Future Match is a brokerage event for technology transfer, organised by the IRC network’s thematic group for ICT, and closely linked to Europe’s major IT fairs. It gives an unparalleled opportunity to companies, especially SMEs, to meet a wide range of potential partners.

CeBIT, the world’s largest ICT fair, attracts well over half a million visitors to Hanover every year in March. All aspects of business are covered, but since 1999 the IRC network’s ICT thematic group (TG)(1) has provided a linked event which, in the past two years, has been supported by CeBIT itself – Future Match.

Future Match enables exhibitors and visitors to make contact with potential business and research partners. “The IRCs were invited to host this forum for technology transfer,” says TG member Stefan Johnigk from IRC Northern Germany, “alongside the discussion forum (Future Talk) and another for companies looking for investors (Future Market).” Future Match is particularly useful to SMEs and research organisations since it gives them the opportunity to meet prospective partners. In 2004, there were more than 420 participants, from 23 European countries plus Canada and Australia.

Advance notice
Companies wanting to take part in Future Match submit a profile of their organisation, together with up to ten search profiles for possible partners. These are compiled into an on-line catalogue, and potential contacts identified to match the requests. Johnigk explains: “The management tool for the event is very powerful. It integrates web-based client registration, contact requests, meeting administration and follow-up in one single solution.” The on-line catalogue was constantly updated until the end of the event, so people could check at any time what new contacts had been made.

“We have learnt”, he continues, “that companies like to have advance notice of the contacts identified. At the 2004 event, we arranged 945 contacts in advance through the web tool, and at least 100 more were set up during the event. After preliminary information had been exchanged and before around 650 meetings were planned, participants could reject irrelevant requests. This helped efficiency – we halved the number of noshows for meetings, compared to 2003.”

Stronger together
The input and experience of 44 IRCs, together with Eureka (2), IST-EC( 3) and IDEAL-IST(4) has been vital for the success of the event. Feedback shows positive outcome from over 75% of the meetings, with about 24% discussing further collaboration. “In my region of Germany alone”, says Johnigk, “I know of at least four negotiations which are close to contract. One links a German company with a Finnish partner, both developing complementary e-learning solutions. Another agreement combines the products of a German company with an Italian partner. Here, both are interested in sophisticated interactive software to serve communities of people with shared interests, and together they will create a much more powerful product.”

The ICT TG is planning to continue annual Future Match events at CeBIT. In addition, it organises similar events at a range of other locations. SMAU in Milan has been a successful one already, but TG chairman Angelo Gatto of IRC Lombardy is keen to establish more thematically focused events. One possibility could be on domotics – control of the home environment, including energy efficiency, security and comfort.

(1) See http://irc.cordis.lu/tg/
(2) Eureka is a pan-European network for market-oriented industrial R&D: see http://www.eureka.be/

(3) IST-EC is a project promoting Information and Communication Technologies Co-operation Opportunities between Europe and Canada, see http://www.ist-ec.org/

(4) IDEAL-IST finds partners for organisations wishing to participate in the EU’s Information Society Technologies research programme (IST), see http://www.ideal-ist.net/ and http://www.cordis.lu/ist/

Contact

S. Johnigk, IRC Northern Germany
Tl. +49 431 519 6273

Fx. +49 431 519 6244
johnigk@ttzsh.de

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