• 2008: ITBeurope is now a division of CEconsult
• Jobtutor – persönliche Bildungs- und Karriereplanung in IT-Berufen!
• Prague: CzechInvest to coordinate implementation of  “Investors in People”
• EU: ITEA 2 software-intensive systems and services initiative receives EUREKA approval
• Germany: Romanian and Serbian ICT businesses ready for partnering at Systems
• Austria: International project data base “TeamBuilder” presented at Sopron
• Romania: Infineon Austria opens research centre in Bucharest
• Austria: European Venture Market, Vienna, Nov. 6-9
• Czech Republic: SAP Opens European Shared Services Center in Prague

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(Vienna, May 21, 2008) ITBeurope was originally founded in 2005 as a network of European ICT associations to foster mainly ICT SME’s, research and technology transfer. During the last three years ITBeurope’s activities became more and more commercial so that a shift from a non profit network to a business oriented enterprise became more and more visible. The formal step necessary to put the change in effect was the foundation of CEconsult GmbH by its CEO, Michael Novak, a former partner of ITBeurope whose company pursued similar goals and offered itself as an ideal embedding for ITBeurope’s activities. The company is not the legal successor of the association which has been dissolved meanwhile but overtook ITBeurope’s trademarks and clients.

As was ITBeurope’s, CEconsult’s focus are the ICT markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The company engages in ICT related business development, partner search and matchmaking, EU projects, market research, publications and events. An additional business line are moderations and presentations for ICT related events by ITBeurope’s president, former association chairman Guenther Krumpak.

The adaptations and redesign of ITBeurope’s corporate identity are in progress and will be completed in summer 2008.

For more information please contact

Michael Novak, CEO
Guenther Krumpak, Marketing & Communication
CEconsult GmbH
Floetzersteig 177, A 1140 Vienna, Austria

Graz, Nov. 27, 2006

Für alle, die in IT-Berufe einsteigen oder sich weiterbilden wollen, stellt Jobtutor ein völlig neues Konzept für die persönliche Bildungs- und Karriereplanung bereit.

Das Besondere: Erstmals können User auf Basis von wissenschaftlich ausgewerteten Marktdaten abfragen, welche Kompetenzen die Unternehmen von Job-Bewerbern erwarten. In Jobtutor werden aus über 36.000 erfassten Stellenanzeigen die Anforderungsprofile für einzelne IT-Berufe laufend aktualisiert.

Ist der persönliche Wunschberuf anhand der konkreten Informationen einmal gefunden, können die User im nächsten Schritt Kompetenztests für die einzelnen Berufe durchführen. Jobtutor deckt das gesamte Testspektrum – Neigung, Schlüsselqualifikationen und Fachkompetenzen - ab.

Jeder User erhält dann sein persönliches Kompetenzprofil und konkrete Empfehlungen, welche Aus- oder Weiterbildungen auf dem Weg zum Wunschberuf noch benötigt werden.

Werden Sie Testuser und holen Sie sich Ihr persönliches IT-Kompetenzprofil gratis!

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Prague, Nov. 8, 2005

The first ten companies in the Czech Republic to take part in CzechInvest’s pilot project - Investors in People (IIP), have received certificates at a ceremony, thus opening the door to enable other companies to more easily obtain this internationally recognized designation. CzechInvest, which will coordinate the implementation of the IIP standard in the Czech Republic, now has available another unique tool to support business in the areas of management and human resources development. Companies can receive a subsidy of at least 65% of the costs spent on introducing the standard.

The Investors in People standard is based on tried and tested procedures of management and human resources development. It combines all elements of personnel policy (education, motivation, assessment, internal communication etc.) with other business processes in order to make best use of the potential of the company itself and its employees.

“CzechInvest’s mission is to help increase the Czech Republic’s competitiveness in the global economy,” emphasized Tomas Hruda, CzechInvest’s CEO, and added: “Support of entrepreneurs in developing their employees and management methods is an integral form of fulfilling this mission, because a country’s competitiveness depends directly on the competitiveness of its entrepreneurial base, especially small- and medium-sized companies for which our project is largely intended.”

The pilot phase of the project began in late 2004/early 2005, when ten selected companies underwent a business audit to identify basic areas for improvement. Based on these audits an action plan was drawn up for each company to bring them in line with the standard’s requirements. This was followed by days of consulting and expert seminars. A final audit was held in late August of this year which was based on interviews with employees and not on scrutinizing written regulations. This is the generally applicable scheme for receiving the certificate.

Under the project five national consultants also were trained, who will participate in further implementing the standard in the Czech Republic. Companies interested in receiving the Investors in People certificate, i.e. any company or institution, can contact CzechInvest.

ITEA 2 software-intensive systems and services initiative receives EUREKA approval 

Prague, 20 October 2005. The EUREKA High Level Group today confirmed its approval in Prague for the ambitious ITEA 2 strategic initiative in software-intensive systems (SiS) and services. The ITEA 2 Cluster intends to mobilise a total of 20,000 person-years over its full eight-year duration, double that of the existing ITEA Cluster. This will require a significant increase in investment to more than €3 billion. Such a level follows from experience in ITEA, the need to close the gap in R&D investment identified by the Lisbon objectives, and the ever-growing importance of SiS. The first Call for Projects is set for 2006, to ensure a smooth transition from ITEA.

“ITEA 2 is essential to maintain the momentum built up by the current highly successful ITEA programme in a dramatically changing world,” says ITEA chairman Rudolf Haggenmüller. “The second wave of the digital transition will be deeper and more transformational than ever, with intelligence literally everywhere. Global competition will be ever tougher with increasing shift of both production and research offshore and the very real challenges to Europe posed by China and India.”

Business models are also changing rapidly with a complete transition from the classical two-tier original equipment supplier (OEM)-supplier model to agile dynamic multi-tier global OEM supplier networks. There are also major social challenges caused by poor growth rates in Europe, leading to unemployment. And the effect of 9/11 in the USA has led to massive ICT investments in North America in safety, security, trust and traceability.

Dramatic shift to embedded SiS

The core challenge of ITEA 2 is to face up to the dramatic shift to embedded SiS that is affecting all aspects of everyday life:

•          Rapid response to the exponential growth in electronics will lead to hundreds of thousands of new high-quality jobs in key European industries such as automotive and aeronautics;

•          Growing interconnection of consumer electronic devices to provide myriad services in the home is placing great strains on software development – essential to keep high level work in Europe;

•          The future of healthcare and medical systems is increasingly in the software that can speed diagnosis and treatment – essential for well-being and quality of life; and

•          Manufacturing is changing rapidly, particularly with the emergence of the ‘cyber’ enterprise.

Maintaining European leadership

The existing EUREKA ITEA Cluster has played a key role in maintaining European leadership in embedded software-intensive systems (SiS) and services since its launch in 1999. It was the first major initiative of European industry and public authorities to recognise the emerging importance embedded and distributed systems.

By the end of the current programme, 9,500 person-years of R&D will have been invested with some 85 projects having involved more than 450 partners from large and small companies, research centres and academia in 23 countries. To date, 42 projects have already been completed, leading to the creation of new products and new companies. The result has been a boost to the competitiveness of many European industries – from the automotive, high-speed train and aerospace sectors, through communications and consumer electronics to healthcare and environmental management.

Despite the undoubted success of the current ITEA programme, Europe continues to face tough challenges as R&D intensity falls further behind that of its main global competitors. There is also a growing lag between R&D and commercial innovation, combined with the ‘European paradox’ of excellent research but poor translation into products. According to a study by IDATE/TNO, ICT is also rapidly invading European strongholds such as the automotive and other key industries.

Ready to meet the challenge

While Europe is making great strides in micro- and nano-electronics through programmes such as that of the EUREKA MEDEA+ Cluster, the grand challenge is to devise, create and master software architectures, technologies and systems, solutions and services for myriad applications including safety-, security-, and time-critical functions. ITEA 2 is ready to meet this challenge.

Commitment is high with the founding partners of ITEA 2 – Airbus, Alcatel, Barco, Bosch, Bull, DaimlerChrysler, the European Federation of High Tech SMEs, Italtel, Nokia, Philips, Siemens, Telvent, Thales and Thomson – all leaders in their respective fields and many figuring in the global top 100 companies. Their total turnover is around €380 billion with over 1.5 million employees, of which more than 200,000 are in R&D, mainly carried out in Europe

ITEA projects partner search                                                        

For more press information, please contact:
Anne van der Linden
PR/Communications
ITEA Office
Tel:  +31 (0)40 247 5590 
Fax: +31 (0)40 247 5595
Email: vdlinden@itea-office.org

Germany: Romanian and Serbian ICT businesses ready for partnering at Systems, Munich

Germany’s second biggest IT show Systems is again a meeting place for East and West and an opportunity for highly skilled developers from the new EU member states and beyond to prove their up to date achievements. Five ICT companies from Serbia invite visitors and potential partners to meet them on Monday, Oct. 25, in hall A1, booth 107, whereas Romania celebrates its Romania Day at Systems on Wednesday, Oct. 26, with 24 companies along with a permanent brokerage event that will take place on Oct. 24, 25, 27 and 28 in hall A3, booth 454. Every day will include two sessions of meetings, between 10 a.m.-13p.m. and 14:30 p.m. and 17:30 p.m. Brokerage is made easy with an online matchmaking tool to be found on the homepage of ARIES, the organizing association.

Romania has the largest number of IT&C certified specialists in South-Eastern Europe. The sector grows by around 25% each year, a much higher growth rate than GDP, which was around 5% in the last years. Export growth rate of IT&C products and services (more than 50% per year) is also higher than the total export growth of commodities which last year registered a peak of 21.8%.
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Austria: International project data base “TeamBuilder” presented at Sopron, Hungary

Hungary is a most interesting market for knowledge based services. A symposium in Sopron, Hungary, on Oct. 2 and 3, 2005, organized by Austria’s ICT association ubit and the Foreign Trade Organisation of Austria’s Federal Chamber of Commerce WKO offered plenty of information and matchmaking for Austrian and Hungarian ICT consultants. The Austrians also presented Team Builder, a new international project data base for ICT consultants.
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Romania: Infineon Austria opens research centre in Bucharest

In December 2005 German semiconductor producer Infineon will open a research centre in Bucharest for the automobile and industrial equipment industries. The new center will be located in Pipera, just outside Bucharest, and will occupy 2,200 square meters. Since its establishment in spring 2005, Infineon has managed to attract around 30 engineers.

Most of them have passed training courses in Infineon’s research centres at Villach, Austria, and Munich in order to acquire specific knowledge related to the development of semiconductors.

"We are currently negotiating on subsidies for training and other personnel-related expenses with the government," said Thomas Simonis, Infineon manager for Romania.

On April 1, 2005, Infineon Technologies announced the establishment of its new subsidiary in Romania: Infineon Technologies Romania SRL. Ever since, the construction of the Bucharest Research Centre has moved fast. The new research centre specialises in the development of power semiconductors with analogue and digital functions (Power-Mixed- Signal) for applications in the automotive industry and others. The new centre, the subsidiary of Infineon Technologies Austria AG, strengthens the Alliance of Research Centres in the Automotive and Industrial Electronics, which currently has offices in Villach and Graz (Austria), Munich (Germany) and Padua (Italy).

Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, provides semiconductors and system solutions for the automotive, electronics and multimarket, for communication applications and memory products. Infineon is present worldwide and conducts its operations through its subsidiaries in the USA, in San Jose, California, in the Asia-Pacific region, in Singapore, and Japan, Tokyo. With about 35,600 employees, Infineon recorded € 7.19 billion in turnover in fiscal year 2004 (as of end of September).
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Austria: European Venture Market, Vienna, Nov. 6-9

The European Venture Market is a platform to facilitate the meeting of entrepreneurs and investors. It is a platform for any kind of financing with focus to equity. Giving the wide variety of investors joining the platform the Market is also suitable for any sectors. The European Venture Market is informal, discrete, personal and professional. Meet professionals with a high efficiency. Knowing about your possibilities if needed could be beneficial. Build up your financial network and contacts for the according situation you might run into. Thus the European Venture Market is a good investment for the future of your company. Looking for equity you may present your business to investors directly. This increases the probability of finding an investor and adds professionalism in the negotiation process. Apart for your own presentation you may approach the investors by the following means:

•  You are going to be introduced by us

• You make advantage of the get together sessions to approach investors informally.

• Benefit from talking to investors and professionals even though these investors do not invest in your business: Use them to approach further investors with their recommendation

These four remedies lead you to a solution. According to our experience there is an investor for every entrepreneur from any business sector! _______________________________________________

Czech Republic: SAP Opens European Shared Services Center in Prague

SAP AG officially opened its newest shared services center, the SAP Business Services Center Europe (BSCE) in Prague, Czech Republic, in September 2005. Located in the city’s Avenir Business Park, SAP BSCE provides human resources (HR) and finance and administration (F&A) services to SAP branch offices in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Managing Director Eva Megová leads the center’s current workforce of approximately 132 employees, who support 70 countries in 15 different languages.

SAP Executive Board Member Claus Heinrich and Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Martin Jahn led the official ribbon-cutting ceremony. Following the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Heinrich and Deputy Prime Minister Jahn toured the new facility, joined by Karolína Bočková, chief operating officer of CzechInvest, the Czech Republic’s investment and business development agency.

“We are pleased that SAP chose the Czech Republic,” said Deputy Premier for Economics Martin Jahn. “The benefit of projects of this kind cannot be narrowed down only to just the investment size and number of jobs. Business support services bring with them state-of-the-art know-how and place the Czech Republic among the most advanced countries that are able to export intellectual work.”

SAP analyzed and evaluated 18 European cities to determine the best location for the new BSCE. The company ultimately chose Prague because of the city’s highly skilled and flexible workforce, advanced telecommunications and IT infrastructure, cultural compatibility and stable economic and political conditions. In addition, the city is ideally located within Central and Eastern Europe.

“In recent years the Czech Republic has become a more and more attractive location for investments with higher added value—for research, development and services,” said Karolína Bočková, chief operating officer of CzechInvest. “Our goal is to gain the maximum number of similar projects. Besides other benefits we also have a well-prepared state aid scheme—companies here can receive subsidies for their business activity and subsidies for employee training and retraining.”

www.sap.com, www.sap.cz

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