the beijing plenary conference and matchmaking event

The Project Sidereus Plenary Conference and Matchmaking event were successfully held on November 26-28, 2008 in Beijing, China. A follow-up one-day matchmaking event is planned for June 11, 2009 and will be held in Rome, Italy.

The Beijing Plenary Conference was inaugurated by high level authorities including Lazio Region councillor for Economic Development, Research and Innovation Claudio Mancini, Filas General Manager Stefano Turi, Economic Councillor to the Italian Embassy in China Luca Trifone and CCA President and National MOST Councillor Shi Dinghuan. The European Commission was represented by Mr. Stephan Baertges, Attaché, Development & Cooperation Section - Delegation of the EC to China delegations, who drafted the opportunities for collaboration between Europe and Asia in the context of the Galileo Programme.

"The objective of Project Sidereus," Regional Councillor Mancini explained, "is to develop partnerships and agreements for entrepreneurial cooperation amongst SMEs and large aerospace sector companies, especially those specialised in Galileo-based navigation applications. Sidereus represents a natural development of the initiatives that the Lazio Region has implemented in this sector and which emphasise the importance of Italy and Europe thanks to the results obtained by the Galileo Test Range and the competitive nature of the Lazio Aerospace Technological Cluster. Sidereus provides our Chinese partners with our experience in promoting the development of agreements both on an institutional and industrial level in the strategic aerospace sector. I would like to see a new event of this nature organised in Rome, next spring, to pursue and improve the objectives and results that will be reached here."

Mr Stefano Turi, General Director of Filas, pointed out that Filas is very active in the aerospace sector and in particular is responsible for managing the Aerospace district (DTA) and the Galileo Test Range on behalf of Lazio Region. Mr. Turi also stressed the importance of all the many Rome and Lazio-based SMEs in the value chain of the aerospace industry.

The opening ceremony was followed by a keynote speech from Mr. David Artero, Partner for Greater China, Booz & Co, on GNSS the international market outlook and opportunities for SMEs. In particular, Mr. Artero’s speech addressed three very important issues: GNNS Systems & Technology Overview, GNSS Market Opportunities and Key Levers Facilitating Market Development. Mr. Artero also pointed out the importance of the GALILEO Project that addresses new emerging trends and has been conceived to enable more advanced services than its rival systems.

SIDEREUS brought together about 200 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and larger European and Asian industries, operating in the ICT and aerospace sectors, for a matchmaking event that featured nearly 1400 meetings. It is estimated that no less than 15% of these meetings should lead to entrepreneurial cooperation agreements. This will guarantee new opportunities to improve all aspects of Euro-Asian cooperation by offering not only an increase in the commercial exchange between individual enterprises, but also a constant and more fruitful dialogue.

The Lazio Region is at the forefront of the Aerospace industry with a sector featuring a turnover of €5 billion and 30,000 employees. Moreover, Lazio hosts the DTA, the Aerospace Technology District, the first of its kind in Italy. In particular, the DTA hosts the Galileo Test Range (GTR), the permanent laboratory for the validation of the Galileo GNSS signal.

In line with the most recent indications of the European Commission and international economy institutions, SIDEREUS deals with a traditionally high-tech and innovative sector such as aerospace via a multi-level and territorial institutional approach. Although traditionally most strategic sectors are addressed almost exclusively at a national level, SIDEREUS, in line with various European initiatives (CASTLE, FINANCE Space and INVESaT Networks) shifts its attention to the European regions. Regions are the only actors capable of implementing efficient innovation and development policies, especially with regard to SMEs.

In this context, the European partners operated to identify SMEs at the national level, but which represent regional agencies operating in important aerospace foci (Lazio, Italy; Bavaria, Germany; Hertfordshire, UK; Basque Country, Spain).

The national Italian press covered Sidereus, including the foremost national daily newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera. The complete Italian Press Review package for Sidereus is available here (please note: 13 mb – large download).

programme

SIDEREUS three day Programme
Fragrant Hill Hotel, Beijing November 26-28, 2008

Day 1 Wednesday November 26, 2008
9.00-13.00 Opening Ceremony and Conference
13.00-14.30 Lunch
14.30-18.00 Companies’ bilateral business meetings
19.30 Gala dinner (at the hotel)

Day 2 Thursday November 27, 2008
9.30-13.00 Companies’ bilateral business meetings
13.00-14.30 Lunch
14.30-18.00 Companies’ bilateral business meetings
19.30 dinner (at the hotel)

Day 3 Friday November 28, 2008
Visits to Science Park and Space City, the Chinese Aerospace Industrial Cluster (Draft Agenda)
9.00 Shuttle Bus from the Fragrant Hill hotel
10.00-12.00 Visit to the Space city
12.00 Shuttle Bus to the restaurant
12.40-14.30 Lunch and transfer to Science City
14.30-16.00 visit to the Science city
16.00 Shuttle Bus to the Fragrant Hill hotel

Participants need to register for the visit and the restaurant


OPENING CONFERENCE - 26 November, 2008
Preliminary programme

h 09:00 Opening Ceremony
Stefano Turi, General Director - FILAS (SIDEREUS coordinating partner)
Claudio Mancini, Regional Councillor for Economic Development, Research Innovation and tourism - Lazio Region
Michael Pulch, Deputy Head of Delegation - Delegation of the EC to China
Qiang Xiaozhe, Director of Information and Space sector of MOST ( TBC )
Shi Dinghuan, President - CCA China Consulting Association and counsellor of the State Council (SIDEREUS local partner)
Riccardo Sessa, Ambassador of Italy to China
Chairman: Mr. Yin Jun , CCA

h 10:00 Keynote speech: GNSS International market, opportunities for  SMEs
Edward Tse, Managing Partner for Greater China, Booz & Co

h 10:40 – 11:00 Networking tea/coffee

h 11:00 Panel N°1: GNSS development
Lu Jun, Ph.D of China Satellite Navigation Engineering Center
Franco Emma, Head of ESA Education Office - ESA:D-LEX-E
Professor Arup Ranjan Dasgupta, Honorary Managing Editor,  GIS Development, NOIDA, India
Jing Guifei, Director - Navigation section of NRSS National Remote Sensing Centre of China
Moderator: Meng Bo, China Galileo Satellite Navigation Co. Ltd

h 12:00  Panel N°2: Business on PNT (Positioning, Navigation and Timing / GNSS)
Meng Bo, Director - China Galileo Satellite Navigation Co.
Christian Geltinger, Chief Representative, State of Bavaria - China Office
Giovanni Sylos Labini, President - SMEs for space European Network
Moderator: Franco Emma, ESA:D-LEX-E

H 13:00 Buffet Lunch