Connect, innovate, grow

Technology Search Database

2009-03-14T01:10:00.000-07:00

We help regional organisations leverage our global network of seekers, developers and providers of new technology solutions for developing new market-led processes, products and services.

Click here to search for technology offers and requests

Edition 1: Your Network News - December 2008

2009-03-14T01:02:00.000-07:00

We have launched our new newsletter - Network News. Articles in Edition 1 include:

Enterprise Europe Network assists OmniRead to secure finance
The Carbon Trust to double Applied Research Scheme grants
EU has ambitious plans for its Small Businesses Act
Bring your project ideas to our monthly R&D Clinics

Shak Gohir

The European Commission and the EIB Group launch the JASMINE initiative.

2008-10-19T15:43:00.000-07:00

Micro-finance institutions have chosen this year to review the initiative launched by the European Commission in November 2007 for the development of micro-finance in support of growth and employment.

The European Commission and the EIB Group (the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund) have developed a joint action known by the acronym JASMINE (Joint Action to Support Micro-finance Institutions in Europe).

For more information

£72 million investment in innovative research and development - 10th November 2008

2008-10-19T15:39:00.000-07:00

National and European funding sources for research are vital for innovative SMEs in North East England. The Technology Strategy Board is to invest a further £72 million in innovative new research and development projects in eight key areas, its Chief Executive, Iain Gray, announced in October 2008.

The ten new competitions, in important areas such as photonics, high value manufacturing, intelligent transport systems, network security and energy generation and supply, will be split into three phases, with the first three competitions opening in November 2008. UK based small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as large multinationals, will have the opportunity to access the funds for market-led R&D projects.

For more information

European funding for fuel cells and hyrodgen technologies

2008-10-08T10:25:00.001-07:00

European funding for fuel cells and hyrodgen technologies
The technology challenge facing fuel cells and hydrogen is of great complexity, requiring substantial investments and a high level of technological expertise. At the same time, its potential contribution to Community policies - in particular energy, environment, transport, sustainabledevelopment and economic growth - is very significant.

The Fuel Cell and Hydrogen JTI opened their first call (Euro 28.1M) on the 1st October 2008 for R&D proposals covering:

Transportation and refuelling infrastructure
Hydrogen production and distribution
Stationary power generation and CHP
Early markets including portable and micro fuel cells
For more information see Open R&D Calls

Shak Gohir

Linkedin FP7 Community

2008-10-07T10:25:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in sourcing R&D funding, you are welcomed to join our Framework Programme Seven (FP7) Linkedin social networking community. The community aims to connect people interested in securing European R&D funds together for asking and answering questions on FP7, partner searching and more. FP7 is the worlsd's largest source of grants for R&D.

To join the the community click here:

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/164166

Learn more about FP7:

http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/home_en.html

At the Enterprise Europe Network for North East England we help regional businesses to successfully secure R&D funds from FP7. If you are based in the region and are looking for assistance contact us:

http://www.een-northeast.co.uk/3_pages/news-and-events/rd-calls/RDGrantServices.html

Kind regards,

Shak

Turn R&D ideas into projects

2008-07-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

One of our key objectives at the Enterprise Europe Network - North East England is to establish a strong regional asset that can be leveraged by organisations to turn market-led R&D ideas into project. An important aspect of this is development of proposals for securing funding for projects. EU Framework Programme Seven is a funding source that cannot be ignored.

Recently, I encountered MinEUPA, a new online tool that can help consortia to write FP7 proposal and subsequently manage projects. The tool is designed specifically for the construction of Part B for Collaborative projects, Network of Excellence and Coordination/Support Actions.

Keeps you focused on the concept

As well as enabling online collaboration, MinAdmin enables the proposal writers to focus on build their project plan, focus on the science/technology and focus on communicating their project idea. We are currently using the tool on one of our client engagements giving us the opportunity to evaulate the functionality.

MinEUPA work flow:

Identify relevant FP7 call
MinEUPA®-PROPOSAL to organise and verify the scientific part ("Part B") and budget of your FP7 proposal. Generated PDF output file for submission on EPSS.
EU evaluation, contract negociation (made easy using MinEUPA®-PROPOSAL) and granting of proposal.
MinEUPA®-MANAGE for easy management and reporting of FP7 project

We are currently using the tool for the development of a FP7 proposal.
Watch this space for feedback on MinEUPA.

Kind regards,
Shak Gohir
EEN Practice Director

Boosting biomedical research across Europe

2008-05-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

The IMI Governing Board, the decision-making body of the IMI Joint Undertaking (IMI JU), met today to kick-off the work of the Innovative Medicines Initiative in its attempt to overcome bottlenecks in European pharmaceutical R&D and support biomedical research for the benefit of patients.

The IMI, a unique partnership between the European Community and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has been established as a Joint Technology Initiative, a major new element of the EU's 7th Research Framework Programme (2007-2013). Through the IMI Joint Undertaking, the IMI will manage €2 billion in research funds, with €1 billion coming from the FP7 funds and €1 billion in-kind from the member companies of EFPIA.

The aim of the Innovative Medicines Initiative and its research agenda is to address the key ‘bottlenecks’ in the biomedical R&D process in Europe. It focuses on addressing clinical safety concerns and seeking to improve the efficacy of new pharmaceutical interventions, in areas such as cancer, brain disorders, inflammatory, metabolic and infectious diseases. Projects to be funded under the IMI will also seek to address current deficits in knowledge management and education and training for pharmaceutical R&D within Europe. Progress in these four areas will lead to faster discovery and development of better therapies, providing new tools which can be applied to different therapeutic areas, including rare and neglected diseases. This will enable patients to have faster access to innovative therapies, leading to a healthier society.

The Governing Board of the IMI JU is composed of 10 members, representing equally its two Founding Members: the European Community, represented by the Commission and the EFPIA. The Governing Board shall have the overall responsibility for the operations of the Joint Undertaking.

Decisions in the first meeting concentrated on two key priorities for IMI in 2008: launching the first call for project proposals and progressing towards making the IMI JU autonomous. The Governing Board therefore approved the draft scientific priorities for the first IMI call, full details of which will shortly be published on the IMI website.

The elected Chair of the Governing Board, Jonathan Knowles (also Chair of EFPIA’s Research Director’s Group), expressed his satisfaction on the outcomes of the first meeting of the Founding Member representatives: “Future public-private partnerships will look at the IMI as a model. Today we started a new way of funding research which fosters collaboration between all stakeholders.

The results of this collaboration will considerably improve our understanding of the molecular basis of diseases which will enhance our ability to create effective new therapies for patients”

The Interim Executive Director, Alain Vanvossel, added that “The IMI is truly a unique collaborative approach to addressing the challenges facing the development of medicines and Europe will be a main beneficiary of this new way of collaboration. Once successful we expect more pharmaceutical investment in Europe, a boost to Europe’s competitiveness and improved benefits for patients in Europe.

The formal publication of the first IMI call with the opening of applications is expected for April. An information event is planned for April 30th, allowing interested stakeholders to gather information to submit high quality proposals to the IMI JU.

The Members of the IMI Governing Board are:
Brian Ager, Director General – EFPIA,
Franco Biscontin, Director – Resources, DG RTD,
Andreas Busch, Executive Vice President - Head of Global Drug Discovery - Bayer Health-Care,
Jackie Hunter, Senior V-P & Head, Neurology Centre of Excellence for Drug Discovery – GSK,
Carlo Incerti, Head of R&D Europe – GENZYME,
Daniel Jacob, Deputy Director-General - Political Framework, DG RTD,
Jonathan Knowles, Head of Group Research – ROCHE,
Georgette Lalis, Director – Consumer Goods, DG ENTR,
Andrzej Jan Rys, Director – Public Health and Risk assessment, DG SANCO,
Zoran Stančič, Deputy Director-General – Scientific advances, DG RTD.

UK Embryology Bill

2008-05-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

The new Bill provides revised and updated legislation for assisted reproduction and changes to the regulation and licensing of the use of embryos in research and therapy. Click on link below to access the bill:

Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill 2007-08

A hybrid embryo is a mixture of animal and human tissue.
Scientists in the UK are already working on one specific type of hybrid.

These are created by transferring DNA from human cells, such as skin cells, into animal eggs that have had virtually all their genetic information removed.

The resulting embryos are more than 99% human, with a small animal component of around 0.1%.

They are then grown in the lab for a few days before being harvested for stem cells, immature cells that can become many types of tissue. Two licences to create this type of hybrid embryo have already been granted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, and a team in Newcastle has successfully produced them.

The Bill would also allow for the creation of other types of hybrid embryos:

True chimeras: The addition of one cell from an animal embryo to a human embryo. The subsequent embryo is made up of cells that are either wholly human or wholly animal.

Transgenic human embryos: A human embryo which has been genetically modified to contain a small amount of animal DNA, for instance one or more animal genes. Each cell would have the usual complement of around 20 000 human genes, and a couple of animal ones.

True hybrid: Fertilisation of a human egg by an animal sperm or vice versa. The resulting embryo would be approx 50% human and 50% animal.

No hybrid embryo would be allowed to develop beyond 14 days. It is already illegal to implant human-animal embryos in the womb or bring them to term.

What are the arguments in favour of this process?
Scientists who advocate the work say the cells would allow them to study how genetic defects, which cause diseases such as Parkinson's, develop.
They also say that stem cells' ability to develop into different tissues mean it could be possible to use cells formed in this process to cure diseases.
Using animal eggs would enable scientists to overcome the problem that human eggs are in short supply.

What are the arguments against?
Opponents say it is tampering with nature, and is unethical.

FP7 Energy Research Objectives

2008-05-19T15:01:00.000-07:00

The objective of energy research under FP7 is to aid the creation and establishment of the technologies necessary to adapt the current energy system into a more sustainable one, less dependent on imported fuels. Such a system would be based on a diverse mix of energy sources and carriers, with particular attention being paid to lower and non-CO2 emitting energy technologies, combined with enhanced energy efficiency and conservation, to address the pressing challenges of security of supply and climate change, while increasing the competitiveness of Europe's industries.

What will be funded?

Emphasis of Directorate-General Energy & Transport in FP7 will be on large-scale, integrated technical demonstration projects, on technologies at the end of the research/development stage and with a view to the market. In the Energy work programme Directorate-General Energy & Transport will give emphasis to the following activities:

Renewable electricity generation - technologies to increase overall conversion efficiency, cost efficiency and reliability, driving down the cost of electricity production.
Renewable fuel production - fuel production systems and conversion technologies.
Renewables for heating and cooling - technologies for cheaper, more efficient active and passive heating and cooling from renewable energy sources.
Clean Coal Technologies - substantially improve power plant efficiency, reliability and reducing costs through research, development and demonstration of cleaner coal and other solid fuel conversion technologies, producing also secondary energy carriers (including hydrogen) and liquid or gaseous fuels.
Smart energy networks - increasing the efficiency, safety, reliability and quality of the European electricity and gas systems and networks in the context of a more integrated European energy market.
Energy efficiency and savings - technologies to improve energy efficiency and to enable final and primary energy consumption savings, over their life-cycle, for buildings (including lighting), transport, services and industry.
Hydrogen and fuel cells - supporting EU fuel cell and hydrogen industries, for stationary, portable and transport applications.
Knowledge for energy policy making - tools, methods and models to assess the economic and social issues related to energy technologies and to provide quantifiable targets and scenarios for medium and long term horizons.

Consolidated version of the Treaty of Lisbon

2008-04-29T17:15:00.000-07:00

The Treaty signed by the Heads of State or Government of the 27 Member States in Lisbon on 13 December 2007 will provide the EU with modern institutions and optimised working methods to tackle both efficiently and effectively today's challenges in today's world.

In a rapidly changing world, Europeans look to the EU to address issues such as globalisation, climatic and demographic changes, security and energy.

Download here...

Full text can be found on Europa.

Shak Gohir

The Future of China’s Economy – The Path to 2020

2008-04-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

New research reveals businesses in Europe and the US are very scared of the impact but ill prepared to act and lag behind their Asian counterparts on ambitions for the China market. Over 700 business leaders, government officials, leading academics and futurists from across 60 countries were polled in the first worldwide survey to gather views and expectations of China’s global impact over the period to 2020.

The survey conducted by business think tanks Global Futures and Foresight (GFF) and Fast Future provides rich insight into how business attitudes and ambitions for the China market are evolving across five continents. The report ‘The Future of China’s Economy, The Path to 2020 – Opportunities, Challenges and Uncertainties’ published on the 22 March 2007 provides a ‘wake up call’ to the Western business world, warning that to thrive in the changing global economy action must be taken now to make China a key element in future business strategies.

Graham Leach, Chief Economist and Director of Policy for the UK Institute of Directors says, “For UK and Western businesses to stay competitive in the global marketplace, China has to be a key component of their strategy. This study highlights very clearly that business leaders in the west now understand the scale and long term potential of China’s economy and they recognise the massive impact China will have in their markets globally. Despite this, many are still unwilling to respond, hesitant in their China strategies or simply unsure of what to do. It is now time to act on these concerns, start learning about the Chinese marketplace, drawing on the experience of those already doing business in China and actively embracing the opportunity that China presents.”

Key Findings

There are few doubts in the business world that China will become a dominant global economic force. Key findings highlighted in the report include:

30% believe China’s Economy will overtake that of the USA by 2025 and 73% believe it will happen by 2035

89% of respondents think international companies will consider it essential to be listed on a Chinese stock market

78% believe that the Chinese stock market will overtake the NYSE

60% believe Chinese companies could become the largest grouping amongst the Fortune Global 500 by 2040

There is a clear expectation that China’s market power will transform the way the West does business:

45% of respondents think Chinese practices will enter western corporate life.

48% believe key industry and market decisions will be taken in China

70% of respondents believe it will be considered normal for US and European workers to be employed by Chinese owned companies by 2030

Europe and the US are lagging behind their Asian counterparts in their plans for the Chinese market:

65% of respondents claim to have had no direct Chinese business experience.

65% of respondents receive no revenues or profits from China.

55% of respondents expect China to increasingly become the launch market for new products and services.

43% of Indian respondents were already generating revenues from the Chinese Market, compared to only 25% from North America and 34% from Europe.

By 2020, 25% of Indian respondents expect to earn over 40% of profits from China, compared to just 8% of Europeans and only 12% of North Americans.

The message is clear, Western businesses can no longer afford to ignore the Chinese market.

Rohit Talwar, Joint CEO of GFF and the report’s author says, “Many still seem to hope the ‘China issue’ will go away – but hope is not a strategy. Western businesses need to recognise the opportunities that this powerful market presents and face up to the challenges. Business leaders are clearly worried about the impact China will have in their own markets and on western business practices. However fear of the unknown, a lack of market knowledge, language barriers, limited cultural understanding and concerns about corruption and bureaucracy are leading to hesitancy and inertia. The way forward is to start developing true market insight, take the first steps and learn by doing.

Rohit Talwar continues: “Even if you don’t believe there are opportunities for you in the Chinese market, you have to be prepared to respond to China’s growing global footprint. Chinese firms have increasingly ambitious overseas expansion plans and want to prove themselves in global markets. At the same time your competitors may be sourcing or manufacturing in China and taking advantage of the cost savings to compete with you in your domestic markets. Businesses of all sizes need to be clear on how they will respond.”
About the research

The report presents the results of an online survey on the Future of China’s Economy - seeking the views of business, government, academia, futurists across the planet. The aim was to assess how much China had permeated their thinking and understand what their attitudes and expectations were of how China might develop both in the near term and out to 2020. The survey deliberately set out to canvass the views across the spectrum of experience of working with China as well as those living and working in China. A key group targeted for this survey were futurists and futures researchers whose professional role is to consider the long-term forces and factors shaping our world. The survey asked a series of questions on three key topics:

The future of China’s economy

China’s impact on global business

Respondents’ own organisations’ strategies for China

Global Futures and Foresight (GFF) GFF’s aim is to harness the views of global experts to provide foresight to organizations so that they can be more successful and less exposed to risk by better understanding the opportunities and threats the future has in store for us. GFF is a global network of business, academic and future thinkers from across the world committed to helping business and government better prepare for the future. It does this through collaborative projects and through undertaking its own research, gathering thought leaders’ views of the future and forming composite ideas of what our future could look like.

Fast Future is a think tank and consultancy led by Global Futurist Rohit Talwar. Fast Future’s aim is to help business and government understand the trends, forces and ideas shaping the future and to use those insights to connect to and invent the future in innovative ways. Fast Future specialises in analysing the future development of the high growth economies and helping global corporations develop their strategies for those markets.

For further information visit: The Future of China’s Economy report

Shak Gohir
EEN Practice Director

CPI launches the Enterprise Europe Network for the North East of England

2008-04-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

The North East England’s hub of the world’s largest business and innovation network is being launched today by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI) in partnership with One NorthEast.

The Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) was established during January 2008 by the European Commission to assist businesses, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The regional EEN team will be managed by CPI with the aim of assisting North East businesses to grow their business in Europe and to secure funding for their research and development activities via the EU Framework Programme Seven (FP7) and other major sources such as BERR Grant for R&D.

The Enterprise Europe Network combines and builds on the former Innovation Relay Centres and Euro Info Centres. With a foundation of over 4,000 experienced staff in over 500 teams across Europe and beyond, the new Network is strategically positioned to assist businesses in sourcing new suppliers, finding new business partners, identifying grants, undertaking market analysis and country profiles, finding new technologies, tracking public sector tenders and obtaining relevant information on EU policies, regulations and initiatives.

The EEN innovation service in the North East has been significantly enhanced by the inclusion of a programme of targeted support aimed at assisting companies to shape their research and commercialisation projects, prior to submission to funding agencies. The main focus of this activity will be businesses operating in the sectors underpinning the Regional Economic Strategy including: renewable energy, life sciences, digital and product design and process industries.

FP7 is a seven year EU programme designed to support market-led R&D, connecting businesses and research bases in Europe to engage and overcome technological challenges that are critical to business and economic growth. One of the key aims of the regional EEN team is to assist North East organisations to successfully secure FP7 funding.

Shak Gohir, EEN Practice Director at CPI commented, “Shaping a R&D project to ensure that the wider industrial needs, the potential user and societal needs, likely market value, state-of-the-art, barriers to commercialisation, consortium capabilities and emerging regulations are taken into consideration leads to a well designed FP7 proposition. These are some of the attributes demanded by any market-led R&D programme. We will provide high-tech companies and universities with strategic advice, coaching and hands-on assistance on FP7 applications.”

Tony Ikwue, Head of Innovation & Business Development at One NorthEast said “With 50 billion euros allocated by the EU to FP7, it is Europe’s key instrument to fund research and development with commercial potential. This is a vital source of funding for companies in North East England to reduce R&D investment risk and establish new collaborative R&D programmes for strengthening their competitive edge, innovation capabilities and capacity”

Nigel Perry, CEO at CPI, said, “I am delighted that CPI will be managing the EEN. This is an important opportunity for us to make a difference to the North East by providing the advice and support needed for North East companies to take the greatest advantage of the funding and opportunities available from Europe. European funding is a critical element of CPI’s strategy and we will be taking full advantage of this service ourselves.”

Focusing on grants and tenders, the ‘Connect, Innovate & Grow’ event will be hosted by the EEN team, on June 4th at the Hilton Hotel, Gateshead to officially launch the network in the North East. The event will be an opportunity to meet the team and learn more about the available services. Guest speakers include Dr Raymond Oliver, Science & Innovation Strategist at Arrow Science Consulting; Dr Bryan Allcock, Managing Director of Monitor Coatings; Dr Amanda McMurray, Three Pillars Fund Manager at NStar Finance; and Nick Mapletoft, Managing Director at Nimis. To register for the event please visit http://www.een-northeast.co.uk/.

For more information on EEN, please contact Gillian Kears, Business Innovation Manager at CPI on 0191 490 9358 or email Gillian.kears@cenamps.com.

REACH EU regulation - Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals

2008-04-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

Regional Launch of the Enterprise Europe Network for the North East of England

2008-04-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Are you looking to:
- Source new suppliers
- Track tenders
- Develop new technologies
- Innovate new products
- Find new technologies
- Access R&D grants from European and UK sources

You are welcomed to join us at the regional launch of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) for the North East of England. Programme details and invites will be released very shortly.

For more inormation visit our website.

Shak Gohir
EEN Practice Director

Main problems that European SMEs are facing

2008-04-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

One of the driving objectives of the newly established Enterprise Europe Network is to help small and medium-sized enterperises (SMEs) to grow.

At the Enterprise Europe Network for the North East of England we help SMEs to source suppliers, find the finance they need, track public tenders and shape R&D projects for their new product development. We also encourage SMEs to feedback to the European Commission by participating in open consultations and joining special panel groups.

The European Commission have just completed a consultation with SMEs asking business leaders the main problems they face preventing their businesses from growing. Over 500 SMEs contributed in the open consultation ran by the Commission. The outcome identified some clear areas that concern SMEs.

The administrative burden, overregulation and bureaucracy are by far the main general concerns, followed by access to finance, taxation, lack of skills, access to public procurement, unfair competition and labour law. Excessive payment delays are also described by many respondents as an important problem for SMEs. Some interesting findings:

The majority of respondents (around 60%) think that EU legislation creates
an unnecessary burden on SMEs
A large majority of respondents (84%) think that the education system, and
in particular the school curricula does not focus enough on entrepreneurship.
They therefore consider it important to intervene in the education system with
more systematic measures
Around 60% of replies indicated that there is still a need to reduce the
time and costs to set-up a business. Some respondents pointed out that
significant differences exist within Member States in this regard. The lack of
information and the lack of appropriate support for newly created enterprises
are identified as additional problems
With regards to skills, there is in particular a lack of ICT skills which
are considered essential to better exploit the opportunities offered by new
technologies and also for training itself, considering that small entrepreneurs
often cannot follow traditional courses
More than 70% of the companies and of all the responding stakeholders in
general see a need to improve SMEs’ access to public procurement and consider it very useful to increase transparency in EU procurement procedures
Regarding finance, respondents agreed on the necessity of improving current
policies and instruments
The main problems identified regarding SMEs’ access to EU programmes were the lack of awareness of these programmes, the difficulty created by the need to have a consortium and, finally, the administrative burden together with the long timescale associated with any application, in particular in the context of the 7th Framework Programme for R&D and the JEREMIE initiative
Concerning access to markets outside the EU, the identified areas for action
range from the provision of information and practical support (including the
exchange of good practices), to linguistic and technical training better
tailored to SMEs
More than half of the respondents are favourable to establishing EU centres
in the fast-growing countries. The places mentioned most frequently for these
centres are by far: China and India, and in general the Asian countries followed
by South America (Brazil) and Russia

EU commission investigates link between biofuels and food crisis

2008-04-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

In the wake of mounting pressure from international organisations such as the World Bank and the United Nations World Food Programme, European Commission President Barroso has requested a study on whether there is any relationship between the recent skyrocketing of food prices around the world and biofuels.

"I have personally asked for a study on all aspects: the impacts on prices, the impact on agriculture, the impact on development, etc. All the aspects," said the president. He made the comments following a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme last Wednesday (17 April) but until now they had only been reported by the Belgian press. "We must have the courage to re-examine our biofuels objectives," said Mr Leterme on the margins of the meeting with the commission president.

Read more...

Can EIT match up to MIT?

2008-04-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Plans for a European Institute of Technology to rival the US Massachusetts' Institute of Technology are facing uncertainty amid fears the EU flagship could be reduced to a virtual university.

EU education ministers and MEPs are struggling behind the scenes to settle vital questions. Uncertainty still surrounds fundamentals such as funding, powers, governance and legal status, it emerged at a Brussels hearing arranged by European Parliament committees responsible for education and research policies.

EIT will probably be launched on a much reduced scale as a virtual or even partial university, and will have an uphill task in establishing the credibility of EU commitment to tackling what speakers described as Europe's 'innovation gap'.

Adoption of the EIT Regulation by the European Parliament

2008-03-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

Unlocking Europe's potential for innovation: European Parliament vote gives green light to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The next steps include appointing the EIT's Governing Board by June 2008 and establishing the first two or three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) towards end of 2009.

Read more...