Technopark "Idea" took part at the EBN Annual Congress.

This year EBN has celebrated its 25 years, and EBN 2010 Annual Congress is the 19th event.

The global recession affecting European economies requires macroeconomic reforms together with policies which create conducive environments for wealth & job creation, without jeopardizing the European social model, while developing sustainable territories, and adapting Europe to a multi-polar world. What a program: it is about searching new economic & social models, a core objective of the EU Spanish Presidency priorities for 2010.

Actually, these challenging economic times present extraordinary opportunities for enhancing the competiveness of organizations through innovation. In short, it is urgent deploying new innovation models by all means, by all, for all.

Only true innovators and entrepreneurs will be able to make it. Those who have the ability to be responsive to changes, to question their certainties, to adjust their mindset and re-orientate activities, etc. It is a people story, a story of continuous adaptation, a story of human evolution where new Darwinian entrepreneurs are urgently needed.

Beside spontaneous generation of entrepreneurial microorganisms, the ecosystem should be favorable for birth & growth with enablers who can really and significantly improve the flows of ideas, projects and investments. Enabling intermediaries such as BICs, known as credible, engaged and pragmatic support mechanisms, should however evolve, and adjust their strategy, positioning, competences and services.

This year EBN Annual Congress has been held in Burgos, Spain.

Burgos, located in Castile-Leon, Spain (Europe is largest autonomous region), is nowadays a genuine paradigm of business innovation and human evolution. It is no coincidence that the history of man can be traced so far back in time to 1.2 million years ago in the region, farther than in any other parts of Europe. This is actually the age of the remains of the Europe is earliest human being, which were found in the Sierra de Atapuerca.

Castile-Leon region in brief:

3 technology parks, including one in Burgos

3 science parks

Burgos, the region leader in the industrial sector

Cultural sites classified as World Heritage by UNESCO: Atapuerca archeological site and Burgos cathedral

Celebrating the EBN 19^th Congress in Burgos from 30 June to 2 July coincided with the end of the Spanish Presidency in the European Union.

To mark the 25 years of EBN, it was decided to implement "EBN Smart Entrepreneurship Competition 2010, in which 25 innovative entrepreneurs, 25 smart champions, nominated and coached by the 250 Members of the EBN network, will be a selected.

The selected entrepreneurs presented their stories, their models, their innovations, their passions, and how their BICs contributed to their success with a focus on the end-users of the BICs supply chain.

The show-cases and discussions will be organized around five topics which have been considered as critical factors in the capacity of entrepreneurs to innovate, to grow, to compete, and to adequately respond to a changing and challenging market:

1.business models

2.collaborative models

3.digital models

4.socially responsible models

5.total services models

This is a smart entrepreneurship festival, during which smart people share smart ideas.

The congress program includes a wide variety of seminars and round tables on such topics as relationship between business incubators and clusters; the tools and processes, which attracted to achieve productive working relationship between the clusters and business incubators; an access to financing for clusters and small and medium businesses.

Besides the welcoming addresses, the opening ceremony will give the floor to policy makers representing the European, National, Regional & Local levels.

The latest theories of innovation and entrepreneurship were considered, new models of private and collective support mechanisms of small innovative enterprises, and exchange of experiences were explored at the plenary session.

EBN will announce the finalists of "EBN Smart Entrepreneurship Competition 2010 at the Congress Award ceremony & Closing session on July 2.

It should be remind, that Technopark "Idea" after two-stage audit had become a full member of European Business & Innovation Centre Network (EBN) in April 2010.

Technopark "Idea" proposed to hold the next Annual EBN Congress in Kazan, but it will be necessary to go through the several stages of competitive selection.