MERIT is a 5-year regional programme for incoming mobility of 30 postdoctoral researchers from all over the world. It is a joint initiative of 16 regional research organisations, a number of national and international SMEs, large enterprises, universities and high-schools and the Regional Government, all coordinated by the Regional Innovation Center (SIC). MERIT has 4 strategic objectives, in line with the regional innovation strategy for smart specialization (RIS3): 1) Strengthen the European and global human capital base in research and innovation, contribute to a stronger European Research Area and increase international openness of participating partners; 2) Establish new partnerships and collaborations between academic and non-academic sectors, leading to higher competitiveness and innovativeness of both; 3) Increase competitiveness and R&D&I potential of the whole Region; and 4) Raise the level of representation of female scientists in technical and life sciences research disciplines with focus on applied research. MERIT supports research and training of selected researchers in following application areas: Biotechnologies and Biomedicine, Laser technologies, Space technologies, Sustainable energy and materials and Digitalization, including Artificial Intelligence as a cross-cutting area, respecting Gender dimension and Intersectionality. These areas are in line with RIS3 and some European or even global strategic frameworks. The fellowships´duration is planned from 24 to 30 months and the duration of secondments from 2 to 10 months. The large, strong consortium of respected institutions coming from academic, private and public sectors will offer the selected researchers intersectoral, interdisciplinary and international experiences, excellent training options and access to unique research infrastructures. All this combined represents a unique opportunity to strengthen the career development of the accepted fellows.