Tag Archives: Innovation

Hong Kong: Speech by FS at Joint Opening Ceremony of World SME Expo and Inno Design Tech Expo (English only) (with photos/video)

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Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, at the Joint Opening Ceremony of World SME Expo and Inno Design Tech Expo at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre this morning (December 3):

Fred (Lam)(Executive Director of HKTDC), Distinguished Guests, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning to you all.

It is indeed my great pleasure to join you all for the opening of the World SME Expo and the Inno Design Tech Expo.I would like to extend our warmest welcome to Hong Kong to all our visitors.

Once again, we have two great Expos under one roof.

It is no coincidence that commerce and innovation have combined to produce these two popular and vibrant events.The two sectors are now more inter-dependent than ever.On the one hand, increasing competition and increasing globalisation have got companies constantly looking for the latest trends and designs.On the other hand, new technologies are shaping the focus of innovation and the way that we do business.All this as governments look to SMEs and innovators to pull us out of the worst global financial crisis since the 1930s and achieve ever more sustainable development.

We recently identified innovation and technology as an industry with great potential to lead Hong Kongs recovery and long-term economic growth.Our strategy is to clear away some of the obstacles to grow the industry, so it can reach its full potential.

The best way to do this, it seems to me, is to encourage our business community to embrace the culture of innovation.

In the Policy Address in October, our Chief Executive introduced an R&D Cash Rebate Scheme.Under the scheme, enterprises conducting applied R&D will enjoy a cash rebate equivalent to 10 per cent of their R&D investment.This is a HK$200 million initiative that will begin in April next year with the aim of fostering a strong research culture among enterprises.

We want to encourage firms to build up long-term partnerships with research institutions. This will sharpen their competitive edge and also help to promote the innovation and technology industry.

The past year has been a rough time for companies across the board.Credit has been in short supply; demand has been weak and uncertainty high.In other words, it has been a perfect storm for SMEs.

In recent months, we have seen a break in the clouds.The Hong Kong economy emerged from recession in the second quarter of this year with strong quarter-on-quarter growth of 3.3 per cent.The growth trend continued in the third quarter of this year.

Our unemployment rate has fallen to 5.2 per cent, and the value of retail sales in October increased almost 10 per cent (9.8%) compared with a year ago.

These are all positive signs for SMEs, which account for about 98 per cent of our businesses and employ over half of our population.

As the building blocks of our economy, SMEs have played a pivotal role in our recovery process, but there is no room for complacency.

This time last year, at the height of the financial crisis, we introduced a $100 billion special loan guarantee scheme for banks to extend credit to our SMEs.Loan guarantees have been provided to some 15 000 firms that employ about a quarter of a million people.We recently extended the scheme until mid-2010 to continue to tide over the needs of SMEs during this very challenging recovery period.

Back in 1999, the Government set up the Innovation and Technology Fund to give impetus to industry.The Fund has so far supported more than1 700 projects to the tune of almost HK$5 billion.These projects have brought about technological upgrading, and encouraged collaboration between industries and academia.

These Expos provide a wonderful opportunity to strengthen collaboration between the commerce and innovation which, I should mention, both fall under my purview in Government.

Finally, I would like to thank TDC for organising this event.I wish you all a successful Expo, and a very enjoyable stay in Hong Kong.

Thank you very much.

ASUS ranks first in Quality & Innovation – Wall Street Journal Asia

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ASUS Ranks First in Quality and Innovation in The Wall Street Journal Asia 200 Survey; Voted Second Most-admired Company Overall; Credited with “Revolutionizing the Global PC Industry” with the Eee PC™

November 25, 2009 /India PRwire/ — ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (ASUS) has been voted number one in “high-quality services and products, as well as innovation in responding to customers’ needs”* among Taiwanese Corporations by 2,622 executives and professionals who participated in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Asia 200 survey. It also placed second in the most-admired Taiwanese company ranking for the second year running.

“Although we are still far away from our goal, we hope to become the most-admired leading enterprise in the new digital era,” said Jonney Shih, chairman of ASUS. “The way we see ourselves achieving this is to keep innovating. Over the past year, we have brought to the market a raft of innovative products and exclusive technologies that have signaled our intent, such as the ultra-thin Eee PC™ Seashell, the Eee PC™ T91MT multi-touch tablet, and the UL Series of notebooks with Turbo33 technology. We will continue to roll out similar innovations until our target is met.”

WSJ singled out the Eee PC™ as an example of how ASUS has delivered upon its promise of innovation. It wrote: “The Eee PC in some ways turned computer-industry innovation on its ear. Asustek focused on simplifying and shrinking the notebook instead of developing ever-more powerful machines.”* This “gave rise to the ‘netbook’ category that is revolutionizing the global PC industry.”*

Peter Shih, President of China Business Headquarters represented ASUS at the Asia 200 Awards Ceremony held in Beijing, China.

* Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124171017236096439.html

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Notes to Editor

About ASUS

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era, with an extensive product portfolio that includes notebooks, netbooks, motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, desktop PCs, servers, wireless solutions, mobile phones and networking devices. Driven by innovation and committed to quality, ASUS designs and manufactures products that perfectly meet the needs of today’s digital home, office and person. ASUS won 3,056 awards in 2008, and is widely credited with revolutionizing the PC industry with the Eee PC™. With a global staff of more than ten thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company’s revenue for 2008 was 8.1 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among BusinessWeek’s InfoTech 100, and has been on the listing for 12 consecutive years.

For more information, please contact:
Rohan Kadam (PR Specialist)

Chinese Developer of Biodegradable Bone Screw Technology Wins Silicon Valley Entrepreneurial Award

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Second place went to CaptchaAd of Technical University Munich in Germany for the development of an innovative Web site security technique that incorporates interactive video advertising. Third place was awarded to Zimplistic of the National University of Singapore for its Rotimatic device that quickly and easily makes roti, the staple food of India. Ihealth, which presented its biodegradable bone screws with a reflection of how they would have helped Chinese basketball star Yao Ming recover from injury, was also named audience favorite.

Innovation is one of the cornerstones of Intels success and the Intel Foundation is committed to helping foster new ideas and solutions that will have a positive impact on society and will help strengthen the global economy, said Andrew Chien, vice president of Intel Labs and director of Future Technologies Research for Intel. This weeks competition shone the spotlight on some truly inspiring solutions and drew attention to the role that higher education plays in encouraging young people to pursue innovative paths to solving global challenges.

The competition was held at the Haas School of Business in Berkeley, Calif., with 28 teams from 18 countries. Founded in 2005 by UC Berkeley and Intel as part of Intels Higher Education Program, the IBTEC program is designed to incite young entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies that solve real world challenges, build viable business models, and move that technology out of university labs and into the market for a positive impact on society.

This year, business plans included such ground-breaking solutions as cleaning water and soils affected by oil pollution, combating pesticide concerns in Chinese agriculture, biodegradable bone screws, a diaper that diagnoses urinary tract infections and a social learning platform for math and science education. Participants interacted with and were judged by representatives of more than 20 leading venture capital firms from the San Francisco Bay Area, and several may go on to create successful businesses that create commerce and prosperity in underserved communities. For example, 2 years after garnering second prize for its development of and plan to market hygroscopic paper, Richcore, an Indian biotech application research company, is now a viable company that, in addition to a regular staff, employs more than 500 previously underserved women from various non-governmental organizations and self help groups for its manufacturing and operations.

Mentoring Young Entrepreneurs Around the World
In conjunction with this years competition, Intel and the UC Berkeley Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation hosted the first-ever Global Entrepreneurship Leadership Symposium ( GELS ), which trained expert mentors to support local entrepreneurs in their regions. Attendees included investors, university faculty, business executives, entrepreneurs and government leaders, who will each take what they learned back to their home countries to support entrepreneurism, innovation and economic development.

I found the GELS program a great platform for discussing various aspects of mentoring startup ventures, said Dr. Deepanwita Chattopadhyay, CEO of ICICI Knowledge Park and mentor to IBTEC finalist team, µSpore ( Microspore ). We shared experiences with other mentors from eight different countries and the faculty who led the deliberations were passionate and encouraging. This experience will help me connect my mentee companies to a global network of venture capitalists and mentors.

About the Intel Education Initiative
From local schools to global universities, Intel works to help improve the quality of education and drive innovation around the world. Over the past decade alone, Intel has invested more than $1 billion, and its employees have donated more than 2.5 million hours toward improving education in 50 countries. To learn more about the Intel Education Initiative, visit www.intel.com/education. To join Intels community of people sharing their stories with the hope of becoming a catalyst for action and a voice for change in global education, visit www.inspiredbyeducation.com.

About Intel
Intel ( NASDAQ: INTC ), the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom and blogs.intel.com.

Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Source: Media Newswire

British Innovation shines at the iAWARDS

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Hosting the event, Science and Innovation Minister, Lord Drayson said,

The iawards winners epitomise the best of British innovation that will drive the future growth of our economy and make Britain a better place to live and work. Im delighted to be part of an event celebrating British success.

Co-host, business entrepreneur, James Caan said, All of the finalists have demonstrated that Britain is home to some of the best innovators in the world. Im privileged to be part of the iawards and recognise and honour all finalists for their expertise and vital contribution they make to our economy. Id like to say huge congratulations to all of the winners who have helped bring the deserved attention to these new technologies and innovations.

THE iAWARDS WINNERS

The iaward of the year and iaward for best technology start-up

Horizon Discovery Ltd, Cambridge: X-MAN Model Cancer Patient

A tool that identifies personalised cancer medications – reducing Rwww.iawards.org.uk.

Notes to Editors

1. All entrants had to specify the British involvement in any innovation – demonstrating that creative thinking and development came from a British organisation or team. Each entry also had to illustrate how its innovative qualities relate to at least one of the following challenges:

Addressing the healthcare needs of an ageing society;

Increasing international security from tackling global poverty to minimising the threat of terrorism;

Preserving finite natural resources in the face of population growth and climate change; and

Delivering public services which make best use of new technologies.

2. Winners of the awards will be helped by UK Trade < Investment (UKTI) to meet potential business partners at key industry events, such as the giant Medica trade fair in Germany and TechnologyWorld in Coventry. They will also receive public relations support from the iawards team. All shortlisted entries and the winners will also have exclusive access to the iawards logo.

Department for Business, Innovation < Skills

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is building a dynamic and competitive UK economy by: creating the conditions for business success; promoting innovation, enterprise and science; and giving everyone the skills and opportunities to succeed. To achieve this it will foster world-class universities and promote an open global economy. BIS – Investing in our future.

Microsoft Partners in Learning Announces 2009 Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards

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Global competition honors 14 teachers.
SALVADOR, Brazil – After three days of seminars, teacher exhibitions and judging by an internationally renowned panel of education experts, today Microsoft Partners in Learning announced the winners of the 2009 Worldwide Innovative Teacher Awards at the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum. Partners in Learning recognizes and rewards teachers who demonstrate exemplary use of technology in the classroom to improve student learning. The 14 winning teachers — awarded first, second and third place in four categories — were chosen from among the 250 at the Forum representing more than 60 countries.
The Best Practice winners in the four main competition categories are Mandeep Atwal of England, Innovation in Community; Mark Sparvell of Australia, Innovation in Collaboration; Autumne Streeval and Harriet Armstrong of the United States, Innovation in Content; and Moliehi Sekese of Lesotho, Educators Choice. The 2009 Worldwide IEF award ceremony, held tonight in Salvador, Brazil, was attended by 400 educators, school leaders, government officials and others from more than 60 countries.
“The Innovative Teacher Awards exemplify the dedication and imagination of the world’s most forward-thinking educators,” said Michael Golden, corporate vice president of Education at Microsoft. “The energy and entrepreneurism of the winning teachers demonstrate the infinite possibilities that technology can create to improve learning opportunities and inspire future generations toward greater academic achievement. Microsoft remains committed to supporting the community in this quest. I’d like to extend warm congratulations to everyone who participated in this and the regional events that led up to today’s celebration.”
The following are the top three finalists in each category, in finishing order:
Innovation in Community
• Best Practice: Mandeep Atwal (England), “Young Voices”
• First Runner-Up: Ollie Bray (Scotland), “Thinking outside the XBOX”
• Second Runner-Up: Lucrecio Filho de Oliveira (Brazil), Projeto “Barreiro”
Innovation in Collaboration
• Best Practice: Mark Sparvell (Australia), “Connecting Hearts Heads and Hands”
• First Runner-Up: Karina Batat (Israel), “The Traveling Mascot”
• Second Runner-Up (Tie): Myreia Gussinye (Mexico), “Tolerant”
• Second Runner-Up (Tie): Xiaoyong Tang (China), “Exploration of Ant Behavior”
Innovation in Content
• Best Practice: Autumne Streeval and Harriet Armstrong (United States), “US Industrial Revolution Tic Tac Toe”
• First Runner-Up: Damien Lebegue (France), “Differentiated/adapted Teaching in PE”
• Second Runner-Up: Alex Vieira dos Santos (Brazil), “Fontes De Energia”
Educators Choice
• Best Practice: Moliehi Sekese (Lesotho), “Indigenous Plants”
• First Runner-Up: Janjira Phongchoo (Thailand), “MS Excel Game Building Techniques”
• Second Runner-Up: Isabel Schapdryver (Belgium), “Secondhandshop”
“Winning the Educators Choice award is certainly a great honor,” said Moliehi Sekese of Lesotho who won for her project Indigenous Plants. “Just being here and seeing how teachers from all over the world are enriching the lives of students is ultimately even more rewarding.”
Since 2003, the Partners in Learning award competition has been recognizing individuals with the Worldwide Innovative Education Awards for excellence in teaching. Teachers participate in country-level and regional events. Winners move up to the Worldwide competition.
The judging community includes education experts from all over the world. At the event 36 judges representing 23 countries spend nearly 20 hours talking to the teachers and learning about their projects; then in a private room they discuss, debate and share with one another until the winners are finally selected.
“Every year the submissions seem to get better and better, and this year is no exception,” said Judge Eduardo O.C. Chaves of Brazil. “The level of sophistication of these entries shows that teachers are continuing to innovate and expand the ways they use technology to help students all over the world realize their potential.”
Next year’s Innovative Teacher Awards results will be announced at the 2010 Worldwide IEF, which will take place in Cape Town, South Africa. Country- and regional-level competitions will take place beginning in November 2009. Interested teachers should contact their local Microsoft office for more information or look online at http://www.microsoft.com/education/pil/partnersInLearning.aspx.
At the event, school leaders from 12 Mentor and 30 Pathfinder Schools also participated in a three-day workshop and were recognized for their leadership in driving system-level educational reform.
About the Innovative Education Forum
The Innovative Education Forum is an annual worldwide event. Regional forums are held around the world to create communities of teachers who can share ideas and best practices with their peers and facilitate the creation of collective knowledge. Subsets of regional forum participants are selected to represent their country at the Worldwide Innovative Education Forum.
About Microsoft Education
We believe that technology can expand the power of education and unlock the potential of students, educators and schools. Microsoft partners with education communities around the world to deliver relevant solutions, services and programs that focus on improved personalized learning outcomes.
About Unlimited Potential
Microsoft, through its Unlimited Potential vision, is committed to making technology more affordable, relevant and accessible for the 5 billion people around the world who do not yet enjoy its benefits. The company aims to do so by helping to transform education and foster a culture of innovation, and through these means enable better jobs and opportunities. By working with governments, intergovernmental organizations, nongovernmental organizations and industry partners, Microsoft hopes to reach its first major milestone — to reach the next 1 billion people who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology — by 2015.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.mspx.

Source: WEBWIRE

TimesofMoney wins award for Brand Excellence in Internet Business

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Recognition for TimesofMoney at the World Brand Congress

November 7, 2009 /India PRwire/ — TimesofMoney, a global leader in digital payments, has won the award for ‘Brand Excellence in Internet Business’ at the World Brand Congress held at Taj Lands End, Mumbai on November 4th & 5th 2009. The innovation award is meant to recognise brand names that are associated with being prolific innovators, wherein the first association with a brand name is that of the element of innovation.

With the current year’s theme of ‘Brands – Recharge, Innovate, Re-engage in Today’s Times’ at the Congress, TimesofMoney’s award in this innovation category becomes even more significant.

Mr. Avijit Nanda, President of TimesofMoney said, “We at TimesofMoney have always been strong advocates of innovation in the online payment space. We strongly believe in transforming and enriching the overall experience of the customers while delivering value. This recognition of our contribution in the space of digital payments has made us proud and will inspire us to better our offerings in the days to come.”

The World Brand Congress is the single largest rendezvous of the best brains behind some of the most successful and sought after brands globally. Over 500 marketers and brand custodians from world renowned organisations of every sector and continent gather each year for the Congress. It is represented by 60 countries from across different parts of the world and was being hosted this year at Mumbai on 4th and 5th November 2009 at Taj Lands End.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Notes to Editor

About TimesofMoney

TimesofMoney is India’s leading digital payment service provider, and serves a varied client database. Spanning Indian and international clients, their offering includes specialized NRI services, India Money Transfers, Global Money Transfers, ePayments and Co-branded cards. Conceptualized and built to serve diverse communities, TimesofMoney’s services offer convenience, connectivity and flexibility across a global platform. The conglomerate continually strives to deliver the best to its clients, ensuring flexible service and meeting global standards.

For more information, please contact:

  • Hemant Morajkar
  • Account Executive
  • (L) 022 2281 3565

Europe Asia Business School announces ‘Power Breakfast with Prof. Jay Mitra’

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Students to acquire skills on Strategic Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

November 2, 2009 /India PRwire/ — Europe Asia Business School an innovative management education company in association with DNA to host an event on Strategic Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The event aimed at imbibing strong orientation towards business and academic rigor to help incorporate entrepreneurial skills in the youth of tomorrow.

Announcing this initiative, Dr. Uma Ganesh mentioned “This year has been an unusual year where thousands of graduates have faced difficulty in finding jobs in the industry. In order to help such students gain cutting edge skills, we have come up with a session on ‘Strategic Business Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ whose objective is to promote entrepreneurial ability and encourage the students to tread the path of innovation.”

Prof. Jay Mitra, Founding Professor of Business Enterprise and Innovation at the University of Essex, South end, UK; speaking on the occasion said, “Having undertaken many training programs myself and understood the importance of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in business, I see innovation as a fundamental tool to begin off with. It is imperative to have an idea or a thought of innovation in almost every sector today. Innovation is a stepping stone to entrepreneurship which is essential in this radical changing environment and the students can have an edge over others by fostering this fundamental tool in their business practices combining it with the required industry exposure.”

The “Power Breakfast with Prof. Jay Mitra” focused on practical applications – from becoming an entrepreneur, through making financial choices, through strategic planning, to internationalization and acquisition. It was aimed at creating importance of earning in order to learn rather than learn to earn. As entrepreneurship also has a key role to play outside the private sector, the session included in its coverage strategic business entrepreneurship and innovation issues in non-profit public-sector organizations. To discuss innovation leading to become an entrepreneur, eminent personalities such as Dr.Ashok Kolaskar, Advisor, Knowledge Commission; General S.S.Mehta, Ex Director General CII; Dr.Ganesh Natrajan, CEO Zensar Tachnologies; Mr. Pradipto Mahapatra, Ex CEO RPG Retail and Telecom; Mr. Mukesh Malhotra, Chairman Weikfield and Mr. Ajay Mehta, President TIE, were also present at the event.

The seminar was conducted on Saturday, 31st October 2009 at Europe Asia Business School Campus, Viman Nagar, Pune.

Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire

Notes to Editor

About Europe Asia Business School

The school is conceptualized by industrialists and world renowned academicians including alumnus of Harvard and Cambridge Universities, delivering outstanding business education, build transformation capabilities for candidates and inspire innovation at early stages of the programme.

EABS has adopted research-based management frameworks which provide the foundation for each programme. Study groups, interactive simulations, and case discussions reinforce the practical applications of these frameworks. At EABS, learning initiative is an endeavor to encourage continuous innovation through people and technology. The scope of activities of EABS is very broad from leadership development to research in entrepreneurship models.

EABS draws its synergy from our core strengths of academic leadership in Marketing, Investment Banking, Insurance, Core Banking practices, Finance, Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing. It aims to build business leaders who are capable of sustaining businesses, who have strong competencies and are equipped with excellent domain knowledge.

For more information, please contact:

  • Rashmi Gour
  • Corporate Communication
  • (M) 9975611046
  • Vishit Hegde
  • MT
  • (L) 9619002999