Irish Regions Office Website

January 07, 2008

South West Regional Authority conference on Getting Businesses and Research Organisations to Work Together

The South West Regional Authority will host a conference on Getting Businesses and Research Organisations to Work Together in Killarney on February 27, 2008.

The conference: How to Speak the Same Language, is targeted at businesses with a need to interact more regularly and successfully with publicly funded research organisations - both within their own catchment areas and with experts throughout Europe.

The conference, which is free of charge, will address a number of issues: What does innovation and collaboration mean to your company on a daily basis? How can researchers promote and support greater levels of innovation with industry? How do businesses know what expertise is available, and whether it is available on their own doorsteps? How does one find the right people to speak to? And, if one gets this far, do both parties speak the same language?

The conference will bring together a range of experts from both industry and research backgrounds who will illustrate by example and first-hand experience what is required in order to effectively engage with each other and give you the basic tools and insight to understand the benefits of being proactive in terms of your companys attitude to innovation.

This conference is being hosted by the DRIVE for Growth Project partners: South West Regional Authority and South East Regional Authority Ireland, Stoke-On-Trent City Council, Staffordshire University, UK, and Kompetenznetzwerk Mechatronik, Goppingen, Germany.

DRIVE for Growth is co-funded by INTERREG IIIB North West Europe Area. DRIVE aims to help SMEs to recognise the value of R&D, understand it and use it to their commercial advantage. The partners are working to transform the cooperation between research institutions and SMEs into a partnership to foster development and production, economic growth and employment.

For further information: http://www.driveproject.eu/index.cfm/page/conference or contact: Ms. Sinead Byrne, South West Regional Authority, Innishmore, Ballincollig, Co. Cork, Ireland Tel: +353 21 4876877; Fax: +353 21 4876872; Email: drive@swra.ie

Posted by iroauthor at January 7, 2008 12:51 PM