Events and news
| 2nd ICT VentureGate Brokerage event (4-5 October 2011, Brussels, Belgium) The 2nd ICT VentureGate Brokerage event will take place in Brussels on 4-5of October 2011. It is dedicated to Making EU SMEs Investment Ready! During the first day, the session will open with a thematic discussion on the Issues and Challenges of ICT SMEs in Accessing Public/Private Funding, followed by coaching of the participating ICT SMEs by European experts on how to prepare and improve the SMEs' business pitch and project presentations. Time for networking and meetings will be also available. On the second day, a panel discussion with Commissioner Neelie Kroes on How we can create an effective complementarity between public and private funding to help ICT SMEs grow rapidly will precede the presentations of project by the SMEs. Subsequently, one-to one meetings between investors and SMEs will take place, allowing a sharing of interests and promoting follow-up and project uptake. Registrants will thus have privileged access to promising projects in advanced ICT technologies and will be able to join a discussion on the challenges facing private equity finance of R&D results and ICT investment ideas. This will also provide the participants with the opportunity to learn about the ICT VentureGate project and what it can do for them. The preliminary program, registration and all supplementary information are available on the ICT VentureGate website at www.ictventuregate.eu/valuechain/contact.en.html |
| MedVentures: ICT Business Forum (13 October 2011, Marseille, France) The ICT Business Forum brings together more than 150 selected participants selected for their potential, international dimension and capacity to develop Euro-Med businesses and partnerships. Focused in establishing new partnerships between ICT companies from Mediterranean countries and in inviting investors to get to know businesses from other shores, this MedVentures event is the right place to be if you want to meet fellow entrepreneurs, investors and business clusters from 15 European and Mediterranean countries. Start-ups with a specific Mediterranean focus are welcome. For more information, see www.medventures.biz/euromed2011.php or email luis.galveias@eban.org if you want to participate. |
| 10th EBAN Winter University (20-21 October 2011, Brussels, Belgium) The EBAN Winter University is the annual opportunity for Business Angel Networks and Early-Stage Fund Managers to increase their knowledge and build their capacity to address the professional challenges they face every day. In its 2011 edition, circa 150 business angel network and fund managers as well as angel investors, serial entrepreneurs, professionals of SME development and policy makers will gather for what should be both a practical workshop and an outstanding networking opportunity. Two ICT Finance MarketPlace target companies will be invited to pitch at the pre-event activities. For more information please see www.amiando.com/ebanwu2011.html or email luis.galveias@eban.org. |
| Future Internet Week (24–28 October, 2011, Poznan, Poland) Future Internet Week will offer a series of events: conferences, meetings and workshops concerning different aspects of the Future Internet which will foster synergy among many professionals from all over Europe. Accordingly, on 27 and 28 October respectively, ICT Finance MarketPlace is organising a Venture Academy coaching and Investment Forum pitching sessions in conjunction with the Future Internet Week and at the same venue in the Poznan University of Technology. SMEs are invited to apply for the coaching and pitching sessions at the ICT Finance MarketPlace Venture Academy and Investment Forum. To register, please follow this link: www.e-unlimited.com/events/register.aspx?events_id=402 |
| ESA Investment Forum (1 November 2011) On the 2nd of November 2011 the European space innovation scene will gather in Harwell (UK) for the 6th edition of the European Space Agency (ESA) Investment Forum. Organised by Europe Unlimited and hosted by ESA's Technology Transfer Programme Office (TTPO) and The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), this forum is an exceptional setting for exploring investment opportunities. The ESA Investment Forum will foster investment and partnership opportunities by bringing start-up companies using space technology, applications or services in a non-space environment, together with finance and investment communities while highlighting the business potential of such blends. For more information visit: www.e-unlimited.com/events/view.aspx?events_pages_id=1072 |
Recent Events at which the ICT Finance MarketPlace was active
| Terena Networking Conference 2011 (16-19 May 2011, Prague, Czech Republic) Luis Galveias (pictured) and Galina Khorkova from EBAN, lead partner of ACCESS ICT, attended the Terena Networking Conference fair in Prague from 16 to 18 of May 2011. This was a key opportunity for researchers and entrepreneurs to access how they can reach private investors interested in the information and communication technology coming out of EU funded research. |
| ICT VentureGate Brokerage Event (19th May 2011, Budapest, Hungary) The ICT VentureGate Brokerage Event was held in Budapest on May 19, 2011 in the Expo Congress Hotel. This event, organised within the framework of the EU-funded ICT Finance MarketPlace, brought together numerous ICT SMEs (many of which have participated in EU RTD Framework Programme projects) and 10 innovation investors. |
| 1st Digital Agenda Assembly (15-16 June, Brussels, Belgium) The Digital Agenda for Europe is the European Union's road map for bringing the benefits of a digital society and economy to Europe's citizens. The Digital Agenda Assembly was a mixture of: workshops designed to identify solutions to specific challenges; and, of plenary sessions designed to synthesise the discussions and identify the way forward. The YMIR project organised and ran an ICT Finance MarketPlace Venture Academy on 15 June, 2011, the day before the start of the Digital Agenda Assembly. This was followed the next day by the ICT FMP Investment Forum brokerage event. Both ICT Finance MarketPlace activities were implemented smoothly and efficiently and were considered a great success by participants and observers. 13 SMEs and 7 coaches participated in the Venture Academy and 19 Entrepreneurs and 24 investors actively participated in the Investment Forum and participated in one-to-one meetings. During the first day's plenary session of the Digital Agenda Assembly, certificates were awarded by European Commission Vice President and Commissioner for the Digital Agenda, Ms Neelie Kroes, to three SMEs for giving the best presentation to investors. |
| ICT Spring 2011 – From Tech Innovation to Market Leadership (28-29 June 2011, Luxembourg) ICT Spring is a worldwide event which brought together 2,310 ICT executive from Europe, America and Asia. The event addressed the latest ICT innovations and trends such as social networks, mobile trends, security, applications, data centres, e-commerce and it opened discussion on upcoming ICT topics through more than 140 10-minute demos, 4 keynote speakers and panels in plenary sessions. Start-ups and venture capital investors also had an significant representation at the event through 5 different "villages" (Online Business & Gaming, Infrastructure & Telecom, Funding & Finance, Cloud & e-Hosted Solutions, Advisory & Consulting) showing each innovation step (R&D, Start-ups, Funding / Private Equity, Business Partners & Applications, Market & Strategic Consulting) on presenting firms´ stands. www.ictspring.com/. |
News in brief
| FInES calls for research papers for three important scientific publications The FInES "Scientific Publications" Task Force has launched calls for papers for three important scientific publications. These will bring more visibility and reinforce the impact of the FInES Cluster projects in the worldwide scientific community. Ongoing or already finalized projects are encouraged to email an expression of interest, specifying the name of the project, information on the proposed title, authors and their affiliation, and the date foreseen for the submission of the full papers on their research results, to the editor Mr Ricardo Goncalves as soon as possible. The deadline for submitting full articles is December 1st 2011. Early submissions are highly encouraged. These high-level scientific articles will be published in the following scientific reviews: Journal Advanced Engineering Informatics More details... ; Computers in Industry. More details...; Journal of Engineering Design. More details... |
| Health - Better Healthcare for Europe ICT has an ever-growing impact on our working and private lives including in healthcare. eHealth covers the interaction between patients and health-service providers, institution-to-institution transmission of data, or peer-to-peer communication between patients and/or health professionals. Examples include health information networks, electronic health records, telemedicine services, wearable and portable systems which communicate, health portals, and many other ICT-based tools assisting disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, health monitoring and lifestyle management. In March 2011, the European Commission launched a consultation on the eHealth Action Plan (eHAP) 2012-2020. In addition, in May 2012, the eHealth initiative will organise an SME village during eHealth Week 2012 in Copenhagen. For information on possibilities for health sector ICT SMEs to exhibit, email Sean Roberts. |
| Digital Agenda for Europe' is coming to you! The visits to EU Member States which took place in Autumn 2010 under the "Going Local" initiative and which had the objectives of reporting on the progress of the digital agenda, identifying challenges for the future and stimulating actions and commitments, were found to have been very useful. Consequently, the European Commission has decided to launch a second round of visits in Autumn 2011. Further details at http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/digital-agenda/local/index_en.htm |
| ICT Finance Market Place is an initiative supported by DG Information Society and Media. |
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