The European Digital Think Tank has just launched its own website!

Alongside close involvement of its members with EC Creative Industry organizations and funded projects, the European Digital Think Tank emphasizes its role as a long-term, independent industry platform, which can integrate the results of individual European collaborative projects to produce sustainable and structural transnational value.

The European Digital Think Tank comprises a “core group” of leading European Digital Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) clusters:
– Cap Digital Paris,
– Barcelona Media – Centre d’Innovació,
– the Berlin “Project Future”,
– Culminatum Innovation Ltd – Digibusiness Finland,
– FILAS Rome,
– IIP Create of the Netherlands,
– the South East Media Network UK
– associated members (non-cluster organisations): research institutes, facilitators, and funding specialists.

The group’s strategic principle is to support the growth of innovative CCI SMEs and to maintain collaborative freedom, creativity, flexibility and continuity in responding to the needs of its members on a national and European level.

Now you can keep track of all the European Digital Think Tank’s activities at
http://www.eudigitalthinktank.eu/home/

Under the deep blue sea, off the French Riviera, hides the Cosquet cave. Cap Digital member AGP brings its gems to the surface on landmark TV documentary Thalassa.

Taking shoots, pictures, and 3D measurements of the Cosquet cave was a minute, demanding job that involved many experts from radically different fields. It turned out to be a formidable cooperation between divers, topographers, 3D laser scan technicians, 3D renderers and many other staff.

The Cosquet cave is unique. Located 37 meters under sea level, it is only accessible through a 175m-long submerged tunnel. The cave hosts over twenty palaeolithic murals that date back 19000 to 27000 years. Most of the world’s other known works of art from that period seldom depict animals, but here you have penguins and sea lions.

AGP’s work led to the documentary “Cosquet, sauvée des eaux”, broadcast the 25th of February 2011 on the long-standing, much acclaimed show Thalassa, national French TV France 3’s outfit dedicated to the sea.

More information on the Thalassa broadcast here.

AGP (Art Graphique et Patrimoine) website: http://www.artgp.fr/
AGP contact : d.happe@artgp.fr

The City of Paris has recently announced that Google will be opening another centre in Paris by the end of the year, to be set in a 10 000 m² building of the 9th district.

This location will become Google’s main French headquarters, centralising all business for that country. It will host commercial activities, a demo centre, and a European cultural institute for fostering partnerships. Substantial job creation is expected.

Google’s decision to expand in Paris is a reminder of the French capital’s dynamism and attractiveness. In a study dated October 2010 called “Innovation as a factor of attractiveness”, Deloitte crowned the city “capital of innovation”.

The good news is also proof that communal policies are bearing fruit. Between 2008 and 2014 the City of Paris has decided to allocate € 1B to innovation, research and higher education. Since, 70 foreign companies accounting for 700 jobs have established themselves in Paris, with support from the city’s agency for international attractivity ‘Paris Développement’.

Access the official press release in French.

Google and the French state body for scientific research CNRS have just signed a partnership to explore together the field of Optimisation, which could lead to developments in transport, networks, production processes, resource management, etc.

Researchers forming five distinct teams will receive € 325000 from Google whereas the CNRS will be dedicating an in-house engineer to the project and funds for two doctoral students.

The five teams are:
– Paris 6 university (CNRS/UPMC) informatics lab,
– Nantes Atlantique (CNRS/Université de Nantes/Ecole des mines de Nantes) informatics lab,
– Marseille university (CNRS/Université Aix Marseille 1 et 2) fundamental informatics lab,
– Toulouse CNRS systems analysis and architecture labs,
– Grenoble informatics lab (CNRS/Université de Grenoble 1, 2 et 3/IPG).

French research excels in Optimisation. Chosen teams have worldwide recognition for their expertise in this field. The partnership is bound to yield advances in fundamental and applied research. Outcomes may contribute to developing a new generation of fiber network, optimising wifi data exchange, and optimising and managing resources in a multi-user environment.

Discover more here.

The French organisation Pacte PME is publishing a call for proposals that targets SMEs in the field of particle and fiber manipulation on behalf of a leading multinational in the consumer products sector.

Deadline to submit proposals : February 28th, 2011

This is not a call for tenders. The goal of this call for proposals is to introduce interested SMEs to the author of the call. All proposals will receive a response 4 to 6 weeks after the submission deadline.

For information on how to submit a proposal, please write to 28022011@pactepme.org with mention of how you were informed of this call.

Transformative manipulation of particles and fibers will deliver new benefits and broaden material choices for performance, sustainability and cost innovation.

The author of this call, a large multi-national leader in the consumer products sector, is interested in receiving proposals from SMEs on the innovative manipulation of fiber and particle shapes, sizes and chemistries :

• Controlled, Triggerable Capture & Release
  Enable selective protection and delivery of beneficial ingredients and/or capture of unwanted substances using fiber and particle science.
• Advanced Fiber/Particle Structures & Properties
  Manipulate the sizes, shapes and chemistries of fiber and particle structures in new ways to achieve unprecedented levels of strength, feel, optical effects, absorbency and physical soil removal.

Proposed technologies should provide :

1. Effective and rapid separation of liquids and gases. This would revolutionize battery life with less waste, simplify & speed up water purification and triple urine/menses absorption in diapers & female care.
2. Store and trigger activation of ingredients under similar chemical conditions. This would enable more efficient and effective delivery of perfumes, bleaches, dyes, and actives such as coloring the hair but not skin and depositing fabric care actives only on damaged areas.
3. Maximum cleaning and minimum bulk via immobilized cleaning agents (shampoo, skin cleansers, …) delivered as fibers/webs.
4. Renewable and processable feed-stocks that deliver high performance. This would accelerate broader application of sustainable polymers.

Applications are for Fabric Care, Home Care, Beauty & Grooming, Oral Care, Fem Care, Baby Care, Family Care, Personal Power, Personal Health Care and Pets & Snacks.

This call closes on the 28th of February.

More information here.

Futur en Seine 2011, the festival for digital life and creativity, shall take place from the 17th to the 26th of June in Paris and the Paris Region.

This edition intends to be a meta-festival open to contributions from the worldwide digital community.

In order to achieve this, Cap Digital is launching 4 calls for participation addressed to companies, research labs, schools, public services of the Paris Region, and more generally to creatives, artists, institutions, and non-profits.Whereas the three first calls concern French applicants, the “International Village” call is specifically addressed to international participants.

This call offers participants the opportunity to get together and present their projects on common exhibition spaces in the Innovation Village, the Futur en Seine 2011 venue dedicated to radically innovative projects and to full scale experimentation.

Closing date of the four calls: 15th February 2011, 12:00 GMT+1

Download the International Village call paper (English).

Download the International Village call application form (English).

Download the call paper presenting all 4 calls (French).

The closing day of the BETT is an opportunity to discover the other 700 exhibitors on show, in order to assess the latest market trends, products and developments in e-ICT. Here is a selection of big names and other surprising stands.

Pierre Laborde & Ernesto Soria, Cabrilog (company part of the French group Gedem)                 Little Bridge

RM Education                                                                                    Casio

Microsoft                                                                                           SIMS

Toshiba                                                                                              Filmclub

Samsung                                                                                               Frog

Iris                                                                                                       Academia

The Norwegian Centre for ICT in Education                                    Guroo

2simple                                                                                                 Twig

bksb                                                                                                        Lego Education

At the BETT this year, the France Cap Digital Paris Region booth B90 had a lot on show: 11 French companies presented products ranging from interactive whiteboards to light measurement devices for chemistry courses, not to mention a vast array of software for teachers and pupils.

Learn more about:
– Dassault Systèmes
– Editis
– Edu4
– Gedem
– Helion
– Itop
– Navidis
– Optinnova
– Ovio Instruments
– Quizzbox Nextmedia
– Vision Objects

Dassault Systèmes

Dassault allows children and teachers to operate a factory, fly an airplane, design a bicycle and work with other students from abroad by bringing to the classroom industry-related software such as SolidWorks, CATIA, SIMULIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA and 3DVIA.

Contact: Charles Bonnassieux, Education, Communication & Marketing Manager, charles.bonnassieux@3ds.com

Editis

Editis are the leading French Publishers for Education and Reference. They incorporate Bordas, CLE International, Le Robert, Nathan and Retz, to offer a large choice of resources designed to be both entertaining and educational: digital textbooks, whiteboard applications, language learning methods and mobile phone applications.

Contact: Anne-Marie Ferrut, Commercial Manager, amferrut@sejer.fr

Edu4

Edu4 designs innovative hardware and software solutions dedicated to education from primary schools to universities. On BETT 2011, Edu4 showcased the Easylab solution, a language learning tool whereby the teacher creates a workshop based on downloadable content and podcasts that is accessible by students wherever they are.

Contact: Harold Castro, International Director, harold.castro@edu4.com

Gedem

The “Groupement des Editeurs et Diffuseurs d’Educatif Multimédia” (Gedem) is a gathering of ten companies that develop applications in all teaching subjects, for students from kindergarten to university. These companies are Cabrilog, Carré Multimedia, Chrysis, eduMedia, Génération5, ITOP Education, Jeulin, Editions Jocatop, Strass Productions, Tellmemore.

Contact: Michèle Barrière, President, mbarriere@itop.fr

Helion

A subsidiary of Areva, Helion develops CO2-free power solutions, hydrogen derived from water electrosis, fuel cell systems and cutting-edge energy storage. Applying its technology to the classroom, Helion has developed a fuel cell didactic system integrating a PEM (proton exchange membran) fuell cell stack that can be managed by teachers and students to conduct classes and experiments.

Contact: Marie Viala, Engineer, Commerce & Projects Department, marie.viala@helion-fuelcells.com

ITOP Education

With more than 2 million active users, ITOP Education is the French leader on the Learning Gateway market. ITOP’s collaborative platform is called Epischool. Thanks to its gold partnership with Microsoft, ITOP has also developed Office School Manager and Office Teacher. ITOP’s solutions in languages and history have been approved by the French Ministry of Education.

Contact: Antoine Germaine, International Sales Manager, agermaine@itop.fr

Navidis

Navidis develops multimeda cartography software for administrations, companies and education: geo-localisation, complex data mapping, real-time 2D and 3D interfaces. The software platform developed by Navidis aggregates a variety of data to offer an enriched representation of a territory, participative practices and enhanced support (Web 3D, 3G mobile, multi-touch screens, city walls, whiteboards…)

Contact: Philippe Perennez, R&D Manager, philippe.perennez@navidis.com

Optinnova

The interactive whiteboard developed by Optinnova is called OptiBoard. Its patented electro-optical technology gives its an edge on competitiors, making it robust, easy to use, multifunctional and well-priced.

Contact: Thierry Bresler, Sales Manager, thierry.bresler@optinnova.com

Ovio Instruments

Ovio manufactures optical benches, goniometers, interferometers, spectral sources, light sources and components for colleges and universities. The company’s product range is both more user-friendly and less expensive than conventional laboratory products.

Contact: Philippe Rainsant, CEO, pr@ovio-instruments.com

QuizzBox

QuizzBox provides audience response systems for schools and universities. The Quizzbox solution combines high quality software and remote controls to make classroom assignments efficient and easy. Collected results are automatically transfered to Excel type spreadsheets and readily available.

Contact: Béatrice Tichet, Sales Manager, beatrice.t@nextmedia.fr

VisionObjects

VisionObjects develops accurate, high-performance handwriting recognition software for platforms that depend on data entry via pen-based user inferfaces. Myscript technology can be used in the classroom, on a whiteboard, or at home on a tablet or pc, and is available in a wide range of languages.

Contact: Anne-Sophie Bellaud, Marketing Manager, anne-sophie.bellaud@visionobjects.com

This second day at the BETT stuck to the pace set yesterday in terms of audience and visits while also bringing its share of excitement.

Laurent Perricone (La Tribune), Carlos Cunha (Cap Digital)

This morning, Jean-Michel Fourgous, a French MP who drafted a report on the progression of digital applications in education, came to visit booth B90. We also had the pleasure of welcoming Phil Collie again, who came back to advise the companies that were unavailable yesterday on their opportunities in the UK. Providing useful insight and guidance, his work over these two days has been thoroughly appreciated.

Phil Collie (Schoolzone), Antoine Germaine (ITOP education)  /  Phil Collie avec l’équipe de Quizzbox

The morning’s climax came with the much awaited visit of Laurent Perricone, a journalist who covers ICT for La Tribune, one of the major business-oriented newspapers in France. His trip was organised by Cap Digital, and he travelled to the BETT in company of Carlos Cunha, the business cluster’s Deputy Executive Officer in charge of company development. Laurent Perricone interviewed each exhibitor individually, getting to know their product range in order to write a piece on the eleven Frenchies at BETT 2011.

Laurent Perricone, Carlos Cunha, Charles Bonnassieux, Olivier Amoun (Dassault)  /

The French booth B90 has not only attracted a variety of visiting professionals from the UK and abroad, but also a surprising number of French people: government officials, journalists and academics, who value the BETT as a prime opportunity to acknowledge, on a single exhibition ground, the finest and latest that the French e-ICT industries have to offer.

Carlos Cunha taking the floor on booth B90

The above French visitors, some of whom were also there yesterday (such staff from the Ministry of Education and Alain Madelin) stayed for the day’s pinnacle, the French cocktail at 5PM on booth B90. The event also attracted quite a crowd from surrounding stands, as fellow exhibitors saw the festive happening as the perfect occasion to step over and exchange with their French neighbours.

Gilles Braun (Ministère de l’éducation nationale)  /  Carlos Cunha, Antoine Germaine, Alain Chaptal (Cap Digital)

This second day at the BETT was fruitful and dynamic. And it’s far from being over, as cocktail guests take the socialising to another level over fish & chips and English ale at the Albion pub for the Soirée France, sharing a slice of the typical London life tous ensemble!

The BETT 2011 education and technology show kicked off this morning loud and strong. Not a single spot of the London Olympia centre has been left vacant. Exhibitors from all over the world have brought with them an unfathomable variety of innovative, visionary technology that covers all fields of e-ICT.

Amidst such a surprising display of creativity, the France Cap Digital Paris Region stand B90 does stand out! On this first day attendance has been huge, and the eleven French companies have all had their hands full with welcoming visitors.

First visitors on booth B90  /  Béatrice Tichet and Pierre-Antoine Gaczinski (Quizzbox) both busy

One of the day’s highlights was the visit of Phil Collie, Director of Schoolzone, who drafted a study on the prospects of e-ICT in the UK for Cap Digital, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and PM Conseil. Phil Collie gave some of his time to meet exhibitors individually and offer his expertise on developments in their specific fields.

Olivier Cros (VisionObjects), Phil Collie  /  Alain Boissier (Optinnova), Frédérique Woillet (Montpellier education board)

Early in the evening, Cap Digital was pleased to welcome a French delegation of State education officials, of whom Gilles Braun, Nathalie Terrades, Marie-Christèle Milot, Jean-Yves Capul and Marie Deroide from the French Ministry of Education, Marc Levy from the university of Strasbourg, and many other names from regional education boards: Frédérique Woillet (Montpellier), Alain Pomirol (Bordeaux), Anne-Marie Gros (Toulouse), Brigitte Jauffret (Marseille – Aix).

Kevin Zaoui (Helion) with ministry officials    /   Charles Sol (eduMedia) with ministry officials

A little later, French politician Alain Madelin, who works on the project “l’Education numérique pour tous”, made an appearance on stand B90 to assess the latest digital developments made in France.

Marc Levy (University of Strasbourg), Bertrand Gouraud (VisionObjects)   /   Phillipe Rainsant (Ovio)

This first day at the BETT was intense and the whole week promises to stand up to -if not surpass- the long-established reputation of this landmark, international show.

Keep connected to the website throughout the week to get more live news from stand B90, starting with an introduction to the eleven e-ICT Frenchies on the premises!