23/11/2004

A new network that provides comprehensive information and consulting services to mobile researchers in the European Research Area, the Greek Mobility Centres Network, has been officially launched at a ceremony organised by the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas and the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on Friday 5 November 2004, in Thessaloniki.

During the event, private and pubic bodies that are involved in research, as well as individual researchers, had the opportunity to be informed about the services of both the national and the European Network for mobility. Representatives of the EC Directorate General for Research, local and governmental authorities, universities and research institutes were among the participants of the event. In his opening speech remarks, the General Secretary for Research and Technology, Prof. I. Tsoukalas, underlined the importance of the national Network for the enhancement of the mobility in the European Research Area.

The Greek Network operates as a member of the European Network ERA-MORE, which includes more than 300 centres in 30 European countries. In Greece, the coordinating body is the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas and the participating nodes are: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Democritus University of Thrace, Federation of Industries of Northern Greece, National Hellenic Research Foundation, Greek Industrial Property Organisation, University of Patras, University of Thessaly, Foundation of Research and Technology Hellas and University of Crete. The Network operates with the support of the General Secretariat for Research and Technology and the European Commission.

The Network provides free and personalised assistance to researchers undertaking a mobility experience in Greece as well as in other European countries. It offers proximity services, but also operates the National Researcher's Mobility Portal, providing documentation, information and support on all matters relating to the professional and daily life of researchers and their families living in a foreign country (job opportunities, research funding and scholarships, legal and tax issues, visa formalities and work permits, housing, language learning facilities, etc).