CORDIS launches new regional innovation Web service for Piemonte region
A new World Wide Web-based regional innovation service was launched by CORDIS, the Community R&D Information Service, at a meeting in the Brussels offices of Unioncamere Piemonte, on 10 March 1998. The first such regional service hosted by CORDIS focuses on technology and innovation in the Piemonte region in Northern Italy. "Piemonte is a region with a strong technical vocation", according to Massimo Deandreis, Director of Unioncamere Piemonte, who opened the meeting. He stressed the fact that the new service would provide an ideal opportunity to develop new means of cooperation between the Commission and the region. Furthermore, it will offer the rest of Europe a window onto the region's technological capabilities and training establishments, as well as giving Piemonte a view on the rest of Europe. During the launch, Mario Bellardinelli, Head of Unit within the EU's INNOVATION programme and responsible for CORDIS, outlined the development of the CORDIS service. Having started almost ten years ago, it has grown hugely, with new services being added regularly. Another major development has been the improvement in the user-friendliness of CORDIS, with the launch of World Wide Web-based services in 1994 a key improvement. The CORDIS Web site now has over one million visits per month, and some 60,000 regular users. The development of a regional dimension to the CORDIS service, through initiatives such as ERGO (European Research Gateways On-line) which aims to provide a common entry point to research information hosted in the Member States, and the Council Presidency Information Services, which include information on national research and innovation activities, is designed to provide users with information better tailored to their own needs. The Piemonte service aims to pilot an additional dimension to the CORDIS service, focusing on the strengths and opportunities of a given region. The new Piemonte Innovation and Technology service brings together three key organizations from Piemonte: Unioncamere Piemonte, the office of the Piemontese Chambers of Commerce in Brussels; ASSTP, the Association for scientific and technological development in Piemonte; and the ALPS Innovation Relay Centre, in Turin. By pooling their resources with an established European service such as CORDIS, the region of Piemonte will be much better able to present opportunities for potential partners from outside the region. By providing links to companies and organizations in key fields in Piemonte, the service allows outside organizations to identify and follow up their major technology interests quickly and easily. Examples include links to Alenia Aerospace and Telecom Italia's research arm, both based in Turin. In the education field, Piemonte hosts a major technical institute (Politecnico di Torino) and several national research institutes. Piemonte is also the location of a number of technology parks, including one specializing in biotechnologies and another in environmental technologies. The service will also provide access to a database of research resources in Piemonte, currently under development. This database will allow any interested organization outside the region to obtain information on a range of research activities within Piemonte. In particular, it will be used for those seeking partners to find, develop, and better utilize new technologies. The Piemonte Innovation and Technology Web service can be found on the CORDIS server, at: http://cordis.europa.eu/piemonte/home.html
Countries
Italy