The final meeting of ReProForce project was held in the Institute of Biology end Immunology of Reproduction (IBIR-BAS) on 17-18 may 2013. The evaluators from the European Committee - Prof. Vidjei Pandey, Prof. Marcus Sperandio and Mrs. Zoya Damyanova; the project partners Prof. Katja Teerds, Prof. Nelson Fernandez, Prof. Fulio Gondolfi, Prof. Udo Markert, MD Urban Bezenfelder; the scientific secretary of BAN – Prof. Evdokya Pasheva; representatives from national partners’ organizations – Assoc. Prof. Stanimir Yotov from Trakia University and Assoc. Prof. Yordan Martchev from Agriculture University, Shumen; the work package leaders and all participants in the ReProForce project participated in the meeting. Besides, the event was attended by representatives from various Research Institutions, Universities, IVF centers and Companies working in the field of biology and immunology of reproduction in human and animals.

The participants in the meeting were welcomed by Prof. Dimitrina Kacheva, a director of IBIR-BAS. She highlighted the importance of ReProForce project for the acquiring of modern equipment in the Institute, the establishment of new, advanced level laboratories, as well as for the provided opportunities for training and increasing of scientific capacity of IBIR. Prof. Kacheva stressed that this project had determined the perspectives for development of the Institute to 2020 and beyond. The leaders of ReProForce project Assoc. Prof. M. Mollova and Assoc. Prof. E. Kistanova congratulated all participants for the successful completion of ReProForce project.

Assoc. Prof. M. Mollova, the coordinator of ReProForce project, presented a complete analytical report for the overall 36-month implementation of the project achievements and results. As a result from ReProForce project, IBIR scientists reinforced technical capabilities, obtained extended opportunities for education of young researchers in European laboratories, participated in international scientific forums and organized international events in Bulgaria. The significance of ReProForce project for increasing the level of the research capacity of IBIR, the good perspectives for new international partnerships, the participation of the Institute in international and national projects for funding was particularly underlined.

The European partners Prof. K. Teerds, Prof. N. Fernandez, Prof. F. Gondolfi, Prof. U. Market and Dr. Bezenfelder presented their estimation about the implementation of the ReProForce project and its contribution for the overall activities of the Institute. They openly expressed opinion about the encountered difficulties, observed weaknesses and at the same time the emerged perspectives for the future development of IBIR. They insisted on continuous development of staff capacity, including the need for improvement of the publication rate in prestigious international journals, searching for new project financing opportunities, creating and maintaining of existing international contacts for joint research. Specific recommendations for future scientific and staff development of IBIR were suggested.

Prof. Vijei Pandey, the chairman of the expert group, presented the assessment of external experts of ReProForce project. The information was a valuable analysis and useful recommendation for future directions of staff and scientific development as well as focusing on perspective topics and research activities.

Assoc. Prof. Milena Mourdjeva, the scientific secretary of IBIR, presented the main document as a result of the implementation of the final work package of the ReProForce project - “Research and innovation strategy –IBIR2025”. The presented strategy for IBIR development was prepared together with experts after summarizing the expert opinion of national and international academic and business partners of the Institute in the field of reproduction of human and animals.

The main points incorporated in the strategy were education and specialization, technical transfer of scientific achievements in practice, partnerships and development of scientific networks. The specific measures to achieve the aims of the strategy, as well as the indicators estimating the fulfillment of the strategy were pointed out.

In conclusion Assoc. Prof. M. Mollova thanked to all participants in the project, expert committee and especially to European partners for their kind consent to participate in ReProForce under the aegis of 7^th Framework Programme of the EU. Assoc. Prof. Mollova expressed gratitude for partners’ efforts and support to realize the goals of the project and most importantly for the successful integration of the Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction “Acad. K. Bratanov” BAS in the European Research Area.