Globalisation of research and innovation and global competition are putting a new emphasis on the role of regional clusters and further their development. Clusters increasingly see the need to link with other clusters on the international level building on complementarities in order to improve their global reach.
In Europe, regional clusters seen as key drivers for competitiveness, innovation and regional development are being promoted through both national-level measures and EU-level support instruments, notably the 7th EU Research Framework Programme, the Cohesion Policy Funds and the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme.
In Japan, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sport, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) have been promoting the “Knowledge Cluster Initiative”, “City Area Program” and “Industrial Cluster Project for the reinforcement of the international competitiveness and development of regions.
EU-Japan Regional Cluster Forum, 2-3 December 2008
EU-Japan Regional Cluster Forum took place on 2-3 December 2008, at Pacifico Yokohama Exhibition Centre, Yokohama, Japan.
The objective of the EU-Japan Regional Cluster Forum was to stimulate and facilitate global outreach of European and Japanese clusters through:
– Increasing mutual awareness on cluster policies, development methods and management practices, and
– Fostering cooperation between research and innovation regional clusters in Europe and in Japan.
Please click the following links to see materials related to the event.
Website: Cluster Japan 2008
Audio-visual materials: http://www.cluster.gr.jp/visual/japan-eu_forum/
Presentation materials:
Opening speech: Hugh Richardson, Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan
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Opening speech: Louis-Michel Morris, Minister Counsellor for Economic affairs, Embassy of France in Tokyo, Presidency of the European Union
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Policies towards world-class clusters in the European Union: Reinhard Büscher, Head of Unit, European Commission, Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry
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Clusters in the EU Research and Regional Programmes: Leonidas Karapiperis, Advisor, European Commission, Directorate-General Research
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Role of clusters in regional development and innovation in the EU countries:
Christian Saublens, Executive Manager, European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA)
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Knowledge Cluster policies for regional development: Takashi Yanagi, Director, Regional R&D Promotion Division, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
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Japanese experience of fostering regional innovative activities through the Industrial Cluster” Project: Yuji Hosoya, Senior Analyst, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)
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Forging International Tie-ups between industrial clusters - Regional Industry Tie-up (RIT) Program -: Takao Shimizu, Director-General, Industry and Technology Department, JETRO
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What it takes to be a globally competitive cluster: Werner Pamminger, General Manager, Clusterland Upper Austria
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International IT Cluster Exchange Program in Osaka - Aim of the new Digital Age -: Keisuke Matsumoto, Manager, Osaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry
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Seeing the whole picture: How cluster mapping can facilitate internationalisation: Nikos Pantalos, Policy Officer, European Commission, Directorate-General Enterprise and Industry
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Example of EU-Japan cluster cooperation: Cooperation between the Biomedical Cluster Kansai and Medicon Valley: Takashi Asada, Life Sciences Ambassador from Kobe-Kansai Region Japan
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Thomas Jonsson, Life Sciences Ambassador from Medicon Valley
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Conclusion and follow up: Julien Guerrier, General Manager, EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
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Announcement (2008/10/27): EU-Japan Regional Cluster Forum, 2&3 December 2008, Yokohama
Press release (2008/11/27): EU-Japan Regional Cluster Forum
Helpdesk for clusters:
To follow up the Forum inaugural event, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation is developing a helpdesk service for the benefit of European and Japanese clusters, to help them identify potential cooperation partners in the reciprocal regions. More information is available from the Centre web
site: http://www.eu-japan.eu/global/cluster-cooperation.html
Other useful information on clusters
Sources of information on EU regional clusters
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Regional Aspects of FP7:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/index_en.cfm
This new website is built around a powerful, map-based project search for Research Potential and Regions of Knowledge projects funded under FP7, including options for drilling down to the regional level within a country, displaying all the partners in a country or region, and displaying the details of any individual project.
Information on Japanese clusters
METI "Industrial Clusters"
MEXT "Knowledge Clusters"
MEXT "City Area Programme"