Turn Europe into the global leader in ICT innovation - this is the mission for “EIT ICT Labs”, the new Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) selected in December 2009 in a tough competition by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT is a new independent community body which was set up to address Europe's innovation gap. The aim of EIT is to rapidly emerge as a key driver of EU sustainable growth and competitiveness through the stimulation of world-leading innovation.
By highlighting the “Future Information Society” addressed by EIT ICT Labs, the EIT recognizes the fact that 80 % of new developments in the key economic sectors of Europe are based on ICT. EIT ICT Labs aims at radical transformation of Europe into a knowledge society with an unprecedented
proliferation of internet-based services and will establish a new partnership between business and academia based on trust, transparency and mobility of ideas and people. The consortium connects world leading companies, globally renowned research institutes – including the ERCIM members Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, INRIA, SICS and VTT – and top-ranked universities all dedicated to speeding up innovation to address grand challenges of our society. Committed to an efficient open innovation model, EIT ICT Labs will generate faster transformation of ideas and ICT technologies into real products, services and business, boosting Europe’s future competitiveness in all sectors of society.
EIT ICT Labs builds on five co-location centres – Berlin, Eindhoven, Helsinki, Paris, and Stockholm – to build a world-class network of innovation hotspots. These main hotspots are complemented with our extensive network of local and international innovation partners. EIT ICT Labs inspires creative students, researchers, and business people to embrace a risk taking and entrepreneurial attitude and help them to identify new business opportunities. EIT ICT Labs catalyzes the creation of strong ventures and help them to grow to become the future world leaders in the ICT arena. EIT ICT Labs will make Europe the preferred place for ICT
innovation and attract top talent, R&D units of large companies and investors from all over the world.
“Becoming a KIC is a tremendous opportunity for us to make Europe the global leader in ICT Innovation” says Magnus Madfors, Acting CEO of EIT ICT Labs. “We have the team, the experience, and we are ready to start building a world class innovation ecosystem, turning the potential of the Future Information Society into benefits for the citizens of Europe and the world.”
EIT ICT Labs is one of the first three KICs launched by EIT. The two other KICs are: Climate change mitigation and adaptation (Climate-KIC) and Sustainable energy (KIC InnoEnergy)
More information:
http://www.eitictlabs.eu/
http://eit.europa.eu/
