 Every year scientists and engineers from more than 50 different countries compete by submitting proposals to access and use time on these stations.These are selected by peer-reviewed by panels of international experts on the basis of scientific merit and potential impact, and the winners are granted valuable access time as a contribution to their research.Because of its central location in Europe, Elettra – Sincrotrone Trieste is increasingly attracting users from Central and Eastern European countries, where the demand for synchrotron radiation is in continuous growth, and is part of the primary network for science and technology of the Central European Initiative (CEI).