"SMEs go LifeSciences" initiative under full operation
A consortium of 28 institutions from 26 countries supports on the one hand the participation of SMEs in FP6 research projects and on the other hand, research consortia searching SMEs as research partners. "SMEs go LifeSciences" is a 3-year initiative, co-funded by the European Commission. Since its launch in March 2004, the project has demonstrated a number of achievements and set further targets. The paricipation in the 3rd major call for proposals for Life Sciences within FP6 (the deadline for submission is on 16 November 2004) has been one of its main activities. ,Users can find relevant information on the project's homepage as well as a database which was set up to: ,1. give SMEs the opportunity to present their expertise and know-how. This will increase their visibility among Europe's research community in Life Sciences and maximise their chance to be found and identified as potential research partners for EU funded projects. Numerous SMEs have already taken advantage of this service by registering.,2. Research consortia who are preparing or have prepared an FP6 project proposal and looking for SME partners can register their project idea in the database. 42 project ideas are currently under preparation, mainly for the 3rd Call in the Life Sciences Programme of FP6 (Thematic Priority 1). Requests for SME partners are also available in the database.,3. Through pro-active match-making activities of the "SMEs go LifeSciences" consortium researchers are brought together with suitable SMEs. In addition interested SMEs and research consortia can actively and independently search the public database. "SMEs go LifeSciences" acts as a helpdesk informing and training SMEs and researchers on FP6 issues. It deals mainly with legal and financial topics, proposal preparation and writing as well as financial requirements and the participation of SME in research projects. 28 project partners organised 39 national and several transnational training sessions within the first 6 months. The highlight of these activities was a transnational training session, organised during the "Baltic Dynamics Conference" in Riga, Latvia on 10 September, 2004. 3 presentations gave information about currently open calls in FP6 and tips for good proposal preparations. Financial aspects of FP6 were also discussed. The event was also a meeting point for SMEs interested in international RTD cooperation in FP6 and research consortia looking for SME partners. SMEs go LifeSciences' excellent cooperation with the European Commission as well as entrepreneurial networks such as "Europabio" or the "Innovation Relay Centers" will ensure the ongoing success of the initiative. SMEs go LifeSciences was launched in Summer 2004 providing a highly informative and user-friendly homepage. Further information about the project's activities, FP6 issues, useful links, contacts and the most important events in Europe can be found at http://www.smesgolifesciences.org(opens in new window) Information on the SMEs go LifeSciences initiative will be available in the following upcoming events:,- European Biotechnology Crossroads in Marseilles, 27-29 October 2004 ,- BIOnale in Maastricht, 2-4 November 2004 ,- European Day of the Entrepreneur in Sofia, 4-5 November 2004FFG-Austrian Research Promotion Agency,Division for International Research and Technology Cooperation (BIT),Donau-City-Strasse 1,, A-1220 Vienna, Austria,Birgit Steininger, Email: birgit.steininger@ffg.at
Countries
Austria