[A2k] Official appointment of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology

[Anne-Catherine Lorrain]

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http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=3DIP/08/1220&type=
=3DHTML&aged=3D0&language=3DEN&guiLanguage=3Den
** *Official appointment of the EIT Governing Board: the European Institute
of Innovation and Technology set for an Autumn launch in Budapest* *The
EIT's first Governing Board was officially appointed today following a
European Commission Decision. The Board will hold its inaugural meeting in
Budapest on 15 September 2008 with a view to establish the basis that will
lead to the launch of the first two to three Knowledge and Innovation
Communities (KICs) by the end of 2009.*

Welcoming the appointment, European Commission President Jos=E9 Manuel Barr=
oso
stated: "I am delighted with the nomination of the EIT's first Governing
Board. I am convinced that the excellence of the Board's members will make
it a success. The EIT is soon to become a reality. Europe needs more than
ever a strong commitment to innovation and technology."

The EIT's initial Governing Board comprises 18 professionals, providing a
collective balance of expertise and experience from the worlds of business,
research and higher education in Europe. All have widespread reputations in
their various fields and the majority have dual academic-industrial
backgrounds (short biographies are included in the appendix).

The Governing Board members were chosen by an ad-hoc independent
Identification Committee following a two-stage public
consultation*[1]<http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=3D=
IP/08/1220&type=3DHTML&aged=3D0&language=3DEN&guiLanguage=3Den#fn1>
*. The European Parliament and Council took cognisance of the outcome of th=
e
selection process.

Following the entry into force of the EIT Regulation in April 2008, and the
choice of Budapest as the EIT headquarters in June, the first EIT Governing
Board meeting on 15 September will mark the official launch of the EIT's
activities.

The Board will be responsible for overall strategy-setting and for the
selection, coordination and evaluation of the Knowledge and Innovation
Communities (KICs), the EIT's operational centres. KICs will be highly
integrated partnerships pooling a critical mass of the very best European
resources in business, higher education and research and other innovation
stakeholders. Their mission will be to generate and promote innovation in
key areas of economic and societal interest. The first two to three KICs ar=
e
to be selected and launched by the end of 2009.

Once the first KICs have been established, the Governing Board will include
four additional members elected from among the administrative staff,
students and doctoral candidates of the EIT and KICs.
EIT Website : http://eit.europa.eu



Anne-Catherine Lorrain

Intellectual Property Policy Expert

TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)
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1040 Bruxelles

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