The ICT Lyon 2008 was one of the biggest and most successful events of the year which took place from 25th November to 27th November 2008 at Lyon. It presented Europe's priorities for ICT research, development and funding, and examined Europe’s leading the ICT agenda for the next decade. Nearly 4,500 delegates across the world were present at ICT 2008 making it one of the best-attended ICT events ever.

The chief opportunities to participate in the ICT event were conference, exhibition and networking session and a number of side events which were organised in order to familiarize the participants about the ICT 2008.

Conference – It discussed on the future Internet, how ICT can contribute to energy efficiency, to better ageing and health, to offer new business opportunities for SMEs, how nano-electronics and new chips and components can bring radical changes in our daily lives. It also discussed on the ICT Work Programme 2009-2010. It focused on effective public policies to stimulate ICT research and innovation for growth and sustainable development.

Exhibition – With almost 180 stands arranged in twelve different zones it showcased the latest breakthroughs of European research projects, presented the concrete results of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) research from across Europe.
Health-e-Child won the ICT 2008 Exhibit Grand Prize worth €10,000. This project uses grid ‘supercomputing’ technology to connect and inform paediatrics healthcare professionals.

Networking session aimed to bring together ICT communities with the view to facilitate contacts between researchers, innovators and engineers from the ICT domain. Out of 214 networking session, 118 were selected which proposed to present researchers and investors to find partners for potential research initiatives.

To stay informed more about the event click here

Ideal-ist, the flourishing international partner search network for Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) opened its partner search device for the initiate of fourth call for proposal in the 7th Framework Programme. This would be apt instrument for finding partners for their project, or find a project to join.

Ideal-ist with vast experience and in recent years a success rate of almost 100%.This means almost everybody who launched a partner search via Ideal-ist, found a key partner for their project.

With the unique quality titled partner search tool and the support of the whole network of National Contact Points, newcomers and less experienced organisations will be given guidance on how to get started in FP7. They will establish contacts with research organisations, which are more experienced in European research projects.

For more information click here

A plan which defines the exploitation of the technology within a project consortium or the dissemination of the results of a project in an effective and formalized way the production of a TIP will be a contractual requirement for co-financed RTD projects. Its structure will be standardized.

Work programmes are plans drawn up by the Commission for the implementation of the specific programmes of FP7. They comprise detailed descriptions of the activities (thematic priorities, instruments used, evaluation procedures and criteria, deadlines, roadmaps) and are revised at least annually. They provide all information necessary to launch calls for proposals. The extent to which a proposal addresses the objectives of the work programme is an evaluation criterion, i.e. in order to prepare a successful proposal; one has to read carefully the work programme related to the call addressed.

The purpose of the programme is to stimulate new collaborations, e.g. the preparation of joint projects under national funding programmes. The programme facilitates bilateral cooperation in the fields of Science and Engineering between the research institutes of Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), India and those of Germany by way of joint research projects, bilateral workshops / seminars, exchange visits of scientists and scientific and composite (scientific and industrial) delegations.

With a view to intensifying interaction and the scientific cooperation between Indian and Bulgarian Scientists/Institutions, Department of Science and Technology (DST) of India and the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) of Bulgaria extend support for joint research projects involving exchange of visits under the Indo-Bulgarian Bilateral Scientific Cooperation programme with special emphasis on further academic training and specialization of scientists/scholars.

An Agreement on S & T Cooperation between India and Austria has been signed by the Austrian Minister of Science & Technology Dr. Johannes Hahn and Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences. The Agreement provides for exchange of scientific and technological information, documentation and publications, exchange of scientists and experts and implementation of bilateral-projects of mutual interest.

The programme facilitates bilateral cooperation between the scientific communities of two India & Poland by way of joint research projects, bilateral workshops/seminar, exploratory visits of scientist, scientific delegations and composite (scientific and industrial) delegation. Proposals are invited from time to time.

• ITSMA - Bangalore
• CDAC - Pune
• IIIT-B

• Introduction into Frame work Programme
• Roadmapping: Charting organizational competencies against FP priorities
• Benchmarking of project ideas against relevant past and current frontier research
• Conducting training and workshops
• External assistance to proposal writing
• Project partner search
• Consulting on the programme
• Networking
• Project management.