Call for proposals for Science 2 Business programme

People have until 13 February 2012 to submit their proposals around 12 themes (explained in detail below). The 12 workshops will be held at the ESOF conference at The Convention Centre Dublin.

Dr Thomas Cooney, a lecturer in entrepreneurship at DIT, who is also a member of the European Commission FP7 Advisory Group on SMEs, is chairing the Science To Business programme.

He says the aim of the interactive workshops at ESOF will be to help scientists, academics or entrepreneurs who want to make contacts and learn more applied research enage with others in their field and potentially forge new alliances.

Tthe 12 workshops, each lasting 90 minutes, are open to calls for proposals. The 12 areas people can submit proposals for are:

1. How does the economic environment influence opportunities for Science to Business activity?
2. What do we mean by 'Innovative Entrepreneurship' and why should it become an integral part of government policy?
3. What is required to engender greater entrepreneurial activity amongst SET students / graduates?
4. What should universities do to encourage more spin-outs and licensing arrangements?
5. What actions should be taken to reduce the barriers for innovators to start a business?
6. What is the future of Open Innovation?
7. A 90-minute guide on everything you should consider when starting a business.
8. Why are business clusters beneficial to enterprises and regions?
9. What are the challenges involved in building innovative capability?
10. What are the challenges involved in getting Intellectual Property Protection?
11. Multinationals in search of research output and people?
12. What are 'Exit Strategies' and why should I think about them at the start?

Cooney says that the 12 winning submissions must be internationally focused, ie they must incorporate at least three partners from three countries to give the projects a strong geographical spread. He says the proposals will also need to showcase how they will be interactive and imaginative so as to attract attention from delegates visiting ESOF this summer.

For more information see the ESOF 2012 website.

Carmel Doyle | |