Hillington Park Innovation Centre plays host to European Mobility Conference

Wednesday 10th October is the date for Scotland’s largest mobility conference in 2007 where 85 technology entrepreneurs from across Scotland will be invited to the Hillington Park Innovation Centre to hear some top class speakers from the mobile and wireless marketplace, and interact with other like-minded SME technology companies from across Europe, as well as Multinational Enterprises (MNE’s).

The event entitled ‘Delivering The Future of Mobile & Wireless Communications encourages companies’, through co-operation and understanding of where the European sector is heading, to understand how trans-national proposals can be developed with which FP7 funds can be accessed.

The technology experts tell us that the future of Mobile and Wireless Communications will consist of different devices, numerous services, co-existing business models, different connectivity modes, and cross-industry interfaces. This event will provide the opportunity to learn where members of the “e-Mobility” European Technology Platform; companies such as Ericsson, Telefonica Moviles and Nokia, believe European R&D in the mobile and wireless sector will be going in the next 10 – 15 years.

Dr. Fiona Williams, Research Director of Ericsson and current Chairperson of E-Mobility, the European Union’s Mobile & Wireless communications technology platform will give her overview on "The e-Mobility Technology Platform – Staying Ahead with Simplicity, Efficiency and Trust”, where she will be able to compare and contrast experiences and insights gained in role with Ericsson and those developed in her capacity as Chairperson of e-Mobility.

Dr. Williams will be followed by Andrew Till, Senior Director, Mobile Devices Business Group, Motorola UK who shall deliver his talk “Exploring the Future of Mobile and How to Exploit its Ever Changing Trends”, where he will explore the evolving trends within the mobile space. Andrew will also give insights of his views on building ecosystems supporting new innovations, and in particular what handset vendors are seeking from potential partners. The themes explored will be supported by real world examples.

Andrew will be followed by Jim Muir, Projects & Programmes Manager, Targeting Innovation Ltd., one of two partners responsible for managing the Epistep Project across Europe, who will deliver a talk on "EPISTEP – forging technology partnerships between SMEs and MNEs (Multinational Enterprises)”.

And finally, Peter Walters, UK National Contact Point for FP7 Projects will provide an overview of successful wireless and mobile projects funded under the FP6 programme and provide some insights of the themes which shall be explored in the forthcoming FP7 call for proposals. The FP7 programme is the funding mechanism by which be the European Union will support R&D in the ICT space through until 2013.

The afternoon will consist of a series of 50 brokerage meetings where the real business is done and companies have the opportunity to discuss commercial opportunities and partnerships throughout Europe both with their peers and with the MNE’s.

Ronnie Scotland, Innovation Advisor at the Hillington Park Innovation Centre said, “This is a worthwhile event for companies developing technologies in the Wireless and Mobile sector across Europe. We have hand-picked the companies we want to attend this event to ensure the brokerage session presents worthwhile opportunities for the companies attending the event. It is essential for companies in Scotland to look for business outwith Scotland and identify where the commercial opportunities lie that can help them ‘grow their business and discover new markets’.

This event has been organised by Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd in conjunction with Epistep, Targeting Innovation and Wireless Innovation.

Note to Editors: Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd (ICS Ltd) is a specialist economic development provider of innovation and technology services. Through the award winning Hillington Park Innovation Centre and Alba Innovation Centre, ICS Ltd aims to create the premier incubation and company building mechanism in Scotland.

The mission is to support the development and growth of next generation of knowledge base, high growth technology and innovative businesses in Scotland by providing critical support and a network of specialist knowledge. As well as operating Hillington Park Innovation Centre and Alba Innovation Centre, ICS Ltd manages Wireless Innovation, Scotland’s national initiative for wireless and mobile technologies. ICS Ltd also boasts a range of strategic partnerships with global technology and innovation partners and supports other initiatives that meet the strategic objectives of the business.

For more information, contact Anna-Marie Taylor at Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd on annamarie.taylor@innovationcentre.org