People
Donna Kent is the new president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.
People
The Southern Arizona Tech Council announced it will merge its programs into the recently created Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc., an integration expected to be mostly completed by June 30, 2006.
People
President and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, Todd Bankofier, is resigning his position on Aug. 26 to become vice president and general manager for Ensynch Inc., a Tempe-based information technology services and solutions consulting company.
Recent Research: Did Policies Alter French BioTech Landscape?
A study suggests policies enacted in 1999 to encourage cooperative research, establish tech transfer structures and provide venture capital contributed to a dramatic shift in the biotech topography in France.
People
Elyse Golob is the new director of the University of Arizona Office of Economic and Policy Analysis. Beginning July 1, Leslie Tolbert will be the university's vice president for research, graduate studies and economic development, replacing Richard Powell upon his June 30 retirement.
Ship Out to Shape Up: Pakistan Sending 15,000 Students Abroad
While many regions, states and countries are lamenting a drain of talent from their area, the Pakistan Higher Education Commission is taking an opposite strategy to strengthen the nation's science and research capacity: sending up to 15,000 of its brightest students to study selected disciplines abroad through its Foreign Ph.D. Scholarship Program.
China's Goal: Quadruple GDP by 2020
In the opening ceremony of the 2005 FORTUNE Global Forum, held in Beijing on May 16, Chinese President Hu Jintao broadly outlined the course his country is taking to reach a goal of quadrupling its 2000 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the year 2020. Science, technology and innovation figure prominently in the strategy.
Arizona Angel Capital Tax Credit Passes
Arizona's investment and technology communities are the anticipated winners from the state legislature's recent passage of a tax credit encouraging angel capital investments in start-up Arizona tech firms.
Ontario Launches Youth Entrepreneurship Program
Recognizing the economic benefits of engaging young people in science and technology, Ontario's McGuinty government recently launched the Youth Science and Technology Outreach Program. The new program links high school students with researchers to support in-depth mentorship experience and postsecondary career advice.
Recent Research: Tax Credits Are Good for Companies, But Do They Make Good Policy?
Do tax credits pave the way for more investment in R&D and equity investments in new enterprises? Or, do they reward companies and venture capitalists for investments they would have made anyway?
Discussions on these questions can become quite heated and fueled by data supportive of both sides, as two new academic analyses demonstrate.
Recent Research: Will Operating Costs Drive Future Biotech Location Decisions?
There are several factors that go into location decisions for biomedical firms. Proximity to strong university research capacity, other biotech businesses, and technically competent workers are all important considerations. With the financial investments many states and localities are making toward the life sciences, however, the field of prospective locations for successfully launching a biotech firm has grown considerably larger than the "usual suspects."
Changing Mindset Critical for Arizona Bioscience Success, Study Advises
Arizona must begin viewing medical and educational institutions as a major economic driver of the state economy in order to become a leader in the biosciences industry, according to a new report from the Arizona Board of Regents.
TBED Organizations & People Update
Two Southern Arizona tech councils, theInformation Technology Association of Southern Arizona and the Southern Arizona Industry and Aerospace Alliance, decided to merge to have the combined financial resources for a full-time executive director, according to the March 23 edition of the Tucson Citizen.
Amid Criticism, Industry Canada Transforms Focus of Technologies Program
To support innovation and technology with increased accessibility for small-and medium-sized firms, Canada's Minister of Industry, David Emerson, announced a new program that will replace Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC).
SSTI Job Corner
For more information on the positions below, visit SSTI's online Job Corner at http://www.ssti.org/posting.htm.
Ontario’s RIN Dares Venture Where More TBED Must
By creating Ontario’s Regional Innovation Networks (ORIN) three years ago, the provincial government experimented with how to establish customized systems-specific, but network-integrated approaches to strengthening and supporting regional innovation.
People & TBED Organizations
Steven Zylstra is the new president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.
Canadian Government Provides $163M for New Centres of Excellence
Earlier this month, the Canadian Minister of Industry announced the establishment of 11 new Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECRs) to pursue multidisciplinary work in the areas of environmental science, natural resources and energy, health and life sciences, and information and communication technologies. This $163 million investment joins a $105 million investment last year that created seven other CECRs across Canada.
EU Creates Entrepreneurship Assistance Network of 600 Organizations, Offices
Transforming as many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as possible into globally competitive firms is a challenge, as most TBED practitioners know. The complexity of combining all of Europe into a single market makes the work even more daunting.
To simplify the process for SMEs in more than 40 countries, the European Commission recently launched a consolidated Enterprise Europe Network. The network consolidates the older Euro Info Centres and the Innovation Relay Centres.
Chinese Venture Capital Investment Grows in 2007, But Not in High-Tech Industries
Venture capitalists invested almost $2.5 billion in China in 2007, according to a new report from Dow Jones VentureSource. That figure is a 5 percent increase over the 2006, and the highest since 2001, despite a decrease in the number of deals. Though investment is not growing quite as quickly as it is in the U.S., where venture investment rose by 8 percent last year, China is becoming a key global market for venture investment.
Research Park RoundUp
The following overview is a synopsis of selected recent announcements from research parks across the nation, including new tenants, groundbreakings and tools for financing start-up companies.
Western Europe Increasing Competitiveness in R&D Capacity
During the past decade, the European Union (EU) invested heavily in civilian R&D by building first-class laboratories and expanding higher education in science and engineering. Its efforts, according to the Data Brief for a new National Science Foundation report, Human Resources for Science and Technology: The European Region, are narrowing the lead the U.S. holds in R&D.
For example:
1996 World Competitiveness Yearbook Released; U.S. Ranks First
The International Institute for Management Development has released its annual World Competitiveness Yearbook, and the United States has reclaimed its spot atop the list. The U.S. was followed by Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and Denmark.
Making Summer Travel Plans? Check Out SSTI's Calendar of TBED Events
It's probably the case that not all of your travel over the next few months will be for personal vacation. Conference excursions can stimulate new ideas, add to your professional growth, and establish or strengthen opportunities for collaboration. In addition to reserving Oct. 31-Nov. 2 for SSTI's 10th Annual Conference in Oklahoma City, we encourage you to check out our web calendar of events to scan more than 140 additional opportunities for professional development.