INESC Porto organises 11th meeting of the Footwear Products & Processes European Technology Platform
The Manufacturing Systems Engineering Unit (UESP) and the Portuguese Footwear Technological Center (CTC) organised the 11th meeting of the Footwear Products & Processes European Technology Platform, which took place in Porto, on 26 March.
26th April 2009
The aim with this Technology Platform is to make networking more dynamic, promote research activities, invest in development and innovation in order to improve businesses, and assure that the European footwear sector becomes a sustainable and knowledge-based industry.
The intention is to create a European knowledge community involving the industry, research centres and other stakeholders that will join their research, development and innovation efforts to improve the European footwear industry through the definition of a common strategic vision, as well as through the implementation of a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA).
In prior meetings, seven work groups were created to assess the state-of–the-art and to define priority activity areas in different themes, such as Market Development, Product Development, New Processes, Information and Communication Systems, Standards, Education and Technology Transfer. INESC Porto will be coordinating the Work Group in the area of Information and Communication Systems.
This meeting gathered 27 participants, representing Portugal, Italy, Spain, France, Netherlands and Poland. The meeting’s main goals included the presentation and discussion of the results reached by the previously defined work groups, as well as the articulation with other European technology platforms. INESC Porto was represented at the meeting by José Carlos Caldeira – director of INESC Porto and secretary general of the Forum Manufuture Portugal –, Rui Diogo, César Toscano and Luís Guardão.
BIP, April 2009