A boost for bioengineering SMEs
Recognising that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) find it difficult to formally take advantage of European research opportunities, the SM-BIO-POWER team is working to increase SME participation in FP7 projects. Taking the lead from predecessor project SME-MPOWER, the current project benefits by having the same core members. They bring already developed infrastructure and invaluable experience to empower SMEs for long-term, international research activities. The current approach focuses on boosting awareness of opportunities for SMEs to take part in bioengineering-related research proposal, as well as how to deal with the sometimes daunting terminology that research programmes and projects may use. To increase participation in the medical technology and biomedical engineering sectors, SM-BIO-POWER is mobilising between 300 and 400 relevant European SMEs by organising regional awareness-raising activities and ′Specific interest groups′. The aim is to build a dedicated ′learning community′ that will enable innovation-driven activities. In its first year, the project registered more than 200 organisations and had over 150 SMEs attend 13 workshops focused on directing interest in international collaboration. Regional mobilisation workshops and a personalised news service were planned for the second year. The latter includes call alerts, partner searches and project and participation opportunities. With SM-BIO-POWER, users can gain international visibility, receive information on best practices and EU trends in biomedical engineering, identify possible international collaborators and increase direct participation in FP7 research activities. To make procedures even simpler for registered users, an online helpdesk provides personal assistance for identifying funding opportunities and suitable project partners.