Project SIDEREUS attracted great interest at the recent INSME Annual Meeting held in Canton, China, which was attended by many high ranking EU and Chinese personalities. In particular, Mr. Zhongze Wu, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, P.R. China, held the inaugural welcome speech.
The INSME meeting, dedicated to Encouraging SME Innovation and Growth: Increasing Capital Access, was the perfect context to present a detailed report on the SIDEREUS initiative, which aims to foster increased international cooperation in terms of both research and business opportunities for SMEs in the internationally booming ICT and Aerospace sectors.
The two-day conference included a special thematic workshop in which Ms. Michela Michilli, Head of the Filas EU Initiatives and Projects Unit, gave a detailed presentation on the objectives of SIDEREUS in the framework of the unfolding potential represented by GNSS and Galileo, in particular. The presentation is available here.
The FILAS delegation then moved on to Beijing, hosted by the local project partner, CCA (China Consulting Association). Two more days were spent in meetings with Chinese stakeholders and the Italian Embassy.
The Satellite & Network Magazine, the most important Chinese magazine in the GNSS sector, expressed its interest in SIDEREUS and will provide full monthly coverage of the event. In return, they will become a supporting media partner with the related visibility provided by SIDEREUS. Interviews to key SIDEREUS actors in both Italy and China will be published as part of this event coverage.
In general, Galileo is perceived as an invaluable opportunity for Chinese SMEs to exploit, whilst also pursuing the internationalisation of their booming industry. CCA, the National Councillor for China, has indicated that interest is very high and that they will probably recruit far more companies than originally planned for the SIDEREUS Matchmaking event, making it an even greater opportunity for all those attending.
SIDEREUS, an Asia Invest project that involves regions from the EU, China, India and the ASEAN countries, will be held on November 26-28, 2008.
SIDEREUS aims to establish long-term business and technological co-operation agreements through a series of one-on-one matchmaking meetings between companies, research centres and other organisations operating in the aerospace and ICT sectors.
