More mobility and career opportunities for researchers
An important advantage of the EU is that its researchers can travel among Member States and work in different countries without barriers and constraints. This is crucial for strengthening Europe's knowledge economy, supporting innovation and opening new career opportunities for capable researchers. Against this backdrop, the EU-funded project 'Conference on the careers and mobility of researchers' (CAMORE) held an event in Brussels, Belgium during 2010 to foster researcher mobility and open new horizons for European researchers. The 2-day event attracted more than 350 participants; almost 50 speakers presented their research and unveiled best practices. It covered many business sectors in both public and private spheres, focusing particularly on research careers in science and innovation. More specifically, the conference investigated career and mobility indicators to measure progress, working conditions, recruitment, gender balance, pensions and the role of small and medium-sized enterprises in mobility. CAMORE also examined industry–academia cooperation in research training, career development and knowledge sharing, as well as policymaking in the sector and protection of intellectual property rights. Another important conference objective was to encourage transparency of recruitment and publish job offers on a wider scale, strengthening the EU's existing EURAXESS website designed for this purpose. The event closed with recommendations and future plans to encourage mobility of researchers, not only within Europe, but also with other regions of the world. The European Research Area has already gained from this endeavour, which has been replicated in other cities. As more researchers come together in the EU and exchange knowledge, Europe will increasingly benefit from a stronger knowledge economy through enhanced innovation.