Sophia: Alain André at the 10th BIC congress in Porto

Alain André keeps on being the ambassador of the BIC (Business & Innovation Centre) from Sophia Antipolis in the European community. The general manager of CICOM organization, the former manager of the CICA, will thus take part in the congress in Porto (Portugal) on October 4th and 5th. This 10th BIC congress will be opened by the president of the Portuguese Republic and will gather economic officials from all over the unified Europe. Alain André will conduct a roundtable on Friday afternoon on the theme of “What are the market prospects for BIC and similar organizations in Europe ?”.

BIC (European Business and Innovation Centers), as it is defined on the BIC Europe website, “are financially supported by the European commission (DG Entreprises) in the framework of an aid to innovation, specific to each region. Innovation doesn’t mean technical innovation, but more generally every new element which increases the specific knowledge of a company and strengthens its competitiveness.

The organization of a regional infrastructure able to provide innovation financing is a real part of tasks given to Innovation Centers by the European Commission; the latter gives them quality certifications for the use of the “EC BIC” label. In 1995, BICs have grouped in a non-profit-making network, the EBN – European Business and Innovation Centres Network – in order to coordinate their activities.