The training dimension includes an exchange research programme involving both European and GCC post-doctoral students and junior researchers. Four fellows, two from the European partners and two from the GCC, will be selected by a committee nominated by the Steering Committee of the project based on the candidatures presented by the members of the consortium. Each fellow will be offered a three-month fellowship. More specifically, each of the two European fellows will spend three months at a Gulf research centre, while each of the two fellows from the Gulf at an EU centre. This activity is aimed at:

• helping the fellows familiarize with – or deepen their knowledge of – the EU and GCC norms, structures and modus operandi;
• allowing them to carry out research and write about a specific aspect of EU-GCC relations; and
• exposing them to a European or to a Gulf-based research environment, in particular its working methods.

The training programme is also expected to contribute to enhancing cooperation among academic and research institutions in the EU and the GCC.

The fellows will conduct research focusing on policy areas relevant to their home country and related to the Joint Action Programme for EU-GCC cooperation. Specific emphasis will be given to priority subjects identified in the research agenda of this project. The research conducted by the fellows will feed into the final conference of the project and their research contributions will be collected in a publication as project deliverables.