Some of these activities are technical in nature and involve the development and enhancement of INSME Services with regards to:
The INSME Portal:
Different sections of the portal are constantly updated by the INSME Secretariat with useful information for the Members and also in order to advertise activities carried out by INSME Members and of common interest to the Network community; the content delivery/ distribution tools such as the e-mail alert, newsletter, newsreader, content feed service are mostly used by Members;
Organisation of the INSME Annual Meetings:
Once a year, in collaboration with a co-host organisation, the INSME members meet to discuss and decide about issues related to the life of the network and about potential future activities to be possibly developed among the members of the Association.
The meeting, which is held indicatively between April and July of each year, represents one of the main highlights of the yearly activities of the INSME Association and it is composed of 3 or 4 day event, comprising the INSME Board Meeting and General Assembly, an International Conference and Technical Industrial Visits. In 2011, the 7th INSME Annual Meeting was held on n 23-26 May 2011, in Helsinki (Finland). The next 8th INSME Annual Meeting will be held on 21-24 May 2012, in Daejeon (South Korea);
Learn more about the INSME Annual Meetings.
The INSME Monthly Newsletter:
INSMEnews is promoted and diffused as one of the key means to keep readers informed about the current activities of the INSME Network, its online and offline services and the main issues related to innovation and technology transfer internationally. INSMEnews is currently distributed to over 19,000 readers from all over the world and is also issued in Spanish and in Russian thanks to the collaboration received from the INSME Members De Tullio & Partners and the Russian Agency SIORA;
For more information, please click here.
Joint International Training Programmes:
Consisting of a 3 to 4 day thematic module, held at regional level (continent or sub-continent). These programmes deal with SME innovation and technology transfer related issues and are aimed at strengthening public and private intermediaries’ staff skills. Most training sessions are conceived in a “train the trainers” format and are not targeted in particular at entrepreneurs. In 2011, the INSME Secretariat in collaboration with its Members (INNOVA, Intrasoft International, Meta Group and D’Appollonia) and within the framework of the 7th INSME Annual Meeting, organised the following International Training Programme:
- INSME Training Programme on "Access to research and innovation for SMEs: challenges and tools" held on 26 May 2011 in Helsinki (Finland).
For more information, please click here.
Learn more about INSME's former training programmes.
Project Development Unit (PDU) groups:
Are informal flexible groups, comprising representatives among interested INSME Member organisations, that are invited to join on a voluntary basis, to carry out operational joint initiatives on specific themes of common interest;
Organisation of Events:
The INSME Secretariat offers support in the organisation and promotion of important international events, fairs, forums and conferences that cover themes related to innovation and technology transfer to SMEs;
Participation in Calls for Tenders, Calls for Papers and Proposals.
In parallel with these activities at technical level, promotional activities are also foreseen by the Action Plan. These include:
- The set up of an INSME information booth at major events;
- The distribution and mailing of information material (flyers, folders, etc.) at the events and meetings;
- The drafting of press releases and contacts with specialised press (articles and publications on the INSME Association and its progresses will be published in specialised magazines, journals and newspapers).
Read about INSME's activities (pdf)
