EuroIndia - first Info Day in Bangalore (India) - 22 April 2008

Euro-India ICT Co-operation Initiative (http://euroindia-ict.org/)
The first EuroIndia Info Day - hosted by the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore -
will be held on Tuesday 22 April 2008 in conjunction with the Networked Media Workshop (NEM) on Wednesday 23 April

Setting the Path for Euro-Indian ICT Co-operation Partnerships

Science and technology co-operation between Europe and India has grown rapidly in recent years. The new joint cooperation initiatives launched under the European Commission’s funding stream for 2007-2013 will support efforts towards EU-India strategic partnerships on key topics of mutual interest. The EC’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7) offers a prime opportunity to capitalise on Europe’s immense reservoir of research resources tools in the field of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and build on the strengths of technology powerhouses like India to help achieve key economic, societal and developmental goals.

Euro-India ICT Co-operation Initiative (EuroIndia) is a 24-month EC-funded project aimed at addressing strategic goals to identify and sustain EU and Indian Research & Technology Development (RTD) potential. Key objectives include mapping of ICT research and innovation activities across India and survey the Indian ICT R&D players, which will be supported by Information Days and Technology Brainstorming events across India. These activities and events will foster networking between a spectrum of stakeholders from the ICT communities to identify mutual areas of interest and facilitate co-operation and joint research projects. EuroIndia also aims to support, enrich and strengthen the annual Policy Dialogue between the European Commission and India by bringing across the views of the ICT research communities from India and the European Union into this process and also by helping in the translation of the policy recommendations and joint action agenda into concrete cooperation projects.

The EuroIndia Initiative builds on the momentum of EuroIndia2004 and MONSOON (2005-2007), which profiled a large pool of experts from RTD in India to foster ‘win-win’ co-operation through European ICT programmes. Commenting on the value delivered by earlier RTD co-operation initiatives, Ravi Jain, Vice-President, Tech Mahindra Ltd, remarked, ‘Euro-India ICT Co-operation provides Indian enterprises with the opportunity to interact and network with experts from industry and academia. This coming together helps actors to innovate and develop solutions with the help of Information and Communication Technologies, addressing the challenges that we all face’.

EuroIndia will support a vibrant Euro-Indian ICT research community, increase the visibility of EC programmes in India, and prepare the groundwork for lasting strategic partnerships. ‘Participation in European projects is an excellent opportunity for scientific communities to exploit new emerging technologies in collaborative mode,’ said Prof. D. G. Kanhere, Director Centre for Modelling and Simulation, University of Pune & partner of the EC-funded project, EU-IndiaGrid.

EuroIndia will help pave the ground for a durable and sustainable institutional framework that will strengthen links between the two regions and bring mutual and lasting benefits. The project will seek to align common areas of interest with the priorities for Europe’s i2010 and the Indian Information Technology Policy. Grids, new network architectures, e-health, and entrepreneurship are among the ICT themes and issues that have much to gain from international co-operation, helping to drive forward the development of technologies that will ultimately benefit large communities.

The first EuroIndia Info Day will be held on Tuesday 22 April 2008 in conjunction with the Networked Media Workshop (NEM) on Wednesday 23 April. Both events will be hosted by the Indian Institute of Sciences in Bangalore, India’s Silicon Valley. Lab visits in Bangalore will be organised on Thursday 24 April 2008.
For more information, email info(at)euroindia-ict.org or visit our website .

EuroIndia has a highly committed consortium of partners, led by the Copenhagen Business School, Department of Informatics with EU and Indian organisations offering complementary expertise in Euro-Indian RTD & co-operation: ERCIM (European Research Consortium for Informatics & Mathematics- FR), Infra Technologies (FR), Trust-IT Services Ltd (UK), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.