If you start to check out EC research funding programs at www.cordis.lu and find the open calls related Micro/Nano (=NMP) and Information/Comunciation (=ICT)
at http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseaction=UserSite... you maybe happy to see that, you have time to prepare your
project description in NMP in Spring and also for 2010 or for the 4th. ICT call in Novemer 2009, but what to do, if you need help for doing this?

There is a network of National Contact Points http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ncp_en.html and even companies in Brazil or Russia can find a local team helping them into EC funded cooperation. Parallel you can contact experienced collegues, such as the companies organized in the European Technology Platforms (ETP http://cordis.europa.eu/technology-platforms/home_en.html ). For topics around semiconductor industry maybe your eyes are catched by Micro- and Nano Production MINAM www.minamwebportal.eu or or Nanoelectronics ENIAC http://www.eniac.eu/ and you will also find several others. There you can meet experts and potential partners at events or online in the brokerage areas. If you prefer to select your partners online all over Europe and behond, you can use tools like http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/partners_en.html

You have still doubts that that it bring benefit and your team can not do it, because it needs to much time? You are manging your customers, your R&D projects and your company, so why should a EC project (were you are working in a team of partners) should be more diffcult? Don't be panic about the paper work, e.g. for the NMP program you have just to prepare a 10 pager for 1st stage with your project idea, the guidelines for proposers published together with evey call gives you detailed overview what has to be offered. There are guidelines how to mangage IPR and sharing knowledge is oriented to bring more and faster benefit for every of the partners.

Now you are hungry and looking forward to start?
Great, don't hesitate to contact the people in the minam community or any other network you selected for your idea. Co-operative research is oriented to a sustainalbe future for Europe and is build up by benefit for business and is supporting R&D leadership.

Andrea E. Reinhardt
reinhardt@microtec-d.com
CEO microTEC Gesellschaft für Mikrotechnologie mbH www.microtec-d.com
member of the industry board MINAM www.minamwebportal.eu