Science and business ready to innovate
Researchers and industry actors have teamed up to drive innovation and build the information and communication technologies (ICT) sector in Europe. The brainchild of the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), Institut Telecom in France and Sirris in Belgium, CREATOR will transform ICT research and development (R&D) into real, customised innovations in the market and forge industrial partnerships on a global level. Some people believe European countries have hit a number of roadblocks when trying to translate scientific advances into marketable innovations. If we look at it from a policy perspective, Europeans have already drafted and implemented various actions with positive results, succeeding in making major inroads. The obstacle has been to translate the policy into practice, with companies bringing these innovations to market. Experts say ICT technologies could prove to be a key factor in boosting the economy. Investment size and efficacy in software-related R&D can determine economic performance and global competiveness on a greater scale. The majority of businesses are welcoming software development as a complement to their non-software products. They are currently using ICT as a tool to help enhance their businesses. Before anything comes to pass, however, a number of glitches need to be smoothed out. The researchers say the main issue is knowledge deficit in the ICT sector. Because of this, there are some skills shortages and companies are obliged to turn to industrial knowledge development. Other challenges include delivering acceptable-quality software products on time and within budget. So getting quick and efficient ICT innovations up and running is important, according to the CREATOR team. Industrial partnerships that target innovation are crucial. Commenting on the project, Tatu Koljonen, VTT's Vice President of Strategic Research, says: 'VTT has a long and successful tradition of partnerships with larger companies. VTT's main target in the CREATOR alliance concept is to instigate small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to focus on growth and global markets. CREATOR provides SMEs with new means to offer a complete solution, faster time to market, a wider addressable market as well as a variety of business models to choose from.' CREATOR is supporting ICT innovations via its expertise hubs in a number of countries. First on the list are Belgium, France and Finland. The project partners will eventually give the ICT industry the support it needs to fuel innovation processes and foster global collaborations. Innovations will be designed and launched on the international markets. 'Our economy is moving towards an economy of alliance under the pressure of the innovation stream, ' says Philippe Letellier, Innovation Director at Institut Telecom. 'CREATOR has been designed to support this evolution and Institut Telecom is proud to contribute to it.' Sirris Director Jeroen Deleu says: 'For companies, software and ICT is a dominant differentiator to innovate their products. By this, ICT becomes a key innovation axis for the future. Its societal impact goes beyond national borders and industrial sectors. CREATOR is the beginning of a profound collaboration between European key players to help companies creating value in this new area of globalised innovation. 'For more information, please visit: VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland:http://www.vtt.fi/?lang=enInstitut Telecom:http://www.institut-telecom.fr/en_accueil.htmlSirris:http://www.sirris.be/
Countries
Belgium, Finland, France