The INSME Association and the Tunisian Agency for the Promotion of Industry (API), INSME Member, are pleased to invite you to the forthcoming:

INSME-API Training Programme on Supporting the Creation and Development of Innovative Enterprises
Date: 13-15 December 2005
Place: Abou Nawas Hotel, Tunis
Language: French only
 
Registration is free for INSME Full Members, while a reduced fee of 250 euro is foreseen for INSME Associate Members, INSME Observers and for participants from non-OECD Countries. For any other participant the registration fee is 400 euro.

The deadline for registering is December 3, 2005. So take advantage of this learning and networking opportunity, where representatives of important organisations (such as UNIDO-United Nations Industrial Development Organization, UNCTAD-United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, EBAN-European Business Angel Network, WIPO-World Intellectual Property Organization, AFDB-African Development Bank and Meta Group) will give you an insight into the latest innovation related theories and practices.

Download the revised provisional programme: 
 Programme de Formation (FR)

Download the registration form:
 Formulaire d'inscription (FR)

Public and private economic players from all geographical areas are invited to participate and can get further information either by visiting the following webpages:
 http://www.insme.org/page.asp?IDArea=1&page=training_Tunisia (in English)
 http://www.ipi.it/inside.asp?id=165&id_madrP=399&id_modu=930&id_serv=55 (in Italian)

or by contacting the INSME Secretariat:
Mr. Mariano G. Cordone
 secretariat@insme.it
Phone: +39 06 80972.472
Fax: +39 06 80972.443

We look forward to welcoming trainers and trainees in Tunis!

The INSME Association is among the supporting organisations of the upcoming

WIPO-Italy International Symposium on Intellectual Property and the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Textile and Clothing Sectors

This 3-day Symposium, starting November 30 and closing December 2, will take place in Italy at Real Sito Belvedere di San Leucio, a site with a long tradition of silk manufacturing, situated near one of the most fascinating and magnificent Italian artistic locations, the Vanvitelli’s Royal Palace of Caserta (near Naples).

 View a photogallery of the Symposium venue

The WIPO-Italy International Symposium is jointly organised by the Italian Ministry of Productive Activities-UIBM (Italian Patent & Trademark Office), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, SMEs Division), and the Italian Institute for Industrial Promotion (IPI) with the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Participation is for free, so take advantage of this opportunity to hear from outstanding personalities of the political and business world what is needed for SMEs in the textile and clothing sectors to stay competitive and face the challenges imposed by lower labour cost economic systems. In this respect, you will also have the chance to learn about the strategies put into place by important textile and fashion manufacturers - such as Benetton, Versace and others - so as to get insight and inspiration from them.

Download the Symposium final agenda:
	English Version		Italian Version

Register for the Symposium:
	Registration Form English Version		Registration Form Italian Version

On the occasion of this Symposium, WIPO will present and distribute a new guide on the textile sector, A Stitch in Time. Smart Use of Intellectual Property by Textile Companies.

For further information on this publication, contact WIPO SMEs Division:
World Intellectual Property Organization, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Division
34, chemin des Colombettes
1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland
sme@wipo.int
Fax: +41 22 338 8760

In this interview, INSME President, Mrs. Maria Callejon, unveils her vision of the Association for 2006 and onwards, taking into consideration the main issues influencing innovation policy creation today, both at national and international level.

She also explains the contribution of international events like the INSME Annual Meeting to influencing or inspiring concrete action-taking by policy makers and innovation players. In doing so, she sheds light on the theme of the INSME 2006 Annual Meeting ("Boosting Innovation by Bridging the Knowledge Gap: a Developer-User Approach") and anticipates her expectations for the outcomes of this conference, to take place in Montevideo, in late April 2006.

Mrs. Maria Callejon is General Director for SME Policy for the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade. She is President of the INSME Association since April 2005.

Read INSME’s Interview with Mrs. Callejon at:
 http://www.insme.org/page.asp?IDArea=1&page=interview&IDInterview=15

Go to the archive of INSME’s Interviews:
 http://www.insme.org/page.asp?IDArea=1&page=interviews

We welcome proposals for new topics or people to interview. If you are interested, contact the INSME Secretariat:
Ms. Francesca Arra
 arra@ipi.it 
Phone: +39 02 43440.205
Fax: +39 02 43440.222

The Small & Medium Enterprises Center, based in Amman (Jordan), has been established in 2004 by the Arab Academy for Banking and Financial Sciences (of which it is a division) and the Industrial Development Bank-Jordan.

It has been a Member of INSME since October 2005.

AABFS mission is to become a hub for SMEs in the Arab region, i.e. an essential SME's capacity building and networking reference and focal point for Arab entrepreneurs, governmental institutions, donating organisations and international SME network members.

A wide range of activities are being designed and carried out to this goal. Among them:

• organisation of specialized international programs for entrepreneurs and credit lenders
• consultancy and advisory services
• business information services on issues related to rules & regulations, taxes, forms of business plans, etc.
• assistance in preparing business plans
• publishing services, such as business directories and a quarterly newsletter that are distributed throughout the Arab region
• organisation of business conferences and exhibitions

In order to carry out its activities, the Small & Medium Enterprises Center has also established strategic alliances with the Social Fund for Development (Cairo, Egypt) and the Institute for Public-Private Partnerships, Inc. (based in Washington, USA).
 
To learn more about the Small & Medium Enterprises Center, download the AABFS presentation:
 http://www.insme.org/documents/Jordan_SMEs_Presentation.pdf

Training, Research, Innovation and Internationalization: the Human Capital and Innovation Expo, due to take place in Fieramilanocity (Milan, Italy) on 15-18 March 2006, will be a meeting point for all those players acting in these fields and involved in fostering social and economic growth through public-private partnerships.

The INSME Association has been invited by the organisers of the Expo to share this vision, and will thus participate in this event with an information booth.

The Expo website is available at http://www.expocapitaleumano.com/ (in Italian; English version coming soon).
We will keep our readers updated on this event, which promises to be rich in contents and occasions for meetings.

 Download the Expo presentation (English version)

For further information contact the organisers:
Ge.Fi. S.p.A.
Via Canova, 19 20145 Milano
 capitaleumano@gestionefiere.com
Phone: +39 02 31911911
Fax: +39 02 33104656

The INSME Secretariat is selecting the speakers for its international conference on "Boosting Innovation by Bridging the Knowledge Gap: a Developer-User Approach", to be held on April 25, 2006, in the framework of the INSME Association Second Annual Meeting (Montevideo, Uruguay, 24-26 April 2006).

If you are an innovation and technology transfer expert, a business professional, a representative of an intermediary organisations, a policy maker or an innovative entrepreneur and have particular knowledge or a relevant experience you would like to share with the conference participants on this theme, please send your CV and your topic proposal to:

 insme2006@insme.it

As we would like to combine analytical expertise with hands-on experience, we very much welcome proposals whose content privileges a practical perspective and proposals from entrepreneurs on case studies and success stories regarding research-enterprise collaboration.

Applying Speakers are reminded that the conference working language is English.

The deadline for submitting proposals is December 15, 2005.

Stay updated on the latest conference developments by visiting the INSME Annual Meeting 2006 website:
 http://www.annualmeeting2006.insme.org/default.asp

Launched by the European Commission, this initiative acknowledges and rewards outstanding activities and measures that support entrepreneurship at regional level:

• actions that promote an entrepreneurial culture and mindset 
• innovative policies that promote enterprise and attract investment
• measures to simplify administrative procedures for start-ups
• initiatives to enhance links between business and the educational system
• entrepreneurship initiatives that promote corporate social responsibility and sustainable business practices

Participation is open to local and regional authorities in the European Union, Bulgaria, Iceland, Norway, Romania and Turkey. This includes towns, cities, regions and communities as well as public-private partnerships between public authorities and entrepreneurs, educational programmes, and business organisations. The awards ceremony will be held in December 2006.

For information on how to participate, please visit:
 http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/entrepreneurship/smes/awards/participate/index_en.htm

The deadline for submitting entries is May 31, 2006.

 http://www.european-enterprise-awards.org/

IASP – International Association of Science Parks has launched a call for papers for its World Conference 2006, “Helping Innovative Companies to Succeed &  Communities to Prosper”, to be held in Helsinki (Finland) on June 6-9, 2006.

Papers are invited on the following themes:

• Marketing Science Parks – Attracting & Keeping World Class Customers
• The Present and Future of Science Parks around the World
• Discovering & Creating Born Global Companies
• How Science Parks Can Enhance Regional Growth Strategies
• Providing Customer-Driven Science Park Services
• The International Dimension of Science Parks
• Value-added Facility Management
• Media Communications for Science Parks
• Smart Networking
• Case Finland- Small is Beautiful?

Anyone interested in presenting a paper must first submit an 800 to 1200 words abstract to the Steering Committee Secretariat (iasp2006papers@iasp.ws), no later than December 15, 2005. All abstracts must be in English.

Further information on themes and contents, technical specifications for papers proposals and selection procedures are available at:
 http://www.iasp2006.sciencepark.com/page.php?page_id=3

This recently issued World Report by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) emphasises the need for an ethic that guides the emergence of knowledge societies, recognising that their foundations cannot consist of technological breakthroughs alone. This is an ethic grounded on two pillars: access to information for all and freedom of expression.

In doing so, it explains what commitment to the expansion of knowledge societies really means, calling the attention of governments of all levels, of governmental and non-governmental organisations and of the private sector to the need to implement 10 recommendations which throw relief into this ethical dimension (invest more in quality education for all to ensure equal opportunity, increase places of community access to information and communication technologies, widen the contents available for universal access to knowledge, develop collaboratories that might lead to the creation of sustainable platforms for sharing knowledge, etc).

What is important is that it says how all this can be carried out and never denies the obstacles and snares along the way towards establishing knowledge societies.

An inspiring read in view of the INSME Annual Meeting 2006 and a useful guide to assess where we are at in the debate on knowledge societies.

You can download the full report at:
 http://www.insme.org/documents/ksunesco.pdf

Resulted from an initiative of the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology and the FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo), this new online platform for the matching of innovation competencies and opportunities at national level targets all innovating subjects (business, academic and institutional) in the country and offers a number of integrated innovation related services with the aim to raise national awareness and commitment towards innovation processes among interested stakeholders.

A complete information toolkit on Brazilian government support actions, financing sources, intellectual property institutions and cross-border cooperation agreements is provided, together with a database of intermediaries institutions (incubators, scientific parks, research centres, etc.) and links to online resources on innovation.

Expressly designed for Brazilians, the portal language is Portuguese. Visit it at:
 http://www.portalinovacao.mct.gov.br/

ProTon Europe, the pan-European network of technology transfer offices (TOs) and companies affiliated to universities and other public research organisations (PROs), has recently restyled its website.

The purpose of ProTon Europe is to support the professional development of Knowledge Transfer Offices (KTOs) across Europe through networking, the exchange of good practices and staff, and the delivery of appropriate training programmes.

As such, the website is conceived as a tool to support ProTon Europe’s activities through the following sections:

• News, including relevant articles and announcements of events, trainings and conferences, organised by the network;
• Calendar of events, featuring a selection of events from all over the world, relevant for the ProTon Europe’s target group;
• A database of Good Practices, offering inspiration to improve the performance of KTOs;
• Staff Exchange, promoting the programme aiming at further enhancing the professional development of staff working in technology transfer offices.

ProTon Europe’s Members can access a reserved area where they can find services and contents exclusively dedicated to them.

ProTon Europe website’s look and feel is simple and clear to ensure fast navigation and easy information accessing. Enjoy it at:  
 http://www.protoneurope.org/

29 November - 02 December 2005
Innovation 2005 - The Week of Research, Development and Innovations in the Czech Republic
Organised by the Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship of the Czech Republic, the week will include the International Symposium INNOVATION 2005; the International Fair of Inventions and Innovations; the Innovation of the Year 2005 Award.
Praha, Czech Republic 

01-02 December 2005
IVCS 2005 - 9th International Venture Capital Summit
Co-organised by Mar-Tech&Finance and the French Riviera Chamber of Commerce, to foster contacts and business opportunities between innovative companies, large groups and venture capital investors.
Antibes Sophia Antipolis, France

06-07 December 2005
European Innovation Dialogue - “Strengthening the Innovation Ecosystem”
This event will brings together innovation practitioners and policy-makers with the objective to strengthen the European innovation agenda in the context of the Lisbon objectives. The panel participants represent an eclectic mix of stakeholders from the innovation community. The programme of the first day covers innovation aspects of human capital, knowledge assets and innovation financing. The second day aims to discuss and reach consensus on the establishment of a permanent European Innovation Dialogue.
Brussels, Belgium

08-09 December 2005 
Finnish Model of Innovation Hub
Jointly organised by Technopolis Plc and Oulu Innovation Ltd. Best practices for innovation hubs and science and technology park concept will be the focus.
Oulu, Finland 

11-14 December 2005 
ProTon Europe Annual Conference 2005 - Transfer Offices - "Bridging the Gap Between SME's and Academia"
Co-organised with e-unlimited this year ProTon Europe conference will focus on technology transfer and universities/enterprises virtuous relationships.
Berlin, Germany

12-15 December 2005 
Second International Conference on Technology, Knowledge and Society
Organised by Common Ground, the event will address a range of critically important themes related to the relationships between technology, knowledge and society.
Hyderabad, India 

13 December 2005 
Gate2Growth Summit
Experts from across Europe will discuss the various technological and financial barriers for high growth companies and will share with participants their experience in the field, providing practical tools which can directly apply to concrete situations.
Berlin, Germany

13-14 December 2005

Organised by the European Finance Convention.
Brussels, Belgium

14 December 2005
European Tech Investment Forum
Organised by Europe Unlimited to present the best fast-growing tech companies.
Berlin, Germany 

18-19 January 2006
1st Symposium TRIbiotec
Organised by the Cité de la Biotechnologie, the event brings together experts from Canada, Spain and Chili.
St-Hyacinthe (Québec), Canada

12-15 January 2006
USASBE/SBI Annual Conference 2006 - "The Changing Entrepreneurial Landscape"
Organised by the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Tuscon, United States