We are pleased to introduce to you the INSME-CFI International Training Course on Management of Innovation and Technology Transfer.

The course will be held in Spanish with English interpretation:
 Provisional agenda (English Version)
 Provisional agenda (Spanish Version)
 
We invite you to register to attend the course. The deadline for registration is June 5: 
 Application Form (English Version)
 Application Form (Spanish Version)

A 500 euro participation fee is foreseen. INSME Association Members and trainees from less developed areas (non-OECD countries) are entitled to a reduced fee of 300 euro.

For any further information, contact the INSME Secretariat:
Mr. Mariano G. Cordone
 secretariat@insme.it
Phone: +39 06 80972.472
Fax: +39 06 80972.443

It is our pleasure to inform you that the registration phase for the WIPO-INSME International Training Programme on Intellectual Property and Management of Innovation in SMEs is about to close.

On May 11-13, 2005, about 80 representatives of public and private organisations from Asia, Africa, North America and Europe will gather in Geneva to attend the course, which represents a first joint pilot project between the INSME Association and WIPO's SMEs Division.

We look forward to welcoming the speakers and the trainees at WIPO headquarters (34, Chemin des Colombettes, Geneva, Switzerland) and to a fruitful experience.

Download the latest version of the training programme's agenda:
 WIPO-INSME Training Course Agenda
 Programme International de Formation OMPI-INSME

We are pleased to announce that the provisional agenda for the INSME-API Training Programme on Supporting the Creation and Development of Innovative Enterprises (Tunis Belvéd�re, Tunisia, 5-7 December, 2005) is available:

 French Version
 English Version

The training will be held in French only. A 400 euro tuition fee is foreseen. A reduced fee of 250 euro is available for INSME Association Members and participants from non OECD Countries. The registration procedure will soon start.

If you are interested in attending or getting more information, contact the INSME Secretariat:
Mr. Mariano G. Cordone
 secretariat@insme.it
Phone: +39 06 80972.472/466
Fax: +39 06 80972.443

Audio files of the speakers' speeches will soon be available online.

Enjoy the pictures taken at the INSME 2005 Annual Meeting: visit the Photo Gallery section:
 http://www.insme.org/

Don't miss this opportunity to increase your visibility and reputation worldwide!

The INSME Secretariat encourages any Member or non-Member organisation interested in co-organising and co-hosting the INSME 2006 Annual Meeting to present its candidature. All proposals received will be evaluated by the INSME Board.

A call for expressions of interest is open in this regard until July 15, 2005, specifying the guidelines for co-hosting and co-organising the 3-day INSME meeting:
 http://www.insme.org/page.asp?IDArea=1&page=tenders
&action=detail&IDObject=161&IDObjectType=6

For expressions of interest or further information please don't hesitate to contact the INSME Secretariat:
Ms. Simona Marzetti
 secretariat@insme.it
Phone: +39 06 80972.448
Fax: +39 06 80972.443

An Australian-Italian collaboration is being created with the Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), an INSME Full Member, in the area of innovation in the textiles sector. This collaboration foresees the organisation of a tour (in late 2005) for an Australian delegation to get to know the Italian Textile Industrial Districts.

Related meetings with relevant public and private bodies will also be set up so as to create concrete outcomes and ongoing benefits. In the lead up to this mission various organisational meetings have taken place, one with Mr. Tony Pensabene, Ai Gorup representative, in Barcelona on the occasion of the INSME Annual Meeting, the second meeting in Biella, Italy with  the Australian Ambassador to Italy, Peter Woolcott and high level representatives of the Biellese district and textile industry (including the Biellese Industrial Union and textile research bodies). This second meeting was held on the 21st of April at the Comune of Biella hosted by the Mayor of Biella Vittorio Barazzotto on the occasion of the inauguration of the annual exhibition On the Wool Thread (Sul Filo Della Lana) and provided the opportunity for the Ambassador and representatives from the INSME Secretariat and IPI (INSME Sustaining Member) Carla Fritz and Anilkumar Dave to get a clear picture of the current situation and needs of the area so as to enable a clear focus for the Australian-Italian collaboration.

More info at:
 http://www.insme.org/page.asp?IDArea=1&page=news_pictures
&numpages=2&action=detail&IDObject=30&IDObjectType=8

On the occasion of the First INSME Annual Meeting (Barcelona, 13-15 April 2005), our editorial staff met Mrs. Birgit Berger from ICNM-International Center for New Media (Austria) and Dr. Amita Malik from SIIR-Shriram Institute for Industrial Research (India) and discussed about their innovative activities and products which allowed them to win the INSME Award 2005: Innovation for success.

Enjoy INSME's interview on the importance of participating in the INSME Award, the expectations of the winners with regard to their membership in the INSME Association and their contribution in "making innovation happen" in SMEs:
 http://www.insme.org/

The Japanese Award for the Most Innovative Development Project is one of the 3 categories of the Global Development Awards Competition, the largest international competition for researchers on development organised by the Global Development Network (GDN).

Applications are invited from institutions with their headquarters in a country in one of the following regions: Africa, Asia, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and the transition economies of Europe and Central Asia.

A prize of $50,000 will be given to the first finalist, whose project embodies a fresh approach to an important development need and holds the greatest promise for benefiting the poor in developing and transition countries. Criteria include the degree of innovation and the potential for broad application of the project in other countries. Two other finalists will receive prizes of $7,500 each. In addition, several other applicants will be invited at GDN expense to attend the GDN Seventh Annual Development Conference in January 2006.

All applications must be submitted as electronic files through the GDN website:
 http://www.gdnet.org

Deadline for submitting applications is August 22, 2005.

For further information, visit GDN website:
 http://www.gdnet.org/activities/gdn_competitions/
global_development_awards/

This prize is awarded for a specific groundbreaking innovation that directly promotes people's quality of life, contributes toward the realisation of human values and encourages sustainable economic development.

All industrial organisations, research institutes, universities and academies can make nominations for the prize. Nominees from all fields of technology are eligible. Self-nominations are not accepted.

Prizes are one million euros and a trophy, "Peak", symbolising peak performance.

Deadline for submitting nominations: 31st October 2005.

A nomination guide can be found at:
 http://www.millenniumprize.fi/index.php?m=2&s=3&id=37&sm=9

Title: Identification of New Methods of Promoting and Encouraging Transnational Technology Transfer

Closing date: June 15, 2005.

Programme: Sixth Framework Programme
Specific programme: Structuring the European Research Area
Activity area: Research and Innovation

For details on themes and application procedure, download the text of the call: 
 http://fp6.cordis.lu/fp6/call_details.cfm?CALL_ID=200&CFID=3799947&CFTOKEN=46835994

This study proposes a complete overview on technological innovation in the Mediterranean area highlighting such issues as:

• the state of the art of technological innovation and research in the Mediterranean countries, with a special focus on the MEDA Countries (Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey),  and with comparisons with Europe;
• a review of 260 technopoles, scientific parks and incubators, with comparisons among them;
• an analysis of innovation financing (venture capital, etc.) in the MEDA region;
• an in-depth of foreign investments in the technology sector (140 technology investments have been made since January 2003, so that it is possible to talk about Med HiTech Valley or Mediterranean Intelligence)

The study is available as download (French version) at: 
 http://www.animaweb.org/Documents/technoparc.pdf

Launched in July 2004 by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation (John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University), this portal allows policy makers to access news, reports and events focused on successful US government initiatives.

Information is arranged under topic headings e.g. Finance, Technology, etc. Under each topic, specific sub-topics are covered (e.g. under Finance you can find: "Banking" "Government Finance" and "Microfinance"). Online chats and online meetings, as well as bulletin boards and other tools, are used to bring people together who share interests in these topics.

Visit the Government Innovators Network portal at:
 http://www.innovations.harvard.edu/

Government Innovators Network's weekly newsletter, Innovators Insights, which aims to keep policy makers abreast of breaking news on innovations in government, is available for registered users.

INSME participated with an information booth at BIONOVA 2005, the international biotechnologies and bioengineering exhibition focused on key areas of biotech - agro industrial, diagnostic, chemical pharmaceutical, bioengineering, environmental - which took place in Padua (Italy) on April 20-22, 2005.

The event was intended to facilitate business networking between the R&D sector and small and medium enterprises and foster the initiation of joint projects in this area. Over 6,000 visitors and several public and private exhibitors representing Universities, Centres of Research, Science Parks from Europe, the USA and Italy animated this 3 day-event with demonstrations, training courses and presentations of innovation projects in the biotech sector.. 

For further details visit the BIONOVA 2005 website:
 http://www.bionova.it/index-ing.htm

Here is our selection of interesting events due to take place in May 2005 (events to be attended by a representative of the INSME Secretariat are marked with *):

4 May, 2005
International Conference on "Strategies for Regional Competitiveness in the Global Market"
The event will address issues such as: the reshaping of global markets; the role of cities; relationships between universities, industry and government; the disappearance of regional and national borders; innovation; and the creation of an environment for the new generation of top researchers.
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
 
9-10 May, 2005
Wallinno 2005 - Forum on Innovation - "Innovation is Everyone's Business"
An event especially dedicated to the enterprises located in the Wallonia-Brussels area.
Mons, Belgium

11-13 May, 2005
WIPO-INSME International Training Programme on Intellectual Property and Management of Innovation in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises*
Organised in cooperation with the SME Division of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). Ms. Simona Marzetti, Mr. Mariano G. Cordone and Dr. Silvia Grandi from the INSME Secretariat will attend.
Geneva, Switzerland

12-13 May, 2005
Seminar on Innovation Management
Organised by the Morrocan Association for Research and Development (R&D MAROC).
Casablanca, Morocco

15-18 May, 2005
"SMEs Internationalization and Transition to the Knowledge-based Economy"*
WASME (World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises) 2005 SME Convention - XVI International Conference. Mr. Mariano G. Cordone (Deputy Head of the INSME Secretariat) will attend.
Bucharest, Romania

17-19 May, 2005
LINK - Learning, Innovation, Networking & Knowledge - Module I
International Programme for Management Development. Organised by Ashridge Business School and the European Foundation for Management Development (efmd).
Ashridge, United Kingdom

18 May, 2005
"Entrepreneurship & Economic Growth - Perspectives from E.U. and the U.S."
Promoted and organised by the SFS (Swedish Foundation for Small Business Research), the Swedish Institute for Growth Policy Studies (ITPS) and NUTEK, the Swedish Business Development Agency.
Brussels, Belgium

18-21 May, 2005
EBN-IASP Nantes 2005 Congress - Networking and Clustering: a Dynamic to Accelerate Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Europe*
Jointly organised by the European Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) Network and the International Association of Science Parks. Ms. Simona Marzetti (INSME Secretary General) will attend.
Nantes, France

18-21 May, 2005
Triple Helix 5 - The Capitalisation of Knowledge: Cognitive, Economic, Social and Cultural Aspects*
Event organised by Fondazione Rosselli with the scientific contribution of Politecnico di Torino and sponsored by Regione Piemonte, Provincia di Torino, Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT. Dr. Silvia Grandi from the INSME Secretariat will attend.
Turin, Italy

19 May, 2005
Innovative Finance for High-Growth Companies*
Organised in the framework of the Triple Helix Conference. Focus will be on seed and venture capital markets in Israel, France, Spain and Ireland.
Turin, Italy

26-27 May, 2005
Best Practices in Transfer of Science and Technology
The ASTP (Association of European & Technology Transfer Professionals) Annual Conference.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 
 
29-31 May 2005
12th Annual International Conference on the Role of Banks, Financial and Economic Institutions in the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises
Organised by the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences in cooperation with the American Bankers Association.
Amman, Jordan