The consortium has already been selected under the 2006 and 2007 EM ECW calls and has implemented the network in 2007. During the first two years of the project implementation (academic years 2007/08 and 2008/09) 550 persons have been selected and are already participating in individual mobility flows. For the third phase of the project 261 mobility flows from Russia to the EU and vice versa are planned, involving all levels of the participating institutions: BSc students, MSc students, PhD students, Post-doctorates, and academic teaching staff. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected during an objective and impartial selection process respecting gender balance, and in particular encouraging the participation of disadvantaged groups. 25% of the planned mobility flows are foreseen for target group 2 applicants in order to enlarge the thematic focus and the regional spread of the project and to further contribute to the dissemination of the project’s positive results.The main activities performed during this project are:• Scientific education and training of students on BSc, MSc, and PhD level• Joint research activities in Life Sciences and other thematic fields• Training and retraining of scientific staff and development of updated teaching materials.• Further reform of current Russian study programs according to the Bologna recommendations• Transfer of know-how related to the introduction of ECTS to non-consortium universities in Russia• Further development of quality assurance systems according to international standardsPreparation of joint Master and Doctoral Programmes between EU and Russian partner universities