Turning Europe's research to commerce

Turning Europe's research to commerce

A leading African academic has been invited to speak at a conference seeking to find ways of turning science into commerce in Europe.

Mohamed Hassan, the Sudanese executive director of TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World, will share his thoughts on commercialising research at SciTech Europe, which will be held on 23 November in Brussels, Belgium.

Hassan, a former dean of the school of mathematical sciences at the University of Khartoum in Sudan, is also the president of the Kenya-based African Academy of Sciences.

The November event will bring together ministers of education and research as well as officials from government funding agencies, science foundations, universities, entrepreneurs, and market executives from the 27 member states of the European Union.

Other speakers include Irina Bokova, the Bulgaria-born director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) based in France. Bokova, who last year became the first female and the first Eastern European to head the UN agency, will speak on the topic "Innovation action plan: How can we create an influx of venture capital to turn Europe's world leading research and development into commercial success?"

John Smith, the deputy secretary general of the Belgium-based European University Association (EUA), will share his views about how Europe can harness science for economic growth. Smith is a holder of a PhD in political science from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. The EUA represents and supports more than 850 institutions of higher education in 46 countries.

Interested participants are invited to register online.

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