WIRE2011 EXHIBITION

WIRE2011 features an exhibition providing the opportunity to showcase results of synergies between clusters, regions and research infrastructures. The aim of the exhibition is to provide an outstanding opportunity for leading international clusters, research infrastructures and regions to present their good practices and results in the subject.

Please consult the terms and condition of the exhibition on the following link: Exhibitor terms and condition.

Please find a short description about the exhibitors below.

EU JSO-ERA Project

At the stand the newly established system of the National and Regional Contact Points in Ukraine will be promoted. Ukrainian National Contact Points for Regions of Knowledge, Research Infrastructure and Research Potential programs will be available for networking and discussion. Research potential of the regions of Ukraine will be presented. Some national technology platforms and research clusters will be promoted. Recently published brochure "Science & Technology Landscape of Ukraine" will be disseminated during the exhibition. It contains presentation of the research potential of Ukraine R&D organisations having capacities to participate in FP7, in particular: a) brief overviews of Ukrainian S&T potential corresponding to the research themes of the FP7 'Cooperation' programme; b) overview of the advanced / unique research infrastructures, and c) profiles of research organisations / units. Information on leading Ukrainian organisations, having experience in FP7 participation will also be provided. Brochures presenting overview of Ukraine potential in selected research areas related to FP7 priorities will be also disseminated to inform EU partners about opportunities for cooperation with Ukraine in FP7. Opportunities to find relevant partners in Ukraine with the support of the EU funded project “Joint Support Office for enhancing integration of Ukraine into the ERA” will be promoted.

We'll present the Ukrainian regional contact points, capacities and potential of the Ukrainian research organisations to participate in the 7th FP and opportunities of research cooperation with regions of Ukraine as well as how to meet the common goals of raising the competitiveness of the European and Ukrainian knowledge-based economy. One of the main objectives of participation in the exhibition is strengthening and deepening co-operation between research infrastructures and their users (from academia to industry). Through presentation of national technology platforms and research clusters exhibition will contribute to Ukrainian cooperation with the EU research driven cluster in the frame of Regions of Knowledge programme. Exhibition will contribute to the main objective of the EU-Ukraine S&T Cooperation integration of Ukraine into the ERA.

City of Jyvaskyla

Brochures, posters, photographs, research reports, newsletters and other material related to the Interreg IVC project "Creating Local Innovation in a Quadruple Helix - CLIQ". An animated film about ideal circumstancies where innovation can flourish (if ready).

The project manifests an change in innovation paradigm from traditional Triple Helix to a more open and inclusive innovation ecosystems and has carried out a comprehensive set of exchange activities in 13 partner regions around Europe. We would like to showcase the results of learning and the benefits that local & regional authorities will have from a more advanced mindset and behaviour when driving innovation.

Kista Science City

We would like to present selected results from the iRegions project, which is looking at maximizing the benefits of research infrastructures for regional economic development within the ICT clusters of Karlsruhe (Germany) Tartu (Estonia) and Kista (Sweden). The project includes the evaluation of Living Labs, Ecosystems for Growth, and Leading Edge Areas. We will focus on the work done on Living Labs. (One presentation on this topic won a prize at the Living Labs School event in Paris 2010) Following a detailed literature review in the field of Living Labs, a methodological framework called the harmonization cube was developed and proposed with the collaboration of the European Network of Living Labs ENoLL. We applied this approach to the description and comparison of two on-going Living Labs. They were Living Lab Ambient Assisted Living in Karlsruhe and Smart Park & Ride Living Lab in Kista. This allowed us to identify what important issues the two regions should focus on but also what we have in common in terms of lessons learned. This in turn allowed Tartu to start building their new living lab in mobile and location-based services based on the results of this comparison. They will be able to do so with a more complete picture of all the elements necessary for its success. The stand will show a number of posters on our results and offer material that people can take with them if they want more information.

By focusing on Living Labs as a way to maximize the benefits of research infrastructures in ICT clusters, the iRegions exhibit will directly contribute insight on synergies between research infrastructures and cluster policy. We will show that Living Labs, both existing ones and the ones the iRegions partners are now planning, can be a way to increase the contact interface between companies, public officials, and research & academia. They also contribute directly to the formation of needs-based networks in regions. Furthermore, by working in Region of Knowledge projects such as iRegions, not only is setting up new Living Labs easier because of the support and learning one can have from other partners, but ideas can be tested at an early stage between the regions to see what has worked in the past and what should be avoided. A Living Lab that is well set up will increase the innovation performance of a region because they will, by default, be user-centric and involve many more actors than traditional research projects. The experience of the iRegions project so far is that it has been beneficial to learn about each others research infrastructure capacities and features as plans for future projects rely on using those that best fit together.

WBC-INCO.NET

WBC-INCO.NET is a project (FP7, INCO Programme, running 2007-2013) on the integration of the Western Balkan countries (WBC) (Albania, BiH, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo/UN Res 1244) into the European Research Area and the coordination of research policies.
The project has produced brochures, posters, journals, several reports, directories and databases as well as a short movie about the project itself and research excellence in the WBC. The stand will feature these materials and access to our online portal (www.wbc-inco.net).
The reports presented will focus on:
- Innovation Infrastructures in the region – including a mapping of clusters
- Research Infrastructures in the region
- national research systems in specific areas (Transport, Environment, Health, etc.)
- WBC-INCO.NET journal (half-yearly publication: the issue spring 2011 will focus on clusters and cluster policies)
Through the project partners (among them ministries, agencies and research institutions from all countries of the region) and through the contacts established via the portal (e.g. our newsletter is sent to 8.000 recipients) will also present brochures and materials from research institutions, clusters and research projects (including REGPOT funded projects) from the region.
At the stand will be (most probably) a person from Ministry of Education and Science from Serbia, Ministry of Education and Science from Bulgaria, Centre for Social Innovation from Austria – project coord.

The results of the project (mapping of innovation infrastructures and clusters and research infrastructures) are highly relevant for the participants of WIRE 2011. We will provide a consolidated presentation about the relevant actors in the WBC which are associated to the Framework Programme. The project represents 29 partners, among them are the Ministries responsible for science and innovation/economy from Albania, BiH, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, who will provide material on the innovative regions in their countries.
In relation to the topics of the conference, the exhibition stand will provide information about
- Research infrastructure development and clusters (through provision of reports, material)
- Synergies between programmes (through highlighting the synergies between Framework Programme, CIP and the Instrument for Pre-Accession / IPA)
- Access to RIs (through the report and website database on RIs http://wbc-inco.net/research/list)
- Future of cluster policies (through report on clusters and a special issue of the journal with this focus)
- Regional dimension of the Innovation Union (through emphasising the enlargement countries as being an active partner in creating the Innovation Union)
- Smart specialisation (through introducing priorities of the region)
- Financial and legal challenges (through emphasising that not only Structural Funds but also IPA are relevant for the discussion)

Extreme Light Infrastucture

Listed on the ESFRI Roadmap as one of the priority research infrastructure projects for Europe, the Extreme-Light-Infrastructure (ELI) will be the first laser research infrastructure truly resulting from an international collaboration. Based on a new generation of laser technologies delivering ultra-short ultra-intense pulses, ELI will offer excellent conditions of access to external users to investigate the large variety of research opportunities opened by extreme light, for instance in material sciences, biochemistry, medicine, nanotechnologies, astrophysics, and cosmology. Consisting initially of three sites located in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania that will be operated jointly, ELI will be the first ESFRI infrastructure implemented in new Member States. Funded by means of structural funds, ELI represents a remarkable example of an excellent research project contributing both to the objective of economic cohesion and to the development of the European Research Area. Resulting from a truly pan-European effort, the project will offer numerous opportunities of technological collaboration and knowledge transfer between the research community and the industry, with huge potential socio-economic benefits for the hosting regions. Come to the ELI stand to learn more about the project’s research and technological opportunities, the peculiarities of its funding and legal scheme, and to meet with key actors involved in its implementation.

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InterTradeIreland

The ‘Collaborating Regions in Ireland’ stand will showcase innovative technology developed involving clusters from two neighbouring regions, Northern Ireland (UK) and Ireland (IE), in collaboration with Spain (ES), Belgium (BE), Denmark (DK) and Estonia (EE). The stand will be co-ordinated by three cooperating agencies, InterTradeIreland, Invest Northern Ireland and Enterprise Ireland, all of whom are collaborating to assist companies and academics based across the island of Ireland in applying for EU funding, with a focus on working cross-border. The stand will showcase FP project “ULTRAVISC”, for which Cherry Pipes (NI and UK SME), are co-ordinators, focussed on optimising polymer processing systems, and in which Queen’s University Belfast from Northern Ireland (UK) and TSM Control Systems from Ireland (IE) are partners. The system allows recycled polymers to be processed with a higher level of product quality and with greater efficiency than previously possible. This leads to reduced energy consumption, less reliance on landfill and reduced CO2 emissions. The technology will open up new high-value markets for recycled plastic materials, which were previously impossible to use, thus improving the competitiveness of Europe’s polymer processing industry. Cherry Pipes and TSM Control Systems is just one example of successful collaboration. We will present on the stand other successful collaborations and seek to meet with new potential partners from regions across Europe.

The ‘Collaborating Regions in Ireland’ exhibition will highlight genuine regional and cluster interaction between cross-national border participants through the inclusion of parties from Northern Ireland (UK) and Ireland (IE). The exhibition will demonstrate the ability of the two regions from neighbouring member states to work together and will showcase the results of the collaboration. The collaboration between the two public bodies, namely Invest Northern Ireland (UK) and Enterprise Ireland (IE), has assisted in the shaping and growth of a successful regional collaboration, which has been recognised to have a greater level of success than the regions working alone. Much can be learnt from this experience and good working practises. A third inter-regional agency, InterTradeIreland, has more recently joined this collaboration between regional and national agencies and is working specifically to stimulate this localised collaboration for the benefit of all parties involved, including industry, SMEs, public authorities and universities. On a more basic level the exhibition will also demonstrate the advantages of knowledge transfer between regions and clusters, identifying the innovation benefits that can be generated as a result.

LifeWatch research infrastructure

The LifeWatch infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research is one of the "ESFRI" projects. It started construction with a strong emphasis on regional developments in cooperation with regional authorities with support from the EU Structural Funds. The following will be presented. Visualization and information about the distributed construction of the LifeWatch research infrastructure. Governance, finance and regional innovation issues.

The exhibition is especially designed for the WIRE conference. It will highlight which approaches and solutions were adopted by LifeWatch to promote regional research and innovation with local partners. Strategic issues and novel ways to provide (remote) access are being addressed.

Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences

The Lapland University Consortium (LUC) is composed of three higher education institutions in the province of Lapland: Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences, University of Lapland and Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences. LUC is a unique form of strategic alliance in Finland, as it comprises a union between a university and two universities of applied sciences. The combination of three higher education institutes offers unique possibilities for strong multidisciplinary education, research and development.

The division of academic programs in the area, the specification of strategic strengths to serve the surrounding society, and the unification of operational units into even stronger entities are some expressions of the broad-minded attitude and the co-operative skills that the institutions share.

Research and development in LUC is based on the multidisciplinary cooperation and individual areas of expertise of the three institutions. The R&D is always carried out in close cooperation with the surrounding society.

To foster its R&D, LUC has adopted a joint innovation program. The program defines the targets and measures through which the institutions will support the development of the public and private sectors towards renewal and change. The aim of the innovation program is to create technological, commercial and social innovations.

See more: www.luc.fi/international

Lapland University Consortium and its joint innovation program are unique models for regional development. The LUC has long and extensive experience in international collaborative research and development. Working in close cooperation with the surrounding society, it focuses on user-driven innovation and swift application of research results.

Higher education institutions in Lapland have important role as intermediaries in region working in close cooperation with industry and SMEs. In Lapland’s regional innovation system the educational institutions are the driving force of innovation activity and the universities of applied sciences have as their objective to engage also the SMEs in R&D activity. Universities offer innovation support services to enterprises. They have a special role in finding suitable financing and in helping with financing applications, project building and project management. Lapland University Consortium has hired a common innovation agent together with regional authorities to promote innovation activities.

Tunturi-Lapin Kehitys

Tunturi-Lappi (Fell Lapland) Region is sparsely populated (population density 0,7 inhabitants per km2) remote area in North-Western Finland. The most important livelihoods are tourism ja mining. Both livelihoods need educated staff and innovations. The Ruralpolis project activities include a wide range of small-scale activities from supporting of a single thesis to the preparation activities of large research projects and participation to the county-level open University activities. The main objective of the Ruralpolis-project is to strengthen a sustainable dialogue and cooperation between the region and research & educational institutes. Cooperation is based on the competence strategy of Tunturi-Lappi region. We would like to represent on our stand the innovative cooperation structures we have developed and results we have gained. The project is partly funded from EU structural funds.

Ruralpolis project has strengthen cooperation between remote area and educational and research institutes - the project represents a new innovative way of cooperation in the sparsely populated area. The priority in the project is the rapid utilization of knowhow and innovations for regional economical and social benefit. Steering of the activities has been kept in the hands of the Tunturi-Lapin Kehitys ry - this regional development association represents the Muncipalities of the region. The project consortium is formed Tunturi-Lapin Kehitys ry and Lapland University Consortium (LUC). The project is partly funded from EU structural funds.

Agrofood Clusters Platform

AGroFOod Clusters Platform with Common Long-Term Research and Innovation Strategy towards Economic Growth and Prosperity Objective: To create a common dialogue platform and a joint action plan among the Agrofood clusters that will maximise capacity for research and benefit from research infrastructure through complementariness and synergy, so as to contribute for sustainable development, prosperity, economic growth and global competitiveness of the regions. Specific Objectives: Strengthening a sustainable dialogue between the participant Agrofood clusters, Creating an R&D&I Strategy Dialogue & Cooperation, Enhancing Trade & Investment opportunities in Agrofood sector, Maintaining sustainability of cross-collaboration between the participant regions, Stimulating utilization from national/EU R&D funds.

Regions: The consortium has been formed by 13 partners from 3 different regions (Mersin, Emilia-Romagna, Murcia) each of which will bring added value from a different perspective but with complementary properties, related with their expertise areas.

PharmAgora Cluster

PharmAgora Cluster is a 5-year-old cluster with several successful developments from the health and pharmaceutical industry. The 23 members of the accredited Cluster have achieved relevant results in the field of functional food, innovative generic pharmaceuticals, laboratory equipments, medical devices and in the related background services.
On the stand PharmAgora can attract the visitors with its wide spectrum products and complex ideas. Its milk and cacao with high omega-3 fatty acid, CLA, D and E-vitamins that is due to a special patent protected feeding technology that we apply; eggs produced with the same technology and have also high CLA and omega-3 fatty acid content; its unique sustainable food chain model that has been already presented in several international conferences would be presented as well as the compact, complex cardiovascular diagnostic system that is able to do parasympathic and symphatic function measurements.
Besides the presented products visitors can get information about the current running R&D projects, background services provided by the members (food chain management, food safety, quality management, data-management and biostatistics etc) and the past years’ achievements of the Cluster itself.

Wire 2011 as it is dedicated in its website focuses on questions such as the innovation, research infrastructures, and clusters as a potential tool for growth and for achieving the goals of EU2020. PharmAgora was one of the first clusters in Hungary and it has always put high emphasis on research and development and innovation. In the past years the Cluster and its members gained relevant experience in the field of R&D projects, national and international grant applications (ÚSZT, FP7, CIP, etc) and cluster related issues that were all used and built in to the strategy of PharmAgora. The Cluster has built its headquarter (from own resources), an R&D centre (with EU co-funding) and a biotechnology centre and a feed factory will be established soon in Balatonfured where with these activities a new industry has settled. The Cluster has good contacts with international clusters and has some common projects with the clusters of Debrecen.
These experience and their results in tangible products and models can be a best practice or a model how the triple helix (companies, universities and the local government) can successfully cooperate and help each other to realize world-class projects and create exportable Hungarian products and last but not least how to develop their region.

Galician Agri-Food Technology Platform

We would like to introduce innovative food products produced in Galicia (Spain).
Products presented have two common features its innovative nature and healthy aspect.

The products may be tasted by the participants.

Products are displayed as:
Algae canned
Milk high in CLA (derived from naturally)
Canned meat products with low salt content
Wine, Beer
Cheese
Plant products (mushrooms, chestnuts ...)
and others

The agri-food sector in Galicia has a major socioeconomic importance.

The quality of our products and our cuisine are well known in Spain. We intend to promote them that stand in the rest of Europe, revealing an unknown component: the innovative capacity related to health that has developed in recent years.

The agricultural sector in Galicia has had since 2006 with Agrifood Technology Platform (Ptgal) working actively in the generation of collaborative innovation projects.

The platform has integrated 200 companies, the three Galician universities and major research centers food.

During these years we have searched for synergies with other European regions that expand and strengthen the competitiveness of Galicia. Among some of the generated Proxectos are the REAL (Galicia - North Portugal Food Innovation Network) co-finance by the European Union-through POCTEP (Operational program for cross-border Cooperation Spain - Portugal 2007-2013) and AFRESH (Activity and Food Supporting Regional Economies for Health) Funded Through the FP7 Programme. Regions of Knowledge

During the past year has been generated, aside from the Ptgal, the food and Drinks Galician Cluster, which aims to increase the sector's ability to work in three areas internationalization, marketing and innovation (implemented through the Ptgal).

This year, the Cluster has beenmaintained contacts with different European regional clusters in the search for synergies and partnerships .

We believe that our stand will show the potential of regions to generate innovation networks, helping them to achieve greater development.

DASTI - Danish Agency for Science, technology and innovation

Poster or roll-up, publications.

Ministries and innovation agencies from all the Nordic Countries, Germany and Poland have agreed on a joint Nordic-German polish Cluster Excellence Project. The aim of this project is to promote cluster management excellence and mutual learning by comparing cluster organisations and cluster support programmes from Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in a benchmarking exercise. There will be a cluster benchmark and a cluster policy benchmark. More than 150 clusters will be participating in the cluster benchmark and around 15 cluster programmes are involved in the cluster policy benchmark project. Preliminary results from the two analyses and a Copenhagen cluster declaration with advice on cluster policies can be presented which is relevant as it deals with clusters and regional growth in line with the aim of WIRE.

European Bioinformatics Institute

Banner, poster, screen and literature hand outs providing information on the emerging Infrastructure for Biological Information in Europe (ELIXIR).

ELIXIR is a Research Infrastructure of global significance because the data it will manage belongs to everyone. To ensure that the European bio economy can become a reality, ELIXIR is securing sustainable funding from European National and regional funding agencies for a robust data infrastructure. This will empower researchers throughout Europe by providing them with seamless access to biological data on an unprecedented scale. For more information about ELIXIR please see the ELIXIR website: www.elixir-europe.org

Champagne-Ardenne Region

The Champagne-Ardenne region, CARINNA – Champagne-Ardenne Research and INNovation Agency, the clusters in the region: Industry and Agro-resources (IAR) competitiveness cluster, Materalia (competitiveness cluster).
The Champagne-Ardenne stand will represent the main actors, including two universities, in the field of research and innovation within the region and the synergies developed between them.
The Champagne-Ardenne region is supporting “Regional technology platforms” which aimed at answering companies’ needs and being hosted in research infrastructure. For example ROMEO is a high performance computer for calculation, and MESERP a platform dedicated to the modelling of production flows within a company from the client order until the product delivery.
The Champagne-Ardenne region is promoting initiative in e-health that brings together researchers , companies and institutions to gain efficiency in the delivery of healthcare. In this sector, research infrastructure is involved in larger network at interregional level on cancer (Canceropole Grand –Est).

The Champagne-Ardenne region together with CARINNA will present their achievements in implementing smart specialization with the support and creation of competitiveness clusters in the field of agro-resources and materials as well as pushing emerging sectors at regional and interregional level on e-health, nanotechnologies, and renewable resources.
CARINNA works in close collaboration with the competitiveness clusters, Industry and Agro resources and Materalia. CARINNA will present experiences in this field as well as illustrating its actions to bring closer the companies, in particular SMEs, and the research infrastructures such as the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne and the University of Technology of Troyes. This is done for example through incubation but also by supporting the setting-up of research projects to answer the regional calls for proposals.
The Champagne-Ardenne has established a Regional Innovation Strategy and is willing to share its experiences with other European regions. The interregional cooperation is important as demonstrated by the involvement of Jean-Paul Bachy, President of the Regional Council, as President of the Commission on decentralized and international cooperation at the Association of French Regions. We are leading exchanges between Regional Innovation Agencies (RIAs) in Europe through PERIA-Partnership of European RIAs, and in France developing practices exchanges through the Association of the Directors of RIAs.

Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

The EuroRIs-Net project is a network of more than 30 National Contact Points (NCPs) dealing with the FP 7 Research Infrastructure (RI) Programme. Its objective is to provide support for efficient implementation of the RI Programme and to promote the best utilization of RIs in Europe. In the booth printed material will be distributed: project leaflet, success stories, newsletter; the video film "Research Infrastructures - why so important?" will be shown and the DVDs will be distributed. The project representatives will provide information about the project itself, about NCPs and their services, and about the Research Infrastructures' Programme, its importance for European science and benefits it brings to the RI users - researchers, about particular type of running projects, with the emphasis of those which offer transnational access to RIs and services offered by the e-infrastructures' projects

Large part of the conference deals with the aspect of research inrastructures. The stand of the project Euroris would show not only the information about the project itself (including NCP services) but also about the Research Infrastructure element of the FP7 and opportunities offered by the Transnational Access, and by the e-infrastructures services.

Central transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency

CTRIA is leading a network of innovation stakeholders in Central Transdanubian Region (Hungary). By doing so, we would like to manage an exhibition opportunity for all stakeholders in Central Transdanubia. Both university, research and development, cluster, intermediary and SME side will represent the innovation activity of our region. We would like to represent all activities within the innovation chain, especially project ideas, R&D results, cluster initiatives, innovative products, international relations and current transnational projects.
The visitors will have the opportunity to participate in matchmaking activities, networking discussions as well as having detailed information on current initiatives and projects.

The main topic of our exhibition is closely connected to the conference goals, especially in the field of knowledge exchange, clustering and R&D infrastructures. Additionally the regional dimension will be highly implemented.
The benefit for the visitors will be the full range of information on our region that can accelerate further collaborations.

Medical Unviersity of Graz

The aim of the participation is to present the results of the Preparatory Phase of the Biobanking and Biomolecular Resource Research Infrastructure (BBMRI-PP) by the following means: BBMRI Brochure, Socio-Economic Impact study, and poster presentation.

BBMRI-PP involved more than 274 partners from over 30 countries which underlines its pan-European scope. Nevertheless, among the institutions involved there is a significant dominance of Western European Member States. In the context of implementing the European Research Area and European Cohesion Policy BBMRI-ERIC further promotes participation of new Member States with its distributed architecture, by the adoption of the ERIC legal framework, and a series of specific stimulation programmes in order to stimulate cooperation within these regions. This process will be officially supported by the Czech Republic. Furthermore, Estonia, Greece, and Malta have expressed their interest in acting as regional hubs for the Baltic, South-Eastern and Southern European regions, respectively.

BBMRI provided essential resources and technologies of any research-led response to several of Europe’s grand societal challenges, and consequently, will be a fundamental component in addressing the ongoing and future requirements particularly of the EU’s health services framework including competitiveness and innovativeness of health-related industries. Exploring new models for public-private partnerships will become a cornerstone for implementing the goals of the European Strategy 2020, in particular the “Innovation Union”. BBMRI developed the concept of “Expert Centres” which can be established as public-private partnerships with industry. These centres should provide a framework where public resources as well as expertise and technologies from academia and industry can be integrated to speed-up collaborative research and to perform analyses of samples at the country of origin under internationally standardised conditions.