MFG European Reporter -

Motivating top talent, initiating cooperation and promoting successful entrepreneurship: MFG’s bilingual Annual Report 09/10 once again shows the well-rounded work of the Public Innovation Agency for ICT and Media.

The entrepreneurs, researchers and young talent that are introduced here act as representatives for all of MFG’s customers and partners. Projects and custom-tailored offers are well described as well as all the actions to promote talent and support the transfer of technology – showing the overall aim to strengthen the competitiveness of ICT, media and the creative industries in Baden-Württemberg.

Plus: Figure out the augmented reality application on the title page! You can win a ticket for this year’s DMMK and Create10 international conference: Just discover four animal sounds, which can be heard by turning the title page clockwise in front of your webcam (speakers switched on)!

You can either download the MFG Annual Report (pdf) or view it online on issuu.

Enjoy and good luck!

Under coordination of Steinbeis Transfer Centre East-West Joint-Ventures, Romania works towards a modernised and stronger IT industry in Romania. Cooperation between companies from Baden-Württemberg, Germany and Romania should be strengthened. Therefore a strategic partnership has been established, focussing also on the creative industries.

The signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focuses on:
- Development of technology transfer opportunities
- Creation of an IT, Communication and Media Institute
- Creation of an international centre for the creative industries
- Support of start-ups
- Building up of further education for IT experts

The MoU has been signed by MFG Baden-Württemberg – Public Innovation Agency for ICT and Media and Steinbeis Transfer Centre East-West Joint-Ventures on the one hand, and Bucharest Innovation & Creative Industries Alliance, Romanian Association for Electronic and Software Industries and World Trade Institute Bucharest Foundation on the other hand.

Attended by some 100 researchers, businesses and investors, the 9th Heidelberg Innovation Forum concluded with an awards ceremony for the most compelling business ideas. Winner of the best business idea award from the Baden-Württemberg: Connected –bwcon – initiative was H2Hybrid, which was submitted by Dominik Lembke and his team from the Bavarian Elite Academy.

The bwcon award for best international business idea went to Dr. Dileep Agnihotri for his energy storage solution based on double-layer capacitors with a high energy density, which are less bulky and costly than current versions.

To support the winners in their efforts to bring their products to market, their prize is personal business coaching as part of bwcon’s “Coach & Connect+” programme. The aim of this programme is to provide targeted, industry-specific advice and assistance to new and expanding high-tech companies and founders throughout the various start-up phases – from establishing the company to expansion.

Read more (pdf)

MFG Baden-Württemberg will present the “MFG Visual Experience Lab” at FMX 2010, the internationally renowned platform for computer animation, visual effects, games and digital media.  MFG uses this new laboratory to test and research current visualisation trends and technologies together with universities, businesses and talented newcomers from South-West Germany, providing them with an open experimental forum in which to study current trends and projects and test new applications jointly with MFG.

FMX visitors will have the opportunity to learn how these technologies can be integrated into computer games and virtual training worlds, for example at the “MFG Games Track” on May 5 or at the demonstration of the “MFG Visual Experience Lab” on May 6.

Read more in MFG’s press release (pdf)

COO of Beyond A Strategy Mona Pearl gave the keynote at Heidelberg Innovation Forum 2010 live from Chicago. Actually she were supposed to travel to Heidelberg, but because of Iceland’s volcano caused the huge cloud of ash her flight was not possible. We streamed her speech live from Chicago. Thanks again, Mona, for getting-up that early to give your inspiring keynote!

In advance we had the chance to interview Mona Pearl on the phone. In this interview she gave some background info on her biography, her view on success and the three steps which are important to become a successful entrepreneur.

Read the full interview with Mona Pearl (pdf)

The KIS Mobile Convention on 18 May 2010 (13:00-18:00) deals with this question. Focussing on Knowledge Intensive Services and Applications for Mobile Devices regional stakeholder will be brought together in Stuttgart.

The event is organised by Ministry of Economics of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg and MFG Baden-Württemberg – Innovation Agency for ICT and Media. Partners are FZI – Forschungszentrum Informatik and Forum SatNav MIT BW e.V.

Become member of the Linkedin-group “KIS Mobile Convention Stuttgart” and meet participants and presenting companies already before the event.

More information and registration…

Heidelberg Innovation Forum takes place on 22nd of April 2010. In two parallel panels 26 business ideas will be presented. Topics range from Green IT and ICT innovations, Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energies and Sustainable Mobility.

Within 8 minutes each panellist will present his/her idea to investors and decision makers. In the breaks it is time to “Meet the Panellists” and engage in transfer business. Top industry representatives and researchers are expected to attend.

Register now and receive a 20% discount for two or more registrations by the same company or institution!

Heidelberg Innovation Forum is organised by MFG Baden-Württemberg mbH in collaboration with the European Media Laboratory, established by SAP co-founder Dr. h.c. Klaus Tschira.

Interested in the Central Europe Programme? Curious about Innovation, eGovernament and ICT? Are you maybe looking for some conferences on these topics but you don’t know where to start? Then we have something useful for you! Our monthly project development newsletter: a quick but exhaustive overview of all the funding opportunities, awards and chance of networking happening all around Europe.

Our April newsletter is now out. You can download it for free here Newsletter_Apr_2010

And if you have some comments, suggestions, or project ideas you can contact us anytime

SVEA, MFG Baden-Württemberg’s newly launched educational project, is part of a campaign to promote the use of Web 2.0 – the “collaborative Internet” – in adult education institutions. Amongst other things, the Public Innovation Agency for IT and Media is developing a Web 2.0 training programme together with four European partners that will be used to train training providers in the use of social media like blogs, wikis and podcasts. The knowledge acquired will subsequently be integrated into each provider’s organisational structures and teaching concepts as a starting point for further development.

Together with its European project partners, MFG is developing an Internet platform and a training programme that will facilitate virtual team management and eModeration in virtual conferences, for instance. Training providers and their lecturers will additionally be introduced to social business networks and instructed in techniques for learning and teaching with wikis, blogs and podcasts.

The project is funded by the European Commission and will run for a period of 24 months. It is being undertaken by MFG as project coordinator with support from four European partners: CSP Innovazione nelle ICT in Italy, EuroPACE in Belgium, FUNDECYT in Spain and Coleg Sir Gâr in Wales.

To learn more about SVEA project visit the website http://www.svea-project.eu/

And if you still have some doubts on social media, here is a short, funny lessons on how they work.

A year of MFG activity summarized in a colorful and fresh review: a look back on the many exciting events of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009. This are the core features of the MFG Review of 2009, a short retrospective that provides an interesting insight into what we have learned, experienced and achieved in partnership with you, devoting a separate page to each month.

The central theme that pervades the MFG Review of 2009 is “Collaborative Design” – the joint accomplishment of creative tasks. Twelve hand-picked designers, fine and commercial artists and illustrators from Baden-Württemberg have been allotted space in which to present their ideas. Different creative disciplines are combined and interspersed with references to our work. The outcome of this experiment is truly remarkable: It shows the huge potential that can be unleashed when creative professionals from a variety of fields collaborate to produce something new.

12 pills of art, one for each month, that shows MFG main achievements in 2009: from the Creativity World Forum to the Karl Steinbuch Scholarship, passing through the numerous awards, conferences and collaborations.

You can leaf throught the review also online at this address http://issuu.com/mfg_innovation/docs/mfg_review09 .
And if you like the works of art that, month by month, go through the MFG achievements, you can vote your favourite and have the chance to win two vouchers for the MFG Akademie http://survey.mfg-innovation.de/index.php?sid=67591&lang=en