Femtec Inc. was founded by the European Academy for Women in Politics and Business Berlin and the Technical University Berlin. Femtec cooperates in private-public partnership with leading companies and technical universities with the purpose of promoting qualified young women managers and leaders in the engineering and natural sciences. The Femtec network now comprises eight companies and five technical universities and is active in cooperations in all parts of Germany. Currently, about 180 young women students in Germany participate in career-building programmes conducted parallel to their studies.

As a model project, the Femtec Network is receiving a grant from the Federal Ministry for Education and Research from 2003 to 2006.

Cooperating companies

Cooperating universities

For further information see: www.femtec-berlin.de or www.femtec-network.de

The Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft is a joint action on the part of German business. It comprises about 3,000 companies, industrial associations and individuals that work to promote science, research and education. It was founded in 1920 on the initiative of leading personnages in the business and scientific worlds as the "Stifterverband der Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft"; in 1949 it was re-established under its present name. The funding for the promotion programme of the Stifterverband comes exclusively from the financial support of members and sponsors. It is open to any body or person that wishes to be involved in this network through, or seeks a competent environment for, contributions, donations or endowments. Thanks to its private funding, the Stifterverband is able to act unbureaucratically and without being bound by state rules and regulations. The Association pinpoints structural weaknesses and problems in the scientific system, develops solutions and provides the start-up financing needed to put them into effect.

The Stifterverband actively promotes research by helping to open up novel areas of research and to improve research conditions. Consequently, university reform in Germany - greater competition, modern administration, controlling, internationalization, student choice and university fees - is an important and legitimate concern of the Stifterverband. Research will benefit from greater interdisciplinary and international collaboration and enhanced networking between universities, research institutions and business R&D. The Stifterverband supports progress in these fields through its action programmes, competitions and memorandums.

The Stifterverband warmly thanks Egon Zehnder International for supporting the conference.

For further information see: www.stifterverband.de