Partnering the future

Insight Publishers and Projects Magazine are now official media partners for the Future Internet Conference Week, taking place in Ghent, Belgium, from December 13-17 this year.

The partnership means that every delegate and keynote speaker will receive a special edition of the magazine in the conference delegate pack, while readers of Projects online (www.projects.eu.com) will be able to keep up to date with all the news from the event live.

Insight will also have a booth at the conference and our team will be there in force to talk to delegates about their dissemination requirements. We will also be launching our latest digital innovation that will revolutionise project dissemination, just as we did when we launched Projects Magazine more than four years ago and this supporting website soon after. Come and say hello and learn how to create real global impact for your research.

The Future Internet conference is part of an ambitious programme to develop a comprehensive approach to the digital society and economy not only by governments, but also industries and research communities, who need to join forces and interact to ensure maximum cross-fertilisation.

This is a major focus for the Belgian EU presidency and this event is seen as a unique opportunity to enable such interaction and cross-fertilisation during a full week of ICT activities, related to different aspects of the future internet and supported by different organisations.
This will enable an exchange of ideas across different disciplines and communities. The “Future Internet Conference Week” will therefore offer a programme of back-to-back conferences, meetings and workshops related to the different topics of interest to the organisations involved and their stakeholders.
"The objectives of the different platforms are clearly complementary. A common denominator of the week will be that internet-based services are a key driver of growth for the ICT industry and that a pull-approach in R&D is crucial to further enhance the competitive position of Europe in the world.
"In a statement introducing the conference website, organisers quickly establish how vital the internet has become to virtually every aspect of life, warning as well that unless we are ambitious about research and innovation, we will fail to fully exploit its potential.
“The Internet has become one of the most critical infrastructures of the 21st century, and by supporting social and economic developments it will enable a truly knowledge-based society.
“The complex infrastructures sustaining public services such as health, mobility, environmental monitoring or energy management can be made ‘smart’, i.e. much more efficient and sustainable, when the internet is fully integrated into their basic functions and processes.
“While incremental approaches are critical, they will ultimately fail to keep pace.
“A more ambitious and visionary solution is required to achieve targets in the long term. This can only be obtained, however, if technological roadblocks are overcome through multidisciplinary and open innovation approaches.
“The large-scale integration of multiple technologies calls for a rethink of the internet architecture.
“Trust and security are also key aspects where answers are needed. And beyond technological issues, the restructuring of business and social interaction processes could provide a golden opportunity to boost European competitiveness.
“A comprehensive approach to the digital society and economy will encompass the Future Internet, as one of the main building blocks to succeed.
"For the development of such an approach it is crucial that not only governments but also industries and the research communities join forces and interact to ensure maximum cross-fertilisation.”

Additional information

The conference will be attended by more than 2,500 delegates over the week and is being organised by some of the world’s most influential organisations involved in the development of the internet.
These are:

• IBBT (www.ibbt.be) iMinds conference (www.iminds.be) in collaboration with Bell Labs
• Bell Labs (www.alcatel-lucent.com/bell-labs) Open Days (www.bell-labs.be)
• The European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL; www.openlivinglabs.eu)
• The FIRE community (Future Internet Research and Experimentation; http://cordis.europa.eu/ist/fet/comms-fire.htm)
• The FIA community (Future Internet Assembly; http://www.future-internet.eu)
• The ServiceWave 2010 conference (www.servicewave.eu)
• IPv6 (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/policy/ipv6/index_en.htm)

If you would like to be included in the special edition of Projects Magazine that will be distributed at the event in the delegate packs, contact the following people at Insight Publishers:
Projects: To have your project featured in the magazine and online, contact Sam Davis, Dissemination consultant, +44 (0)117 2033 120 or email sam@ipl.eu.com
Advertising and dissemination partnerships: To advertise in the magazine and online or for details about Insight’s many other dissemination services, contact James Barsby, Director, Strategic Partnerships, +44 (0)117 2033 120 or email jbarsby@ipl.eu.com

For more information about the Future Internet Conference Week, visit www.fi-week.eu

• If you are unable to attend the conference but would like a copy of the magazine, please contact Adelle Kehoe at adelle@ipl.eu.com

Published: Wednesday, 6th October 2010 by William Davis