90 Marie Curie proposals prepared due to 'Fellows for Industry' initiative
An initiative co-funded by the European Commission under the innovation-SMEs sub-section of the Fifth Framework Programme has led to the submission of 50 Individual Marie Curie Fellowship proposals and 40 Marie Curie Host Fellowship proposals. 'Fellows for Industry' was launched in January 2001 with the aim of facilitating the access of highly qualified scientific personnel to European companies, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the sectors of biomedical engineering and rehabilitation technology. Scientists were offered training opportunities within high-tech enterprises at the forefront of technological development, benefiting both the researchers and the enterprises. The initiative organised some 130 information and training days over the course of two years, and created an Internet platform and portal (see reference below). The Fellows for Industry network was coordinated by BIT, the Austrian bureau for international research and technology cooperation, and involves experts from 17 countries, including five candidate countries. Coordination between national and transnational organisations, as seen in this network, is one of the key objectives of the European Research Area.