'Europe wants to lead the way in ICT'

Professor Peter Apers of the University of Twente's CTIT research institute and the 3TU's NIRICT centre is a happy man. In his role as representative of an international consortium of universities and major companies, he rounded off 2009 in style by winning a hard-fought contest for a major subsidy aimed at making Europe's ICT sector far more competitive. "It was nail-biting stuff," he reveals. "In Budapest we had to present our proposal to a kind of jury. They were there to assess the ideas from all of the competitors. The result was announced that very same evening: our group emerged as the winner. It was like the final of Pop Idol."

Professor Apers' group is a consortium involving five countries, including the Netherlands. The Dutch contingent is made up of Philips, 3TU and Novay, the former Telematica institute, CWI and TNO-ICT, and companies from PointOne. The participants from other countries include such reputable names as KTH Stockholm, VTT Finland, Germany's Fraunhofer and France's INRIA, as well as companies such as Siemens, Deutsche Telekom, Nokia, Ericsson, SAP, Alcatel-Lucent and Thomson.

The consortium, which goes by the less-than-imaginative name of EIT ICT Labs, took part in a competition organized by the European Institute for Innovation and Technology (EIT). The challenge was this: who could come up with the best strategy to make Europe the world leader in ICT development? The prize was an annual subsidy of 22 million euros for a period of at least seven years. Similar competitions were launched in the fields of energy and climate. These were also won by consortiums with Dutch participants.

The proposal by ICT Labs provides for accelerated development and marketing of innovative ICT products and services, first and foremost for the wellbeing and health of our ageing population. But the pleasure principle also has a part to play. "Fun is another aspect of quality of life. Why should all our computer games come from the US?" wonders Iddo Bante, CTIT's director and co-initiator of the winning proposal. That, in a nutshell, is the focus of the entire proposal: as agreed in Lisbon years ago, Europe has to become the most competitive knowledge economy in the world. It's time that the US was forced to relinquish its status as world leader, and not to Asia. European pre-eminence would enable the European economy to pick up the pace of growth and create a considerable number of jobs.

"Many people think that all the major innovations in information and communication technology are more or less behind us now. But in fact, nothing could be further from the truth," insists Professor Apers. "ICT is at the heart of both globalization and individualization. Many more devices will be hitting the market, with an explosive effect on the internet, since much of this new equipment will be hooked up to the worldwide web. At the same time, ICT will have to become more eco-friendly, use less energy and tap into sources other than fossil fuels. In this sense, you can even see the future of ICT as a link between necessary developments in the fields of energy and climate."

The winning consortium, which will itself have to invest three times the amount won in subsidy, aims to innovate by significantly shortening the period between idea and market availability. This will also have an impact on academic programmes. From now on, they will be required to deliver graduates with a keen eye for business. People who dare to take risks. We have to train professionals who have both technological and entrepreneurial skills. Multidisciplinary networks will also be formed, linking researchers, engineers, economists, social scientists and industrial design engineers.

Although multinationals are involved in the corporate side of the initiative, they will not be permitted to cream off the innovations for themselves. "On the contrary," declares Iddo Bante. "The idea is that we form an open innovation network with a definite role for small and medium enterprises. EIT will also help smaller companies find their way to the international market or niche more easily."

Since many products and services have yet to be developed, concrete statements on practical matters are not particularly forthcoming at this stage. The focus is on products and services for wellbeing and health, especially in terms of prevention. But it also takes in the formation of virtual buddy groups who keep an eye on one another, so that costly professional help need not be the first port of call. Another option is a greater emphasis on home-based analysis for people with a chronic condition such as diabetes. And as for fun, what about interactive games or a hotel room that changes style to suit the occupant's mood or shop-window displays that operate like a touch screen? All these innovations could soon be putting Europe at the international forefront in ICT.

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