The University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the Council for Industrial and Scientific Research (CSIR) are SA`s representatives in a European Union-funded international research project on free and open source software.
According to the UWC, the two-year project involves 17 partners in 12 countries around the world, jointly receiving a total of R4.8 million from the EU`s 6th Framework Research programme.
"The importance of this unique project for SA is underlined by the participation of the CSIR and UWC in cooperation," says UWC.
Working under the acronym of FLOSSWorld (FLOSS stands for free/libre/open source software), the project aims to promote international collaboration between the EU and developing countries. It will conduct research and develop policy related to open source software at a global level for the first time, in Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, India, Malaysia and SA.
FLOSSWorld is led by the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (Merit) at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. The project brings together European research institutes and public research institutes in the participating countries.
It is expected that FLOSSWorld will build upon the past research of the EU partners - Merit, the Oxford Internet Institute, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Madrid and FUNDECYT/Government of Extremadura, Spain - and extend this research experience beyond the EU, embedding it in a high-profile global network.
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