Reporting on technology innovation in Central Europe
Moving forward, nowEurope will be not only mapping our topics and bringing news through the posts. We have integrated several data feeds to other community driven (or web 2.0 if you like) services in the right column.
Continue reading ‘Let’s share useful links and relevant photos’
I am very glad to have the opportunity to be a nowEurope contributer. With my first article I would like to greet and welcome all readers of this page warmly.
The Brussels office of the Vienna Business Agency (VBA) and VITE organised from the 16th to the 18th of April 2008 a business trip to Brussels and Leuven for IT enterprises from Austria and the CENTROPE region. Continue reading ‘Review: Vienna IT Enterprises (VITE) trip to Belgium 16th-18th of April, 2008′
I am pleased to be able to contribute for the first time to a new nowEurope issue that so far has been quite underestimated in some European countries: Technology transfer, in particular in ICT.
The core business of CITT is to devise a strategy to establish and get running a viable cooperation between the ICT industry and research. Although a lot has been done recently on national and EU levels, Europe still gives away too much technology and know how to competing markets.
Continue reading ‘CITT: Add “Technology Transfer” to Europe’s vocabulary!’
Let me continue to post some remarks to the previous notes on the new initiative the “Centrope ICT technology transfer” which broadens the variety of activities taking place in the so called “Centrope region”. The region accounts for about six million inhabitants.
Why and how did it all start? The CITT project was initiated by the Vienna IT Enterprises Platform of the Vienna Business Agency more than a year ago. VITE is the network for IT companies, research-, development- and educational institutions which have their seat in Vienna. The main goals of VITE is raising awareness for the value of cooperation and implementing existing skills and ideas to initiatives.
Steven’s post started a new period of NowEurope and this is to reveal more about CITT and our plans.
CITT is the acronym for the CENTROPE Information Technology Transfer project focused on ICT in the Central European region. No change for NowEurope, right? In 2004-2006 we were watching this region at NowEurope for the NETIES project and next two years we will be closely looking especially at four neighbouring countries - Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. One may see that as nostalgia for the monarchy, but I would rather take it as a return to the natural closeness in the Schengen time.
I’m pleased to announce that we’re now preparing to introduce a new round of contributors to nowEurope, the members of the CITT consortium. CITT is an EU project co-funded under the 7th Framework. I’ll let our CITT project leader, Zuzana Lettner, tell you more about CITT. My purpose with this post is to tell you a little about where we’ve been and where we’re going.
I’ve always been fascinated with how new technologies get turned into businesses. When I started nowEurope, back in 1995, I was interested in meeting people in Europe who wanted to start businesses on the Internet. We talked about business models, investments and exciting new startups. Several of my readers went on to meet each other, face to face, and a few of them even launched businesses together. This current iteration of nowEurope isn’t so different. However, the circumstances have changed.
The New York Times reports that the European Union court is launching a new investigation against Microsoft, following two complaints that it continues to use product bundling to exclude competitors. One complaint was lodged by the Norwegian browser company, Opera, and the second by the European Committee for Interoperable Systems.
EurActive reports that the think tank ‘Lisbon Council for Economic Competitiveness and Social Renewal’ has released a study warning that continued growth in the new EU states of Central Europe should not be taken for granted.
“While central and eastern European countries have been “the engine of dynamism, mobility and flexibility” that was lacking the EU-15, the human capital issue in these new member states could have a negative effect on the EU economy as a whole if nothing is done to bridge the gap, warns the authors.”
Continue reading ‘Think tank: don’t take CEE growth for granted’
This morning I browsed through Wired Magazine’s interview with “Ted,” the pseudonymous figure behind TheFunded.com. The site offers entrepreneurs unprecedented insight into the workings of the VC community, namely by offering entrepreneurs themselves the chance to swap their VC horror stories without revealing their identify. “Ted,” however, agreed to step out from behind the veil. He is Adeo Ressi, the founder of two successful startup companies.
Naturally we had to have a peek.
Continue reading ‘VCs don’t like TheFunded but entrepreneurs do’
A dozen major French companies have launched a trial to use cell phones as mobile money, according to the International Herald Tribune. The Payez Mobile consortium includes France’s three largest mobile operators, six major banks, Visa and MasterCard and cellphones made by Motorola, LG Electronics and Sagem Communication of Paris.
The group gave 1,000 people in Strasbourg and Caen mobile handsets outfitted with a short-range radio technology called “near-field communications,” or NFC. The technology is already familar to commuters in London, Paris and Hong Kong who pay their fares by swiping “contactless” programmed plastic cards over scanners embedded in turnstiles.
Continue reading ‘French launch biggest EU mobile payment test’
This weblog and the CITT project
are co-financed within the 7th Framework programme
of the European Commission
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