Research projects are initiated by questions regarding materials from industry or by ideas for materials innovation from universities. In all cases, the industrial and academic partners of M2i team up to develop proposals for research projects. The proposals are reviewed by delegates of the industry and university on their scientific merits, their potential for application in industry and how they fit into the M2i’s wider program of innovation. These reviews take place at least four times a year.
Researchers are recruited by M2i’s human resource department in cooperation with the research group at the university. Researchers are employed by M2i and work at the research groups under the supervision of the university project leader. The industrial partners stay involved in the research projects through progress meetings, working meetings, the traineeships of researchers, and so on.
The results of M2i’s research projects are shared with other M2i industrial partners through research cluster meetings, in quarterly progress reports and at the yearly M2i conference. A comprehensive set of guidelines and procedures for this information sharing is in place.
The partnership agreements between the university and M2i form the framework, along with the financial and other contractual conditions for research projects. In this way, research groups at an M2i university partner can concentrate on the content of new research projects for the M2i program. The partner agreement applies to all the research groups of the university. The university’s contribution to M2i takes the form of providing facilities, the daily supervision of researchers, and so on.
