Cooperations

SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS FOUNDATION SIGNED ON THE 21ST APRIL 2008 IN SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT WITH SUWHOU NATIONAL & NEZ HI TECH DEVELOPMENT ZONE
In 1992 SND, on a governmental level, became a developmental region supported by State council in China. SND is situated in the west in the old town. today it has a population of 258 000. The Sophia Antipolis Foundation signed this partnership agreement with the aim to work together to: promote and develop the activities to support internationalisation of companies, assist events, and to organise training programmes.
http://www.snd.gov.cn/EN/index.jsp

THE SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS FOUNDATION AND THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN CLUSTERS
The Sophia Antipolis Foundation has accompanied Madame Anne-Marie Idrac, secretary of the State of exterior commerce, on the first few trips to three countries around the Mediterranean: from the 29th to 31st March in Egypt, Tunisia on the 1st and 2nd and Libya on the 2nd and 3rd of April. The objective being to strengthen the collaboration between France and these countries which are sources of innovation and clusters. With the opportunity of a visit to Egypt, the French ambassador reunited French industrials that are based in Cairo. The delegate visited the Smart Village and met the Egyptian Prime Minister who visited Sophia Antipolis more than ten years ago.
The Minister, Kamel Tarek, didn’t forget to recall the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sophia Antipolis Foundation.
An official dinner was organised with representatives of the European Union that came to attend the Euromed debate ( which coincided with the French ministerial visit).
The Minister also visited the construction site for the number three underground line which is partly financed by France and made real by some French companies.
In Tunisia, the Sophia Antipolis Foundation organised meetings between Tunisian competent clusters and the companies and managers of the clusters SCS, Mer Paca, Cap Energies, Risk and Vulnerability of territories.
Besides the participation in the Medallia room, and on the round table organised by the French and Tunisian Governments on the topic of “Competitivity and innovation”, the participants on the trip were able to visit the technopolis of Borj Cédria, specialising in new clean energy, the environment and water, vegetable biotechnology, the National Institute for Science and Technology on the Sea of Salammbo ( INSTM) where the research topics ( live marine sources, marine and biotechnology biodiversity, Aquiculture, aquatic environment) have really interested the Mer and Risk clusters.
So the cluster Mer Paca and INSTM have decided on the implementation of test drive committee to initiate cooperation in the research domain and launch collaborative projects.
The risk and vulnerability of territories cluster, agreed to set up an industrial demonstrator for a method of decontamination of the clams on the basis of a collectively developed patent by INSTM and IFREMER with French support and cooperation.
In Bizerte, a meeting with the different organisations linked with the Mer cluster, notably the National Aauiculture Institute and the office of Merchant Navy and Ports (OMMPP) was held.
In the end in El Ghezala, the technopolis specialised in IT, the cooperation with the SCS cluster was able to enter in a project phase.
The trip ended with a visit to Libya where France was the guest of honour at the 37th International fair of Tripoli, and where the national pavilion regrouped more than 50 companies. Madame Idrac and her Libyan equivalent, Doctor Ali Alesawi, General Secretary for the Popular Committee for Economy, Business and Investment, the Sophia Antipolis Foundation and the Mer cluster signed agreements for a collaboration on the subject of clusters and structuring projects.

CHINA : FRANCO-CHINESE MEETINGS FOR INNOVATION AND COOPERATION
The Sophia Antipolis Foundation and the Zhongguancun Science Park, in partnership with the General Director of Enterprise and the French Embassy in China organised on the 10th and 11th April in Beijing, the Franco-Chinese meetings for innovation and cooperation aimed at small and medium sized companies, research centres and universities and competitive cluster members. At the heart of the university campus Tsinghua, this event brought together around a hundred managers for business, research centres and universities where over fourty French where brought by the Sophia Antipolis Foundation. In order to ease the contact between the participants, three themed workshops were organised:
- NTIC Room : New ICT
- Environment and New energy room
- Health, Medical Equipment and Biotechnology room.
Numerous tracks of cooperation were implemented between the French and Chinese participants where there were technological and commercial partnerships as well as agreements between governances. At the conclusion of these meetings, several agreements of cooperation were signed. For more complimentary information: ruel@sophia-antipolis.org or telephone: 04 92 96 78 16

ISRAEL : FROM 30TH OCTOBER TO THE 1ST NOVEMBER 2007: FRENCH TRIP TO THE “PRIME MINISTERS CONFERENCE” IN TEL AVIV
Hervé Novelli, secretary of the State in charge of Businesses and Exterior Commerce will lead an economic mission consisting of numerous companies and competitive clusters in Israel. During this conference, the Sophia Antipolis Foundation, represented by the Manager, Roselyne Koskas and Matimop, industrial area for the research and development Israeli, represented by the director, Yair Amitay will enrich their agreement of cooperation signed in 2006, by the signature of a new agreement, including the creation of an incubator to Sophia (on the Israeli model). This will be financed by Israeli and French investors.
This event, which originates from 2001 in Ariel Sharon's will to set up a shop window of the internationalization of the Israeli economy, is collectively organized by the association of the Israeli industrialists in MAI ( Israeli Medef) and the Export Institute (the Israeli agency of promotion of the exports).
This year the theme will be " The international cooperation for the development of the new regions " (land settlement and development of the peripheral zones). Up till now they were already programmed, besides the traditional presence of the President Shimon Pérès, the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the governor of the central Bank Stanley Fisher and Foreign Secretary Tsipi Livni, non Israeli personalities such the Vice-president of the European Commission in charge of Companies and of the Industry, Günter Verheugen, Jacques Rogozinski, the Mexican general manager of Inter-American Investment Corporation and Agel Gurria, General Secretary of the OECD.

For News Articles:
http://www.sophia-antipolis.org/fsa/communication/revue-presse/2007/israel-valley.pdf

DENMARK:
Cooperation agreement between Denmark and Sophia Antipolis

A cooperation agreement between Business Kolding, represented by its general director, Mr. Bjarke Wolmar and the Foundation Sophia Antipolis represented by its president, Pierre Laffitte was signed at the “1st international professional forum on the challenges and opportunities of investing in France” which is actually being held in Sophia Antipolis on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th of April 2007. Business Kolding developed a competitiveness cluster in Denmark on renewable energy and sustainable development, in particular focusing on wind power. This cluster is very successful, it has grown into new regions in the north of Germany.
The Foundation Sophia Antipolis is in charge of the organisation and management of the scientific and cultural events at Sophia Antipolis, for the last few months it has developed a strong activity in direction of competitiveness clusters notably facilitating international cooperations between the French clusters and the international clusters. The Foundation facilitates the reflections and the exchanges in the areas of science, industry and culture.
This agreement will mainly provide the competitiveness clusters with, cooperations in research, the putting into place of common projects and the exchange of interns between the schools of the two countries.

Contact :
Nadège Bouget - bouget@sophia-antipolis.org
Annie Ovigny - ovigny@sophia-antipolis.org

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MOROCCO :
Partnership agreement with the Fès-Boulemane region

A partnership agreement was signed between the Foundation Sophia Antipolis and the Fès-Boulemane region. The two parties decided to work together on the creation of a technological park in Fès. Sophia Antipolis’s abilities will be contributed.
January 2006

30 November – 1st December 2006: Franco-Moroccan partnership with the vision of internationalising the technological park in Fès-Boulemane.
The Foundation Sophia Antipolis is organising a workshop that will unite nearly 70 people in order to exchange ideas on the future of the technological park in Fès-Boulemane (Morocco) and to build links between the French actors and the Moroccan actors.

In order to put in place the recommendations from the study, an important delegation of decision makers from the region of Fès-Boulemane will participate, along with the French guests, in a round-table conference. The challenge of this meeting will be to exchange good practices and to initiate partnerships to support the emergence of federative projects between the academic, institutional and private actors of the Fès region and those of the Sophia Antipolis park.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 EGYPT :
Partnership agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology

A partnership agreement is in the process of being signed with the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and the Foundation Sophia Antipolis. This agreement follows the framework of an action plan for the establishment of the agreement concluded in 2005 between Mr. François Loos, French Minister for the Economy, Finances and Industry and Tarek Kamel, Minister of MCIT (Ministry of Communications and Information Technology) since 2004.
It follows the general terms of agreement concerning the ICT sector signed in Cairo in September 2003 by Mrs Nicole Fontaine, Minister of Industry and Mr Ahmed Narif, Minister of MCIT and currently Prime Minister.
The convention aims to share the Foundation Sophia Antipolis’ know-how in terms of interface, to facilitate links between Sophipolitan and Egyptian players, and to establish innovative training schemes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KOREA :
Partnership agreement with the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transport.

A partnership agreement is in the process of being signed between the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transport and the Foundation Sophia Antipolis. The agreement aims primarily to reinforce links between the Korean technological parks and Sophia Antipolis, notably through language apprenticeships encouraging the hosting of students, the elaboration of joint events relative to the development of competitiveness clusters, and through establishing distance learning schemes.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INDIA :
Cooperation agreement with the Pune Technology Park.

As the outcome of the Indo-French Seminar on innovation and the transfers of technology, that took place last September on the 18th to the 20th at Sophia Antipolis, the Foundation Sophia Antipolis signed a cooperation agreement with Pune Technology Park (India).
“Seeing as they share the same desire to develop innovation and would like to develop Indo-French cooperations”. Dr Rajendra Jagdale, General Director of the Pune Technology Park and Senator Pierre Laffitte, President of the Foundation Sophia Antipolis decided to promote and further establish bilateral activities in terms of science and industry, and to develop relations between French competitiveness clusters especially the cluster of the Province Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, and the Indian clusters. The agreement also anticipates the exchange of personnel between the two parks, the creation of a summer university, the organisation of a seminar on management and innovation covering the topics of intellectual property, technology transfer, and the financing of young innovative companies.
A board was put into place to follow the progress of the agreement, composed of representatives of the Pune Park, the Foundation Sophia Antipolis, of the embassies of India in France and France in India, as well as representatives of the French Ministry of Industry, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Department of Science and Technology of the Indian Government.