Under the 2009 winners of the European Research Council,
Valerie Pécresse Minister of Higher Education and Research beg you to kindly attend the cocktail reception to be held on
October 22, 2009 at 19 am in Room Hubert Curien
21 rue Descartes - 75231 Paris Cedex 05
RSVP
Madam Minister,
Thank you for your invitation to attend the cocktail you organize by honor the winners of the European Research Council (European Research Council, ERC) which will take place October 22.
I will not attend this cocktail, one of whose goals is obviously to celebrate the "trees that hide the forest", even though the reforms that you implement decimate the trees of these forests. How to celebrate the quality of French research, when the official speeches openly despise the researchers? If you think, Madam Minister, as research progresses only through a limited number of researchers "excellent," I regret to tell you that you are mistaken: the search is, in essence, a collective work, Long term, in which all stakeholders play a role fundamental research technician at winning. The government to which you participate, and you even defend a strongly hierarchical, pyramidal organization of research, where only those at the top of the pyramid have citizenship. It is easy to see that even those who, according to this view that I disagree, stand atop the pyramid there are maintained by the mass of those who are below the "poor" (since not excellent) d Based on your criteria. Remove these "mediocre", and your entire pyramid collapses, rushed ashore "excellent."
For centuries, scientists define as `` peer'', that is to say, equal, and the notion of hierarchy, with "good" and "bad", was never part of the academic vocabulary. That's politics that brought these designs in the world of research in order to apply a management managerial and entrepreneurial. But research is not and should not become a business, because it is intended, not profit, but the advance of knowledge for the good of humanity.
Methinks, Madam Minister, you and many others in government, confuse the concepts of excellence and elitism. There is no doubt, neither I nor the vast Most of my colleagues, that scientific research must strive for excellence, not least because we're funded by public funds from the tax, and that, more than any other yet, this money must be used wisely for the high-level research. Moreover, contrary to official rhetoric, the French research need not be ashamed of its quality: the example of the "ERC Starting Grants" is that you want to celebrate this very informative perspective: France ranks second at European level in terms of winners in all disciplines, and first in the life sciences. That said, on January 22 last, the research French was of poor quality? European experts say in all cases clearly the opposite.
But this is not the excellence that is promoted today, it is elitism, which is very different. In this elitist is fixed arbitrarily, that only a certain percentage of projects (or researchers or teams etc ...) should be supported and funded. No matter that those who are just below the bar are, also, "excellent": they are not quite good (you will agree that this concept of "good but not enough" to say the least " strange ") to receive the laurels of glory. They will therefore remain without funding, or nearly, and will not be invited to your "cocktail" of congratulations. How many research projects, excellent, have been delayed or abandoned due to lack of means?
You will understand, Madam Minister, I can not agree to play for you, the glittering showcase of research that despise your reforms. I do not accept that my success is used, punctual, to forget that French research is undermined. I can accept being used to promote elitism which hinders the development of many excellent researchers and projects.
Sincerely,
Boris BURLE,
Thank you for your invitation to attend the cocktail you organize by honor the winners of the European Research Council (European Research Council, ERC) which will take place October 22.
I will not attend this cocktail, one of whose goals is obviously to celebrate the "trees that hide the forest", even though the reforms that you implement decimate the trees of these forests. How to celebrate the quality of French research, when the official speeches openly despise the researchers? If you think, Madam Minister, as research progresses only through a limited number of researchers "excellent," I regret to tell you that you are mistaken: the search is, in essence, a collective work, Long term, in which all stakeholders play a role fundamental research technician at winning. The government to which you participate, and you even defend a strongly hierarchical, pyramidal organization of research, where only those at the top of the pyramid have citizenship. It is easy to see that even those who, according to this view that I disagree, stand atop the pyramid there are maintained by the mass of those who are below the "poor" (since not excellent) d Based on your criteria. Remove these "mediocre", and your entire pyramid collapses, rushed ashore "excellent."
For centuries, scientists define as `` peer'', that is to say, equal, and the notion of hierarchy, with "good" and "bad", was never part of the academic vocabulary. That's politics that brought these designs in the world of research in order to apply a management managerial and entrepreneurial. But research is not and should not become a business, because it is intended, not profit, but the advance of knowledge for the good of humanity.
Methinks, Madam Minister, you and many others in government, confuse the concepts of excellence and elitism. There is no doubt, neither I nor the vast Most of my colleagues, that scientific research must strive for excellence, not least because we're funded by public funds from the tax, and that, more than any other yet, this money must be used wisely for the high-level research. Moreover, contrary to official rhetoric, the French research need not be ashamed of its quality: the example of the "ERC Starting Grants" is that you want to celebrate this very informative perspective: France ranks second at European level in terms of winners in all disciplines, and first in the life sciences. That said, on January 22 last, the research French was of poor quality? European experts say in all cases clearly the opposite.
But this is not the excellence that is promoted today, it is elitism, which is very different. In this elitist is fixed arbitrarily, that only a certain percentage of projects (or researchers or teams etc ...) should be supported and funded. No matter that those who are just below the bar are, also, "excellent": they are not quite good (you will agree that this concept of "good but not enough" to say the least " strange ") to receive the laurels of glory. They will therefore remain without funding, or nearly, and will not be invited to your "cocktail" of congratulations. How many research projects, excellent, have been delayed or abandoned due to lack of means?
You will understand, Madam Minister, I can not agree to play for you, the glittering showcase of research that despise your reforms. I do not accept that my success is used, punctual, to forget that French research is undermined. I can accept being used to promote elitism which hinders the development of many excellent researchers and projects.
Sincerely,
Boris BURLE,
Winner ERC Starting Grant,
CNRS Researcher in Fight in Fight in a Laboratory