The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the 30th largest foundation in the United States with an asset base of approximately $2 billion, has acknowledged the potential that lies within the concept of COPENMIND, not only in the creation and improvement of research synergies but also as an initiative that promises to improve the welfare of society. The Kauffman Foundation is showing its support for COPENMIND by entering into a partnership agreement.
As the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, the vision of the Kauffman Foundation is to foster “a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities.” In service of this vision, and in keeping with its founder, Ewing Marion Kauffman’s wishes, the Foundation focuses its grant providing and operations on advancing and improving entrepreneurship, an objective that complies with COPENMIND’s concept and goals to provide opportunities for technological transfer and partnership creation.
Within the framework of the agreement, the Kauffman Foundation is sponsoring the participation of selected American Universities at the forefront of American as well as international clean technology research. Furthermore, the Foundation will be present at the COPENMIND exhibition and will participate in the COPENMIND conference by hosting a conference seminar.
During March, the Kauffman Foundation facilitated attendance of the National Science Foundation – Small Business Innovation, USA, and signed up eight outstanding universities:
- Harvard, USA
- MIT, USA
- UC Berkeley, USA
- UC Davis, USA
- University of Arizona, USA
- University of North Carolina, USA
- University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
- University of Washington, USA
MIT, defined by The Times Higher Education as probably “the world’s biggest single technology innovator of the postwar period,” and the University of California at Berkeley, respectively, are ranked as the top two universities in technology, while Harvard is at the forefront in life sciences and biomedicine. In the field of “cleantech,” a lot of research has been carried out by these universities. Berkeley intends to set up a centre for biofuels and energy research, and MIT has developed a cleantech incubator as part of the National Alliance of Clean Energy Incubators.
The other universities are also known to have conducted world-class research in recent years and will therefore contribute extensively to the overall quality of the COPENMIND event.
Created at: April 16, 2008 00:00