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A Tribute: The Role of National Project Coordinators in EUREKA Success

Posted by EUREKA on 05/07/11

Speech delivered my Mr. Israel Shamay, EUREKA NPC Chairman, at EUREKA 25^th Anniversary Event

We are only 25 years old but may still not remember that NPCs were not always around. When EUREKA was first established and its organizational structure first developed – the Hannover Declaration set up the group of High level Representatives to oversee political matters, and a Secretariat to assist and guide the newly established Network.

It took only a year to realize that a few simple and less important matters should be also taken care of, simple matters like supporting the industries, generating projects, funding and synchronizing funding decisions etc.

So this is how the NPC forum was born and finally constructed after several years.

Since then, NPCs became the real backbone of EUREKA, supporting its fast growth, with new international actors joining and new support instruments being developed. The number of projects and the participation of SMEs subsequently increased dramatically – and all operational activities and in particular project generation became the responsibility of the NPCs – which managed so far to support 4200 projects, mobilizing 30B Euros.

The wealth of know-how, experience and access to innovation support capacities of the EUREKA NPCs is incomparable. They have created new labeling and evaluation methods, they have and continue to develop and launch Eurostars, and the Israeli chairmanship like previous and hopefully the future chairs, has indeed utilized extensively this resource which was extremely valuable in accomplishing successfully our targets this year.

Therefore I am very proud today to speak on behalf of my colleagues, the NPCs, which are not only the backbone of EUREKA, but also its beating heart.

Through the outstanding contributions of EUREKA’s National Project Coordinators, EUREKA has become a great network that puts industry at the core of its mission and success.

In looking towards the future and reflecting on the past, it is important to remember some of EUREKA’s key core values – the foundation upon which we have built our Network over the last 25 years, and the values which we celebrate today.

EUREKA does not attempt to unlock the secrets of the universe. But EUREKA has, over the past 25 years, changed our daily lives for the better through technology and innovation, and EUREKA NPCs work hand-in-hand with companies on a daily basis to help them convert R&D achievements into business success.

This is what has made EUREKA an attractive tool for industrial partners as well as for governments seeking to create opportunities for their national industries and SMEs in particular. In a nutshell, this is how EUREKA has become the preferred, most relevant and largest innovation cooperation platform for industries in Europe and even beyond. And this is the vision that the EUREKA NPCs are committed to.

Thank you and congratulations!

eureka, Innovation
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Happy 25th Anniversary EUREKA!

Posted by EUREKA on 30/06/11

By Dr. Eli Opper, EUREKA High-Level Group Chairman

EUREKA members and ministers, policymakers and industry leaders, all gathered in Jerusalem last week to celebrate a quarter century of EUREKA achievements and growth. Indeed, the annual festival of lights covered Jerusalem with an aura of celebration, which only added to the festive atmosphere of EUREKA’s 25th Anniversary Event.

Originally established in 1985 by Germany and France with just 14 founding member countries, the EUREKA network has expanded to include today 39 member states in addition to the EU Commission. And it is expanding even further with the participation of Associated Countries like South Korea, and soon enough, Canada as well. Since its beginnings, substantial public and private funding has been mobilized to support the research and development carried out within the EUREKA framework. And in 25 years, EUREKA has endorsed more than 4,000 projects for a total cost of 30 billion Euros, 10 billion of which were from public funds. EUREKA has helped its member countries deliver high levels of support to companies by leveraging their national funding schemes to successfully generate high-quality, bottom-up, transnational collaborative R&D projects. These have effectively boosted European competitiveness and sustainability.

This year, the EUREKA Network is proud to be celebrating its 25th anniversary. I am so pleased that the 25th Anniversary fell on the year of the Israeli Chairmanship of EUREKA, because it offered us all a unique opportunity to come together in Israel, in Jerusalem, to reflect on our achievements; to declare our commitment to EUREKA and its services with the EUREKA Quarter Century Declaration; to sign cooperation agreements with the Europe Enterprise Network (EEN) and the EUREKA Clusters; and to discuss timely and important topics, here in a country that is in a unique position to serve, in many ways, as a model to other nations in terms of industry, R&D and innovation.

Last week’s events also marked the end of the year-long Israeli Chairmanship of EUREKA. We held our fourth – and final – High Level Group (HLG) and National Project Coordinators (NPC) meetings prior to the 25th Anniversary Event, and passed the gavel (literally) to the Hungarian Chairmanship team. We reflected on our achievements of the year – from pursing expanded international cooperation to creating new instruments for financing innovation with the EInnoVest Campaign. From tackling the grand challenges with our Clean-tech Action to securing the renewed commitment of European policy makers to EUREKA with the Inter-Parliamentary Resolution and Quarter Century Declaration – we have a lot to be proud of, and a lot to look forward to. We can help our economies and our societies through promoting innovation, by supporting businesses, and by providing the tools and developing the policies to make this happen.

Good luck to Hungary this chairmanship year!

Uncategorized
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Regional Cooperation in Northern Israel

Posted by EUREKA on 17/04/11

By Dr. Eli Opper, EUREKA High-Level Group Chairman

The Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship held its third event in Israel this month, hosting EUREKA’s National Project Coordinators and High Level Group Representatives, as well as representatives from the Clusters and Eurostars program, in the beautiful and enchanting cities of Haifa and Nazareth.

Dr. Eli Opper at the NPC Dinner in Nazareth

The meetings and support activities celebrated the unique and diverse culture of Northern Israel, while also highlighting cooperation opportunities with local high-tech companies and technological incubators in the Galilee.

In fact, the Network hosted several Jewish and Arab entrepreneurs from the Galilee region during its National Project Coordinators dinner in Nazareth on April 5, 2011, including CEOs of a variety of companies and technological incubator programs, such as NGT (Next-Generation Technology), Kinrot Ventures, Galil Software, Nazdaq, and Alpha Omega, among others. Alpha Omega is a biotech company which has actually received support through the Israeli Office of the Chief Scientist through a cooperative project with a German company.

The stories of success and the insights these companies shared reminded me why cooperative programs and networks like EUREKA are so important to industrial participants, and especially why regional cooperation is crucial to addressing the challenges and problems we all face.

Uncategorized
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Policy as an Accelerator for Innovation

Posted by EUREKA on 28/02/11

By Dr. Eli Opper, EUREKA High-Level Group Chairman

As part of the EUREKA Clean-Tech Action and in parallel to the EUREKA meetings held last week in Eilat, Israel, EUREKA hosted a panel at the 4^th Annual Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference this past Wednesday. Israel’s southern-most city of Eilat was the backdrop for the event, where EUREKA delegates from 40 countries came together at a conference of more than 1500 clean-tech innovators and stakeholders in the field. Panelists discussed the important topic of how policy tools can be used to encourage the development of a country’s renewable energy and clean-tech industries.

We heard examples of how countries like Israel, Britain and Canada are working to get policy in line with innovation.

Even companies that come from countries with an edge in the field need the support of their governments and of international organizations. Israel is advanced in R&D, we have existing industrial clusters that enable progress in the clean tech field, and we have more than 200 million dollars invested in innovative clean-tech start-ups in Israel. Still, there are barriers to further development and commercialization. The lack of certainty and high-risk environment inherent in the field prevents entrepreneurs and firms, researchers and investors, from entering the market.

As such, government support and the support of platforms like EURKEA are crucial. Government grants and international cooperation programs can help reduce the risk and create the certainty these companies crave. The key tools such support programs provide include steady budgets, knowledge transfer, funds for early and late stage development, and a platform for international cooperation.

Indeed, even though innovation is generally understood to be an individual or team activity, it cannot exist without the right conditions and a nurturing environment. Creating an environment conducive to innovation and the development of new technologies is the task not only of start-ups and Venture Capitalists. It is the task of government and innovation agencies, which must use policy as their tool. Nurturing innovation is one of the most important ways to encourage growth. Policy must play a role in that process.

eureka, Innovation, Uncategorized
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Venture Capital in Europe: Are we willing to take the risk?

Posted by EUREKA on 16/02/11

By Dr. Eli Opper

Last month I participated in an interesting event called “Venture Capital in Europe: Are we willing to take the risk?” The EUREKA Secretariat hosted the event, bringing together 90 high-level participants for a diverse series of presentations and an animated debate involving experts in the field of private investment – from both the public and private sector.

This latest in the EUREKA Academy series of events is focused on financing innovation, which is a key priority of the current Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship. The Chairmanship is investigating second-round financing options for businesses participating in EUREKA R&D projects.

Mr. Stuart Langridge, Independent Journalist; Mr. Eli Opper, EUREKA Chairman; Mr. Luuk Borg, EUREKA Secretariat

The EUREKA Israeli Chairmanship is focusing on new models and sources of funding for EUREKA projects, especially for SMEs and start-ups. The new mechanisms are needed because stakeholders are cautious of risk-taking and because VC funds are not focused on long-term gains.

Of course, governments are not Venture Capital Funds; governments should promote high-risk R&D and they should receive indirect gains through spill-over effects.

eureka
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Because it’s about time some NICE News came out of Israel . . .

Posted by EUREKA on 30/01/11

By Dr. Eli Opper, EUREKA HLG Chairman

Here at the Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship offices, we felt it was about time some NICE news came out of Israel. That’s exactly why we recently launched the first issue of the Newsletter of the Israeli Chairmanship of EUREKA – NICE news, for short.

This digital, interactive newsletter features a variety of multi-media material on industrial R&D activities in Israel and beyond. In the January issue, you’ll read about RAD Data Communications, an Israeli telecom company involved in EUREKA’s Celtic Cluster. You’ll be able to listen to the speech of former Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor about Israeli innovation. You’ll learn about 8 Israeli companies that made the Clean-Tech 100 list, and find out more about EUREKA’s Clean-Tech Action.
Don’t miss it!

www.mygazines.com/title/8057

English, Uncategorized
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The EUREKA Clean-Tech Action: An Environmentally-friendly Business Opportunity

Posted by EUREKA on 05/01/11

By Israel Shamay

As Europeans and North Americans dig themselves out of snow this season and Australians suffer from record rainfall and massive flooding, the consequences of global warming and climate change to our environment may seem more like make-believe than impending reality. Cold weather may appear like a slap in the face of global warming, but the long-term global challenge of climate change is as real as ever.

Faced with these increasing threats to our environment, EUREKA’s 2011 is shaping up to be a year of innovative solutions and business opportunities. While technology is often the culprit behind environmental pollution and waste, it can and must be part of the solution.

In EUREKA, we ask ourselves: How can we create business opportunities through technological innovation and cooperation?

Well, the EUREKA Clean-Tech Action aims to do just that. Initiated for the first time as a EUREKA-wide campaign, the Clean-Tech Action is aimed at encouraging the bottom-up generation of cooperative industrial R&D projects in the clean-tech sector, utilizing ALL of the EUREKA support instruments available among its 40 member states.

These clean-tech projects will help improve our lives and societies while generating business prospects for industries. They will create sustainable products and solutions in a variety of fields – renewable energy, water technologies, and more. They can help create business opportunities and employment. And by bringing two or more international partners together – and bringing national funding schemes on board to support and share the risks – clean-tech innovation becomes more practical and closer to market.

If you are a company with an innovative idea for a clean technology in any field, we invite you to participate now in the EUREKA Clean-Tech Action – find a partner, get the funding, and generate a clean-tech project that will better our world and your business. You can apply for funding through all of EUREKA’s support instruments.

In order to facilitate clean-tech project generation, the Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship will hold dedicated B2B partnering events during the Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference and Exhibition in Eilat, Israel (Feb 22-24, 2011). EUREKA affiliated companies can receive special discounts and benefits, including assistance in coordinating B2B meetings and free access to the EUREKA Inter-Cluster Info Day, where leading European industry stakeholders will present on their activities and funding opportunities, including companies such as GE, Mekorot, Dong, VEOLIA, Siemens, Suez Environment, Philips, RAD, EADS, Ericsson, Schlumberger, Nokia, Alcatel-Lucent, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and more. Don’t be fooled by the snow, climate change is real and clean technologies are part of the solution!

Learn more at the EUREKA Clean-Tech Action website: http://www.eurekanetwork.org/cleantech

English, Uncategorized
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Innovation to Market: The Missing Link (a note from Israel Shamay)

Posted by EUREKA on 02/12/10

Governments obviously provide support to the riskier R&D phase of a company’s product development cycle, putting their trust in the private sector to provide further investment. One of the biggest challenges facing early-stage companies and even more mature enterprises, however, is how to best get their products and services to the market.

At the same time, taxpayers’ money that is invested in R&D support schemes does not always translate into economic return; the success of many SMEs and start-ups remains largely limited to the R&D stage.

Even with substantial support provided to companies through the EUREKA Network, it can still be very expensive and time-consuming for companies to find the extra financing needed to finalize product development and effectively reach the relevant markets.

It is with these critical needs in mind that the Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship has prioritized the development of new financing instruments. Such instruments are designed to expand the access of EUREKA portfolio companies to complementary financing beyond that provided by the existing support schemes of governments that participate in EUREKA.

The idea is to develop new complementary funding instruments for the “R&D Phase” as well as for the follow-on, “go-to-market” phase. The “how” of this challenging objective relies on several activities being planned for this chairmanship year:

* Creating a new “Search& Match” web machine hosted by the EUREKA website, which will expose investors to EUREKA portfolio companies, increasing awareness and transparency and assisting in matchmaking.

* Initiating an annual “Eureka Investment Shop,” where private financing and knowledge‐based companies market to each other. The first investor’s event is planned for June 2011 and will be hosted by the Israeli chair during the annual High-Tech Industry Association (HTIA) Conference in Jerusalem.

* Addressing market failure in the go-to-market phase: The EUREKA Secretariat and the Israeli Chairmanship are working together with the European Investment Bank and the European Commission to create a new public‐private fund to invest in EUREKA portfolio companies, and/or provide loans with favorable conditions to EUREKA portfolio companies.

Since its establishment 25 years ago, EUREKA has focused on stimulating and supporting innovation as a means for business growth. Hence, EUREKA wants to see the innovative and cutting-edge technologies it supports during their R&D phase reach the market. Through such initiatives, the support of the European Commission, and the already participating national funding schemes, EUREKA is working to become an even stronger enabler for innovation in Europe.

Israel Shamay is the Chairman of the EUREKA National Project Coordinators forum and heads the Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship Program.

Contact: eureka-chair@matimop .org.il (please just remove the space)

English, eureka, Uncategorized
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Microelectronics Stakeholders Meet in Madrid: Words from HLG Chairman Dr. Eli Opper

Posted by EUREKA on 22/11/10

Last week I was in Madrid for the European Nanoelectronics Forum 2010, a conference sponsored by EUREKA’s CATRENE Cluster. CATRENE is a pan-European program supporting cooperative R&D projects in microelectronics. I was at the conference to give a presentation on the “Israeli Chairmanship’s Views of the EUREKA Clusters and CATRENE”, and while there had the opportunity to hear about fascinating EUREKA-supported projects in the field of nanotechnologies, like the intuitive TV sensor developed by German company Infineon technologies, designed to reduce the waste of electric energy in home appliances.

It seems that if TVs and other appliances were turned off when no one was using them, we could save 25% of domestic electricity consumption. Infeneon’s product answers that need when it comes to TVs; it can sense if there’s anyone in the room – and even more so whether a person in the room has their eyes closed. Remarkably, if there is no one present with open eyes, the TV switches itself off.

This was just one of the many interesting projects supported by CATRENE and EUREKA. Utilizing nanoelectronic technology, CATRENE projects and products like Infeneon’s can help save energy and the environment. It is in this spirit that cluster projects fit in quite well with the Israeli Chairmanship’s focus on clean technologies, and the EUREKA Clean-Tech Action in particular.

Visit the Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship’s website and the EUREKA Clean-Tech Action Page for more information: http://www.eureka-israel.co.il/; http://www.eurekanetwork.org/cleantech.

Dr. Eli Opper, EUREKA HLG Chairman

English, eureka, German
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Shalom from Israel! The Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship holds its first meeting in Tel Aviv

Posted by EUREKA on 08/11/10

From listening to speeches by Israel’s Chief Scientist Dr. Eli Opper and the Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade, and Labor Binyamin Ben Eliezer, to test-driving electric cars produced by Israeli company Better Place, EUREKA delegates had an action-packed week this past October during the first NPC-HLG Meeting in Israel. The busy agenda certainly suited the never-stop spirit of the city of Tel Aviv, which served as host to the more than 100 EUREKA guests.

EUREKA delegates visited Better Place, an Israeli company offering up the latest in electric car services and technology.

A total of 56 joint industrial R&D projects were approved during the meetings, totaling 51 billion euros. Malta was welcomed as EUREKA’s newest Eurostars member and Turkey was announced as the future chair for 2012-2013, following Hungary in 2011-2012. Dr. Eli Opper, EUREKA’s HLG Chair, summed up the Chairmanship’s spirit of collaboration and contribution to R&D development very well during his speech to EUREKA delegates and guests at the HLG dinner on Wednesday October 28^th, held at the beautiful Rabin Center in Tel Aviv:

“This Gala dinner is only one of the many fruitful events we have held this week in Israel as part of the Israeli EUREKA Chairmanship. Including EUREKA High Level Group and National Program Coordinator meetings and discussions, delegates have had the chance to experience a bit of what the Israeli Chairmanship is about. This year, we have identified 6 main priorities, including: (1) asserting EUREKA’s position in the ERA, (2) financing innovation, (3) upgrading innovation support services, (4) developing Eurostars, (5) targeting the ‘Grand Challenges’, and (6) expanding transnational cooperation.

All these priorities reflect our commitment to innovation. Over the years, Israel’s human capital has served as the basis for the development of our now world-famous high-tech sector. The important role of the knowledge based industries in the Israeli economy is undeniable. As they serve as a platform for our economic and social wellbeing, they require the significant leveraging of resources. This leveraging can only be achieved through national and international R&D support programs like the EUREKA Network . . .”

And as Dr. Opper remarked at the end of his speech, “I wish all the delegates fruitful discussions that will lead to a successful chairmanship year, and to an economic growth, prosperity and wellbeing for Israel and Europe.”

Shalom from Tel Aviv!

HLG Chairman Dr. Eli Opper speaks at the Rabin Center in Tel Aviv on Oct. 27, 2010.

English, eureka, Innovation
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