New IASP President elected at 33rd World Conference in Moscow

Josep Piqué has been ratified as the new International President of IASP at the association’s 33rd World Conference which concluded yesterday in Moscow, Russia.

The IASP International Board of Directors is led by new President Josep Piqué, Executive President of La Salle Technova, Spain who took over from outgoing President Jean-François Balducchi at the conference Closing Ceremony on September 22nd. Mr Pique begins his 2 year term following ratification at the 2016 IASP General Assembly in Moscow, Russia and having held the position of Vice President of IASP for 2 years before taking up the Presidency. He leads the IASP International Board, which is made up of 14 members from 13 different countries and which meets twice a year.

Mr Piqué is a telecoms engineer who holds an MBA from ESADE, as well as diplomas from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of California-Berkeley and Universitat Ramon Llull. His long professional experience in university management has lead him to promote and lead postgraduate programmes, technology transfer centres, university incubators and innovation science and technology parks. He has promoted several hybrid organisations in the partnership model University-Industry-Public Administration. The focus of his work is the promotion of knowledge-based economy and society, in order to consolidate Barcelona as a global reference of Knowledge Cities and Smart Cities.

About the Conference

The knowledge economy is the way of the future, and it flourishes where international networks are there to nourish it with new ideas. The IASP World Conference is a knowledge community in action, a global gathering of 67 speakers and almost 1000 delegates, including leading government, business and innovation figures from 56 countries. The last few days have demonstrated just what can be achieved when innovators and innovation managers from across the world collaborate.

Skolkovo Technopark with MSU Technopark and Technopark Strogino, with the support of Moscow City Government, hosted the 33rd IASP World Conference in Moscow, Russia on September 19th -22nd 2016. With the theme of “The Global Mind - linking innovation communities for internationalization, sustainability and growth,” this conference has deepened our understanding of how Science Parks and other Areas of Innovation can use the Global Mind for the benefit of their innovation communities as well as for their cities and regions.

The essence of innovation is communication, collaboration and sharing, and the IASP World Conference creates a platform for managers from science parks and areas of innovation to share experiences.

Held in three different venues – Skolkovo Technopark, the World Trade Center and MSU Science Park, it showcased the flourishing science park and area of innovation community in Moscow, fast becoming one of the biggest tech hubs in Europe. It is the first time an IASP World Conference has been held in Russia, recognising its growing role in the international innovation community.

The event included an Open Innovation Marketplace, where selected startups from around the world presented Smart City solutions to the city of Moscow and major Russian corporations; and a robotics and Virtual Reality exhibition, which saw cutting-edge robotics companies showcase their products to international science park representatives.

Full details of the programme are available on the conference website.

About the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP)

IASP is the worldwide network of science parks and areas of innovation, founded in 1984. With 385 members in 72 countries, IASP connects professionals managing science, technology and research parks (STPs) and other areas of innovation from across the globe, and provides services that drive growth and effectiveness for members.

IASP members enhance the competitiveness of companies and entrepreneurs in their cities and regions, and contribute to global economic development through innovation, entrepreneurship, and the transfer of knowledge and technology.

IASP is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and a founding member of the World Alliance for Innovation (WAINOVA).

For further information about IASP, please visit www.iasp.ws.

IASP’s mission

To be the global network for science and technology parks, and other areas of innovation, driving growth, internationalisation and effectiveness for our members.

Main facts and figures

Founded: 1984
Members: 385
Companies: >142,000
Countries: 72
Regional divisions: 6
• African Division
• European Division
• North American Division
• Asia-Pacific Division
• Latin American Division
• WANA (West Asia North Africa) Division

Offices:
• World Headquarters: Malaga, Spain
• Branch office: Beijing, China

World Conferences to date: 32
Upcoming World Conference: 19th – 22nd September in Moscow, Russia
Website: www.IASP2016moscow.com
Regional workshops and seminars to date: 100

About Skolkovo Technopark

Skolkovo Technopark is a Full member of IASP and won the bid to host and organise the IASP 2016 World Conference in Doha, Qatar in 2014.

The Technopark is part of the Skolkovo Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in September 2010 by the Russian government with the objective of accelerating Russia’s transformation from a resource-intensive to an innovation-based economy. To achieve this objective, the Foundation is overseeing the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Center, composed of more than 1,500 high-tech startups, Skolkovo Technopark, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (Skoltech) - a new graduate research University established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - and Skolkovo city, located near Moscow. Together, these entities establish a vibrant ecosystem of technology innovation and entrepreneurship.

Fifty global corporations including Boeing, Cisco Systems, EADS, GE, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Siemens, Nokia, Samsung, and Panasonic have already recognized the opportunity Skolkovo presents by signing R&D partnership agreements with the Foundation. The cumulative revenue of Skolkovo’s startups through June 2016 reached $1.6 billion. They brought in more than $350 million in investment, creating 18,000 jobs and filing over 1,900 patent applications along the way. By 2020 over 2 million square meters of residential and office space will be built in Skolkovo with 35,000 people working daily in the Innovation Center.

For more information: http://www.sk.ru/en.

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