On the 6 June 2006 Microsoft will officially open doors of its new Executive Briefing Center for European Innovation in the presence of European and Belgian Government Officials, Industry Partners and Media.

Located in the centre of Brussels at approximately 10 mins. walking distance from Place Schuman, the venue will provide an ideal setting for Microsoft to engage with European Government Elites, Education Officials, Public Sector/Education customers, and partners.

A showcase of innovative technology solutions, it will enable governments and the education community in Europe to create richer and more effective information technology infrastructures and services to benefit businesses, educators and citizens.

The Executive Briefing Center for European Innovation has three specific areas of competence:

» Center of Excellence for Public Services and eGovernment Solutions

» School Technology & Innovation Center

» Research & Innovation

Contact details:

Microsoft Executive Briefing Center for European Innovation
Avenue des Nerviens 85 - 1040 Brussels

GOVERNMENT:

The Center of Excellence for Public Services and eGovernment Solutions will foster the exchange of best practices in order to help develop new strategies and solutions that will empower governments to develop strong, sustainable information technology infrastructures that deliver ease of use, value through innovative technology and a clear roadmap for future developments.

EDUCATION:

The School Technology & Innovation Center will be a hands-on learning laboratory for educators where innovative teaching best practices can be shared and where information, training and equipment will be provided to enhance the use of information and communications technologies in classrooms and curricula.

RESEARCH & INNOVATION:

The Microsoft Executive Briefing Center for European Innovation will showcase the innovative work being conducted at MSR Cambridge, as well as give a glimpse of what MSR is doing to improve MicrosoftÆs innovation in the next two to ten years.
The centre will also showcase some of the most innovative collaborative applied research being conducted at EMIC.

Microsoft Research Cambridge (MSRC) was Microsoft CorporationÆs first research laboratory to be established outside the United States. The lab was set up in July 1997 with three researchers. Today, more than 80 researchers from across the world are engaged in fundamental computer research at the lab. MSRC was established to be a centre for innovation and computer science research across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and employs and partners with some of the brightest and most creative minds to further science through research. All projects focus on fundamental research to push the boundaries of computing, challenge convention, and ultimately further science. Key partnerships to date include Imperial College London, INRIA in Paris, University of Pisa, University of Trento, Technical University of Berlin, University of Utrecht, and University of Bologna.

http://research.microsoft.com/

Opened in 2003, the European Microsoft Innovation Centre (EMIC) is a focal point for MicrosoftÆs participation in collaborative research and development projects, such as those sponsored by the European Commission (EC) and national governments in Europe. Most of the projects EMIC is engaged with are driven by the EUÆs 6th Framework Programme (FP6). Research costs for FP6 projects are split equally between the EC and the contributing companies, so Microsoft is responsible for funding half of the work. EMIC research loosely applies to these environments: enterprise platforms (mostly security and privacy), eHome and automotive platforms (mostly Web services); and mobile phone and wireless (mostly pervasive networking and mobile application development).

EMIC partnerships include:

• Companies such as Atos Origin, BAE Systems, BT Exact, SAP AG, Siemens Informatica S.P.A, and Telecom Italia.
• Academic partners such as the University of Aachen (RWTH), the University of Stuttgart, and Politecnico di Milano.
• Regional governments including Lombardia, Italy and Region Aquitaine, France.

http://www.microsoft.com/emea/emic/default.mspx

For more information about MicrosoftÆs R&D initiatives, please read the report Investing in Innovation for Growth & Jobs- Building the Knowledge-Based Economy (December 2005).