Information Days Set To Boost UK Applications
Feedback from delegates was extremely positive with the majority saying they would participate in a future project proposal, confirming the desire of UK industry and academia to participate and succeed in the Sixth Framework Programme. The one-day events, held throughout the UK, attracted almost 200 key delegates. They had all expressed an interest in the forthcoming Framework Programme Joint Call covering the areas of Information Society Technologies and Nanotechnologies, Materials and Production. The call is expected to open within the next few weeks with a budget of approximately 180 million, divided across the areas of:,· Integrating Technologies for the Fast and Flexible Manufacturing Enterprise,· Bio-sensors for Diagnosis & Healthcare,· Materials, Equipment & Processes for Production of Nano-Photonic & Nano-Electronic Devices The previous Joint Call between these two specialist areas provided 7.7 million (from a budget of 60 million) to over 40 UK Organisations, who were involved in a successful R & D proposal as part of a European consortium. Anyone requiring further information on the forthcoming Joint Call or the current European Framework Programme (FP6) should visit http://fp6uk.gov.ost.uk or contact the FP6UK helpline on +(0)870 600 6080.,The EUs Framework Programmes are the worlds largest, publicly funded, research and technological development programmes. The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) covers the period 2002-2006 and is the European Unions main instrument for the funding of collaborative research and innovation. It is open to public and private entities of all sizes in the EU and a number of non-EU countries. It has an overall budget of 17.5 billion.,Most of the budget for FP6 is devoted to work in seven priority thematic areas:,? Life sciences, Genetics and Biotechnology for Health;,? Information Society Technologies;,? Nanotechnologies and Nanosciences, Knowledgebased Multifunctional Materials and New Production Processes and Devices;,? Aeronautics and Space;,? Food Quality and Safety;,? Sustainable Development, Global Change and Ecosystems; and,? Citizens and Governance in a Knowledge-based Society.,There is also a focus on the research activities of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across all seven thematic areas. ,The services of FP6UK are provided by the Office of Science & Technology (OST) / Department of Trade & Industry (DTI).,More information can be found on http://fp6uk.ost.gov.uk ,IST Programme ,The IST Priority Thematic Area (PTA) of the 6th Framework Programme (FP6) is the largest of the seven PTAs with a budget of 3.6bn over the lifetime of FP6. The first Call for proposals with a budget of 1070m - closed in April 2003. The second Call closed on 15 October 2003 and had a budget of 525m.,Nanotechnologies, Materials and Production,The primary objective of the NMP Priority Thematic Area (PTA) of the 6th Framework Programme (FP6) concentrates on technologies that will transform manufacturing industry in the medium to longer term. Research focuses on the main technology areas of Nanotechnologies and Nanosciences, Knowledge based multifunctional materials and New production processes and devices. The first calls for Priority 3 (NMP) were issued on 17 December 2004 with a budget of 400m, followed by a Joint
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United Kingdom