Sweden is doing particularly well in developing human caital and producing high quality academic research. Finland stands out by having favourable financial framework conditions relative to other countries in Europe. 

The European Innovation Scoreboard is published by the European Commision and is a comparative analysis of innovation performance in EU member states. But the analysis also comprises neighboring countries and European countries that are not part of the union. 

Image: http://nordic.businessinsider.com

One of the best motivators in helping us keep true to our commitment to excellence and development is the catchphrase ‘Look towards the future.’

This has been the running mantra of the UAE’s founding fathers as they all looked towards the future and envisioned a unified country — working hand in hand — in order to overcome all challenges and be one of the greatest nations on earth.

Three Carnegie Mellon University students hatch an idea for a new business in a dorm room and wind up turning to the University of Pittsburgh for a leg up.

It may sound like an unlikely storyline, but it’s one that the founders of North Point Breeze-based Inpleo LLC are turning to their advantage in launching their company outside the walls of academia. Inpleo’s experience at Pitt’s Innovation Institute also reflects the university’s ongoing reboot of its entrepreneurial mission under chancellor Patrick Gallagher.

Image: http://www.post-gazette.com

Through its signature summer incubator program for new ventures and its many resources for growing start-ups, the University of Virginia’s i.Lab has helped cement Charlottesville’s status as a growing hub of entrepreneurship. But UVA’s community of innovation extends far beyond the boundaries of Central Virginia, and now, the i.Lab does, too.

The “Virtual i.Lab” went live this summer, allowing entrepreneurs in the current incubator class to connect with UVA mentors and resources all around the world. The interactive digital platform is the brainchild of the new i.Lab Incubator director, Jason Brewster.

Image: https://www.news.virginia.edu

Being busy is a common side effect of success, and that’s nothing to complain about, says Robert Herjavec. He doesn’t have much sympathy for whiners.

Instead of dwelling on what’s wrong, the optimistic Herjavec Group founder and CEO says people should focus on what’s right, especially entrepreneurs like him who’ve made something out of nothing and have the packed schedules (and bank accounts) to prove it.  

Image: ABC | Bob D’Amico

It takes money to have fun in college, and it’s no secret that tuition and costs go up every year. But with classes scattered throughout the day and even at night, how can you add a job?

That’s why more and more college students are opting to go into starting their own business to fit their skills and limited time.

Here are 9 business ideas that cost little-to-no money that you can build while you’re still in college.

If any place in Michigan will be the birthplace of a new economy, it’s likely to be Ann Arbor.

When the National Venture Capital Association released its latest data on the volume of venture capital investments in Michigan late last week, five of the largest eight deals in Michigan during the second quarter were Ann Arbor-based firms.

Image: John Gallagher.

There may be no better barometer for how venture capitalist investments can affect the economy than the website of Connecticut Innovations, which invests small amounts across many companies alongside venture funds — and which also lists the job openings made possible by those investments.

Image: Erik Trautmann / Hearst Connecticut Media

When looking for solutions to any business challenge, it is extremely important to thoroughly define a sharp focus question. To make sure you are not wasting your time solving the wrong problem, we created a five step check-list.

Most people will immediately start looking for solutions, the moment they encounter a problem. While this is fully understandable, it is a big mistake. You should really try to suppress the urge to jump right into the search for solutions. Before trying to find solutions to any problem, it’s very important to first get your focus right. If you accidentally ask the wrong question, you will start looking for answers in the wrong direction. You will generate solutions that don’t fully match your challenge and you will end up with fairly useless ‘solutions’.

Image: http://innovationexcellence.com

BLACKBURG — Virginia Tech is talking to large pharmaceutical firms about cooperating with the university on research projects and opening offices inside Roanoke’s new health care innovation district. Michael Friedlander, founder of Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and a driving force behind the city’s growing health care industry, said that sort of partnership is only a concept, but affirmed that conversations are underway. City Manager Chris Morrill said Roanoke currently doesn’t have a major pharmaceutical company. Landing one would be the kind of payoff that city and university officials promised when they unveiled grand plans for a new health care hub in March.

Too many entrepreneurs I know still believe that that their great idea will carry the startup, and they may even minimize their own value, especially if they have introvert tendencies. Yet most investors agree that the “idea” is worth nothing alone, and it’s the entrepreneur execution that counts. That means that selling yourself is more important than selling your idea.

We have all heard the hype around IoT: billions upon billions of connected devices will produce an industry worth trillions of dollars by 2020. Regardless of these crystal-ball projections, the fact remains that most businesses are only now starting to visualize ways to implement IoT in their organization to lower operating costs, increase production output, and reduce manufacturing times.

Advanced biomaterials joined with small molecules and biologics can allow regeneration and restoration functions of human tissues and organs.

The scope of application has extended far beyond acute injuries, chronic diseases and congenital malformations into therapeutics, research and difficult-to-treat diseases.

EU innovation is catching up with Japan and the US, Sweden is once again the innovation leader, and Latvia has become the fastest growing innovator.

The European Commission released yesterday (14 July) the 2016 results of the European Innovation Scoreboard.

“I want Europe to be a place where innovative SMEs and start-ups flourish and scale up within the Single Market,” said Elżbieta Bieńkowska, Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

Image: http://www.brusselstimes.com

Baltimore, MD. — “Traditional” and “by the book” have never really been a part of Kevin Plank’s business outlook. When he started Under Armour 20 years ago he set out to make a better T-shirt and felt that the apparel industry was operating (and still is) with materials, machines and ideas that were decades behind other industries.

Leaders of some of the world’s biggest organizations reveal which books will keep them occupied in the coming months.

The slightly lazier days of summer are upon the northern hemisphere, with beach vacations beckoning. South of the equator, temperatures are dipping and cozy weekends lie ahead. So what books will corporate leaders be reading in the coming months? Here are recommendations from more than a dozen, including McKinsey’s Dominic Barton, JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, LinkedIn’s Reid Hoffman, and Corning’s Wendell Weeks.

While millennials may have the most entrepreneurial mindset of all generations, and certainly believe themselves to be entrepreneurial, it’s a belief that isn’t backed by statistics.

According to the Atlantic, the average age for someone behind a successful start-up is about 40 years, with those between 55 and 65 as the only age group with increased entrepreneurship in the last two decades.

Donald Trump’s candidacy for president goes against everything the technology sector believes in and the prospect of his presidency would be “a disaster for innovation,” according to an open letter from industry leaders posted on Medium.

Tech luminaries including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Twitter co-founder Ev Williams, Expedia chairman Barry Diller, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and former Cisco Chief Technology and Strategy Officer and Microsoft board member Padmasree Warrior are among those who signed the letter.

BOSTON — The senate recently passed comprehensive economic development legislation including investments, initiatives and incentives to promote development and workforce training, create jobs and stimulate the commonwealth’s economy. The legislation strengthens existing programs and authorizes $743.9 million in capital spending over a period of three years for a range of economic development initiatives supporting workers, businesses and communities.

As we outlined in our recent post and annual research report, 2015 was a wild ride for venture capital investors and private tech companies alike, with enormous fund raises to support equally enormous valuations. But from a VC perspective, just how haywire were those valuations? And how did they grow so quickly?