The Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas [1] (FORTH), established in 1983, is one of the largest research centers in Greece with well organized facilities, highly qualified personnel and a reputation as a top-level research foundation worldwide. FORTH reports to the General Secretariat for Research and Technology of the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs [2]. The Foundation, with headquarters in Heraklion, includes six Research Institutes in different parts of the country:

In Heraklion

• Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser (IESL)
• Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB)
• Institute of Computer Science (ICS)
• Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics (IACM)

In Rethymnon

• Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS)

In Patras

• The Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences (ICE-HT)

In Ioannina

• Division of Biomedical Research of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IMBB)

FORTH's activities are complemented by Crete University Press (CUP), the Skinakas Observatory, the Science and Technology Park of Crete (STEP-C) and PRAXI/HELP- FORWARD Network. The research and technological directions of FORTH focus on areas of major scientific, social, and economic interest, such as: Microelectronics, Lasers, Materials, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Biotechnology, Computer Sciences, Bioinformatics, Robotics, Telecommunications, Computational Mathematics, Chemical Engineering, Human and Social Sciences, Cultural Studies.