The project 'ENEX - Expert in Nanotechnology Exploitation' targets the development of a short-cycle vocational qualification at graduate level in accordance with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) focused on the rapidly growing area of nanotechnology applications in industry. Nanotechnology (NT) is a strongly emerging area of research and activity, opening up new markets, and leading to new products, processes and services in almost all industrial sectors. Because of this rapid development, there is an increasing demand of particularly qualified personnel in companies engaging in NT or in related industries, as well as in technology transfer organisations operating as intermediaries between NT research and industry. The 'ENEX Expert in Nanotechnology Exploitation' is the 'interface' between laboratories and researchers developing nanotechnologies and the industry and health sector using them. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of nanotechnology and its wide range of applications, the ENEX must have a sound knowledge and understanding of the underlying NT principles, material properties and processing techniques that enable - to draft innovative solutions based on NT for industrial product development, and - to steer academic research in the field of NT to realistic targets that are application-oriented and market-led. In addition, the ENEX must have competences to assess and manage the process from NT research to product innovation to take the right decisions at strategic level ('do the right things') as well as operational level ('do things right'). This project therefore wants to develop a sustainable platform for providing knowledge, skills and competences in the fields of nanotechnology and product innovation management in particular to key staff of NT companies or related industry, but also to researchers, intermediaries and other stakeholders of the NT research to market process. More specifically, the project will develop: 1. the COMPETENCE PROFILE of the 'Expert of Nanotechnology Exploitation - ENEX', structured according to ECVET guidelines, 2. two CURRICULA combining theoretical as well as practice-oriented lessons with methodologies and case scenerarios, the one on fundamentals of nanotechnology (materials and processing), the other on assessing and managing innovation processes, 3. one E-LEARNING COURSE merging both curricula into a new interdisciplinary and innovative pedagogical concept, 4. appropriate methodologies and GUIDELINES for the validation, assessment and monitoring of the performance of ENEX trainees according to European standards (CEDEFOP 2009). The consortium consists of 6 partners out of 5 European countries (DE, IT, NL, PL, RO): 1 private-sector consulting firm, 1 regional development agency, 1 research centre and 3 universities. Due to a thorough valorization plan, about 18,000 people representing target groups will be informed about the project and more than 100 will be trained in pilot courses. As e-learning concepts are a fast growing market segment, a rapid diffusion of the ENEX products developed in this project can be expected for the time after end of the project.