. Forel for environmental and aquatic sciences

Prof. Dr. Mikhail Egorov
University: Astrakhan State University
Départment: Department Biotechnology, zoology and aquaculture

The common vision of Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH) and Siberian State Medical University in Tomsk (SSMU), Russian Federation, is a joint annual course in epidemiology. The current project represents a practical start of this joint teaching activity and consists of (i) analysis of the course needs, (ii) development of curriculum and teaching activity, (iii) training of trainers (ToT), particularly at SSMU and (iv) development of mid-term strategies to sustain the course (finances, trainers, etc.). The teaching of this project will take place at SSMU.

Objectives 

3. To define the needs of a joint course in epidemiology and of teaching staff
4. To develop the curriculum and teaching activities of the course
5. To train the trainers (ToT) at SSMU in teaching epidemiology
6. To develop a strategy to sustain the annual course

Activities:

1. To perform a course review of SSMU teaching in order to identify potential teachers / scientific staff and needs for the course
2. To develop and establish the curriculum and teaching activities of the course
3. To develop and implement a one day ToT-seminar for scientists of SSMU
4. To implement the first joint course in epidemiology in close collaboration between Swiss TPH epidemiologists and SSMU scientific staff
5. To develop a strategy for sustaining the course

A broad spectrum of educational methods will be used: realistic case studies and group work to force the direct discussions, interaction and the understanding of various influencing factors to put different elements into context.

SwissTPH and SSMU joint mid-term goals:

• To implement a joint annual course in applied epidemiology:

• To train MSc, PhD and MD students from Russia and Switzerland,
• To train staff of clinical trials and research projects in Russia and Switzerland
• To continuously develop the course at SSMU with relevant faculty staff
• To offer the course in first years to SSMU trainees but later to national and international interested students

 

Participants

Prof. Peter Odermatt
University: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH), Basel, Switzerland
Départment: Epidemiology and Public Health Department

Dr. Jan Hattendorf
University: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH), Basel, Switzerland
Départment: Epidemiology and Public Health Department

Dr. Axel Hoffmann
University: Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (SwissTPH), Basel, Switzerland
Départment: Education and Training Department

Prof. med. Olga Fedorova
University: Siberian State Medical University (SSMU), Tomsk, Russian Federation
Départment: Faculty of Pediatrics Department

Dr. med. Marina Fedotova
University: Siberian State Medical University (SSMU), Tomsk, Russian Federation
Départment: Faculty of Pediatrics Department

Dr. med. Tatiana Sokolova
University: Siberian State Medical University (SSMU), Tomsk, Russian Federation
Départment: Center of Medical Simulation

Assoc. Prof. Dr. med. Evgenia Deeva
University: Siberian State Medical University (SSMU), Tomsk, Russian Federation
Départment: Faculty of Pediatrics Department