The idea was that Early Stage Researchers (ESR) from New Member States have been linked with Senior Researchers from Old Member States so that there was a transfer of knowledge from Old to New Member States and vice versa.

Senior Researchers: The Senior Researcher visited the institute of the Early Stage Researcher for a short-term visit (1-2 weeks) to establish the relationship and discuss the proposal.  For exchange matters, SR of food safety agencies were eligible to visit other food agencies (mobility-program-application-SR) without requiring the exchange of a ESR thereafter.

Early Stage Researchers: The Early Stage Researcher visited the institute of the Senior Researcher for 1-3 months to carry out the planned work. Although the plan was for Early Stage Researchers from New Member States to visit Senior Researchers from Old Member States, this does not rule out other linkages.

In November 2012, the PROMISE early-stage researchers (ESR) exchange programme was officially launched. Qualified ESRs out of the consortium had the possibility to apply for a “long term” researcher exchange to a senior researcher (and topic) of their choice. These exchange measures allowed the ESRs to be integrated into the excellent research being performed at the Senior Researchers institutions, consolidating knowledge and building the scientific network for their future.

The advantages: Such visits contributed the integration in the project, facilitate exchange of ideas and individuals, involved both early stage and experienced scientists, foster networking between Old and New Member States and contributed to the PROMISE scientific programme.