tii 2014 annual conference

TII 2014 ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SMART, SUSTAINABLE
INNOVATION:
THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
12-14 May 2014
Utrecht, The Netherlands
In collaboration with
Are delighted to announce the
PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME AND
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Following on from 2013 Beijing, TII’s 2014 conference will take place in the heart of Europe in
the research-rich Dutch city of Utrecht. Through its partnership with HU University of Applied
Sciences Utrecht, we will be offering both researcher and practitioner-driven tracks on topics
related to the conference title of “Smart, sustainable innovation”. By looking at the theme
from a “global perspective”, we will also maintain our international outreach by involving
colleagues from other continents.
The TII annual conference brings together future-minded practitioners, researchers and thought
leaders from the R&I community, technology transfer and innovation management. The
conference format includes presentations selected from a public call, inspiring keynote
addresses and dynamic interactive sessions. It is also an excellent opportunity to get connected
with people coming from different professional backgrounds, from both the private and public
sectors, who share the same passion for innovation and technology transfer. In addition to the
excellent networking opportunities and a taste of local culture, we will also be offering some
fascinating insights into what the host city is doing to promote sustainable innovation projects.
More information at www.tii.org
CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
This year we are offering 8 parallel tracks, 4 of which will be held on the afternoon of 13 May
and the other 4 on the morning of 14 May. If you are interested in being part of the speaking
programme, we invite you to send a short outline (maximum 1 page) presenting your topic
and indicating the track to which it relates. We welcome papers with a practice-based as well
as an academic orientation. Abstracts of all papers will be published in the conference booklet.
Selected papers will be published in a special issue of a journal publication.
The 8 tracks are:
1) Smart Sustainable Cities: The Physical Transition
This track will focus on best practices and experiences which make living, working and
mobility in the city economically and ecologically fit for present and future generations.
Topics range from how to manage the transition to a sustainable city making use of all
its resources (human capital, infrastructure, building materials and energy) in a smart
way to the city seen as a system of human interaction networks and their connection
with the natural and built environment.
2) Innovation across Continents (including the TII China Chapter)
TII’s declared mission is to be the “Global Gateway to Innovation”. Its experience in
organizing its 2013 conference in Beijing proved that there is a genuine interest among
innovation support professionals working in different areas of the world to share good
practice and investigate collaboration opportunities. This track will focus on issues such
as international technology transfer, internationalization, soft landing, managing IPR in
a global context and will include a presentation on the newly launched activities of the
TII China Chapter.
3) Social Innovation and New Forms of Entrepreneurship
Social innovations are new ideas (products, services and models) that simultaneously
meet social needs more effectively than alternatives and create new social relationships
or collaborations. In other words, they are innovations which are both good for society
and enhance society’s capacity to act. Systemic change is the ultimate goal of social
innovation which inevitably implies sustainability. New forms of entrepreneurship
which target e.g. disfavoured groups of the population are an important form of social
innovation which offer a sustainable alternative to unemployment and dependency on
government benefits. This session will look at good practice and successful case studies
of social innovation in action.
4) Circular Economy
It is clear that the linear approach to our economy has its limitations and that apart
from the energy crisis, the resources problem is an even greater concern. This session
intends to investigate the transition to a sustainable (global) circular economy with
tangible examples of successful business models. We will look at ways to overcome
internal barriers in existing organizations so that they can implement solutions to
unsustainable (linear) production methods. Moreover, we will investigate new business
opportunities and external barriers.
5) Smart Sustainable Cities: Policy and Regulatory Transition
Many cities have the ambition to become climate neutral in the coming decades.
Enormous effort will be required from (local) governments, the private sector and
society to reduce energy use and CO2 emission within cities and beyond. This track
seeks contributions that 1) will explore new modes of governance, policy and
management to promote climate neutral cities; 2) assess the impact of existing polices
and measures for energy efficiency improvement and CO2 emission reduction in the
built environment and 3) evaluate the successes and failures of public, private or
bottom-up initiatives to makes cities less energy and carbon intensive. Topics include:
promoting energy efficient buildings, green procurement strategies, policies and
measures to promote renewable energy, sustainability reporting, certification and
indicators for smart sustainable cities; local or regional energy efficiency initiatives;
reducing CO2 emissions from transport.
6) Science2Business for Smart Growth
The motto of the new Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union is
to put more emphasis on developing market applications from the results of research
projects. A pre-requisite is therefore to tackle commercialization issues from an early
stage and to update the exploitation plan as the project advances. This session will
focus on methods and approaches to research exploitation issues as well as models and
tools for bringing good scientific discoveries to market.
7) Human Technology
Technocracy dominates the current thinking about sustainable innovation, both in
innovative products, processes and governance. This track intends to shed light on the
human side of sustainable innovations, which means that people are seen as part of, or
even drive innovations which create a sustainable living environment. How can we
integrate human smartness and technology to achieve a flourishing city environment?
What is the relationship between physical sustainability (energy, materials, etc.) and
social sustainability (e.g. caring for each other)? To what extent can and will we allow
technology to dictate our lives? Alternative views on the interplay between people and
technology related to their living environment are welcome.
8) Open Innovation Accelerators
Open innovation is on everyone’s lips, but how do you manage such a complex
process inside and outside the firm? What are the skills and tools that can be adopted to
make open innovation happen in reality? What are some of the pitfalls and challenges
and how have they been overcome by those who are facilitating or even better
accelerating open innovation? This session will look at tools, good practice and case
studies of open innovation at work.
Important submission deadlines for all contributors:
15 February 2014: Outlines only (maximum 1 A4 page) to [email protected]
1 March 2014: Notification of acceptance
25 April 2014: Deadlines for contributions (20 minute presentations)
PROGRAMME OUTLINE
Monday 12 May 2014 (Pre-programme hosted by Utrecht Science Park and the
International Association of Science Parks
09.30 – 17.30
Track on Sustainable Science Parks, followed by the Utrecht Science
Park Sustainable Experience Tour and a City Tour
15.30 – 20.00
TII association business meetings (TII Board at 15.30 and Annual
General Meeting at 18.00) followed by a welcome drinks reception
Tuesday 13 May 2014 (TII HU UAS Utrecht Conference)
09.30 – 12.15
Opening plenary session and keynote presentations from an
international panel of speakers
12.15 – 13.15
Lunch
13.15 – 17.00
Track 1: Smart Sustainable Cities: The Physical Transition
Track 2: Innovation across Continents (including the TII China
Chapter)
Track 3: Social Innovation and New Forms of Entrepreneurship
Track 4: The Circular Economy
19.00
Conference dinner
Wednesday 14 May 2014
09.30 – 12.30
Track 5: Smart Sustainable Cities: Policy and Regulatory Transition
Track 6: Science2Business for Smart Growth
Track 7: Human Technology
Track 8: Open Innovation Accelerators
12.30 – 13.30
Lunch
13.30 – 15.00
Interactive session with an innovation thought leader, followed by
closing remarks
15.00
Conference close (possibility to organise project/individual meetings)
Cost: speakers pay a conference rate of €250
TII members pay €350 and non-members €550 (includes an individual membership in 2014)!

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