Medical Research Initiative South Eastern Europe
A project recently launched by six partners from Austria, Croatia, Italy, Serbia-Montenegro and Slovenia is designed to contribute to the dialogue on medical research on the level of individual researchers and projects: The EU-FP6-funded 'Medical Research Initiative South Eastern Europe' (MedResIn SEE) sets out to strengthen cooperation in biomedical research in Central and South Eastern Europe. Specifically, it aims at setting up a sustainable network between researchers and research institutions in the field of biomedicine in the region. In addition, it intends to help establish and consolidate contacts with researchers in EU Member States. This initiative facilitates the development of cooperative research projects by providing a platform for researchers to present and interlink their ideas.
The aim of the Medical Research Initiative South Eastern Europe (MedResIn SEE) is thus to create good starting conditions for biomedical researchers in South Eastern Europe to participate in FP7 and to support their integration into the ERA. Tailor-made capacity building measures contribute to the development of joint EU research projects and improve access to FP7.
Basically, MedResIn SEE tries to interlink the Framework Programme’s top-down approach with ideas submitted by researchers in a bottom-up process. The ideas must meet the following criteria:
1. Being in line with FP7 priorities
2. Relevance to a certain number of researchers
3. Potential to attract a group of researchers committed to work on a project proposal up to the point of submission

The researchers are invited to participate in training sessions and proposal building meetings specifically focussing on their own interests.
Specifically, the initiative’s activities include

• Compiling a catalogue of research activities, expertise and interests in the region
• Providing top-quality training in acquiring European (FP 7) research funding
• Organizing tailor-made 'proposal building sessions', in which researchers get a chance to develop joint project ideas and to draft joint proposals

The opportunity for researchers to enter their profiles into the survey is open at http://www.meduni-graz.at/medresin/profiles.html