Monthly Archive for March, 2005

Capgemini ranks eGoverment performance

Published
by
Peter Druga
  on  March 25, 2005
  in  eGovernment
. 0 Comments

Capgemini has published its 5th Report on the Development of eGovernment Services in the EU-25 and Norway, Iceland and Switzerland.

During 2004, the sophistication of online eGovernment services in the EU-25 reached 65%, in the EU-15, 72% (an annual increase of 5%, compared to 7% for the previous year). In the new EU member states the result was just 53%. Full availability of eGovernment services in the EU-25 reached 40%, in the EU-15, 46% and in the new member states just 29%.

From a total of 28 countries monitored in this study, Slovakia was ranked at 26 - the last two positions belong to Poland and Latvia.

How well does the Venture Academy format work?

Published
by
Steven Carlson
  on  March 24, 2005
  in  Business innovation and Current events
. 0 Comments

Returning from Warsaw I jotted down a few notes about the experience I had coaching entrepreneurs this week at Europe Unlimited?s Biotech Venture Academy.

The venture academy format brings together leaders of young technology companies to pitch their businesses to a group of coaches, a group that included active venture capitalists, professional business advisors, and experienced entrepreneurs - including your correspondent. The project is funded by the European Commission, and the entrepreneurs can participate for free.

I enjoy this kind of exercise, however my interest was not merely academic. I?ve been asked to help bring the Biotech Venture Academy to Budapest in June this year. So how well does this format work?
Continue reading ‘How well does the Venture Academy format work?’

Software Patents in Europe

Published
by
Greg Kirsch
  on  March 17, 2005
  in  Intellectual property
. 6 Comments

On Monday, March 7, 2005, European government ministers approved a directive designed to reform how patents are handled in the European Union. The European Parliament (which includes some opponents of the directive), will ultimately vote on the initiative, which will either become law or be rejected.

At issue in the directive is whether the European Union will have an EU-wide system for enforcing patents (currently handled on a national level), and whether Europe will allow broader patent protection for software.
Continue reading ‘Software Patents in Europe’

Hungarian data too well protected?

Published
by
Steven Carlson
  on  March 8, 2005
  in  Current events and EU funding programmes
. 0 Comments

As part of the NETIES project, my partners and I are conducting surveys in three markets (Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic) to determine the barriers and bottlenecks for small businesses participating in FP6 projects, as well as identify success stories.

One of my biggest barriers is Hungary’s overly restrictive data protection law. In order to conduct this survey, I need to obtain lists from EC partner organizations of companies that have taken part in FP6, as well as earlier programs.

Continue reading ‘Hungarian data too well protected?’

Danubia NanoTech: The story of a start-up in nanotechnologies

Published
by
Ivan Filus
  on  March 7, 2005
  in  Case studies
. 0 Comments

Five Slovak and one Austrian researcher have started their business in the emerging area of nanotechnologies by establishing a company - Danubia NanoTech - in Bratislava. They had a brave vision and experience but what they lacked was money.

A startup headquartered in Bratislava, Danubia NanoTech combines a highly qualified team with wide ranging experience in nanoscale physics, along with close connections to some of the best centers of research and development in Europe, all of it in a low-cost but well endowed environment.

The company focuses its activities on production of carbon nanotubes by arc - discharge and laser ablation methods. As prepared, carbon nanotubes are purified using centrifugation. Final material is characterized by Raman spectroscopy and optical spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity. The pure and well characterized material is mixed with various polymers to obtain composites with high electrical and thermal conductivity and mechanical performance. The company can produce conductive transparent networks of nanotube with great potential applications (sensors, field-effect transistors).

The founders of Danubia NanoTech are physicists with considerable experience in nano-science and nanotechnology. They are co-authors of about 500 publications in the field of Carbon Nanotube research, and two of them share an ownership of five patents. The members of the group have been active at well-established institutions such as the Max Planck Institute of Solid State Research, Stuttgart (Germany), the University of Vienna (Austria), the Wake Forest University (USA), the Weizmann Institute (Israel) and others.

They have been seeking an investor since the company was established in the summer of 2004. Last year they entered into the Technology Incubator of the Slovak University of Technology (see the article at noweurope.com), which helped the company to start a negotiation with the investment fund.

The company was an expert leader in two proposals for the FP6 (area NMP) and asked for a support from the loan schemes. The main obstacle in this scheme was the short history of the company and lack of references.

The company seeks for an investment of 150.000 EUR for building the carbon nanotube laboratory as a prerequisite for the further development of the company. According to the business plan, Danubia NanoTech will focus on two main areas: production of nanotubes for clients from industry or research laboratories and development of new products based on the carbon nanotubes

Venture Academy series on biotechnology in the new member states

Published
by
Vlastimil Vesely
  on  March 6, 2005
  in  Business innovation and Current events
. 0 Comments

SMEs active in the life sciences area can benefit from a free (!) participation in the European coaching programme opened for biotechnology teams from the new member states. Five highly interactive BIOTECH Venture Academies will be organised in Warsaw, Budapest, Tallinn, Brno and Sofia and over 100 promising biotech companies and research teams will be selected. All participants will have an opportunity to improve their skills in developing and presenting their business plans and to network with experienced entrepreneurs, consultants and investors as potential partners from all around Europe.

The first Biotech Venture Academy will be held on 22nd of March, 2005 in Warszaw. The basic information including the programme and application forms can be found at www.e-unlimited.com/BioVentureAcademy. The deadline for applications for the last selection round is on Friday, March 11.

The NETIES team will be represented in Warsaw and your feedback will be taken into account when preparing the next event in Budapest in June. Do you have some nominations for biotech companies active in your country?