International Assembly „FROM BRIDGING TO SUCCEEDING. University and Business Co-operation through Success Stories” will Be Held On 20 March, 2014 in Riga, Latvia

In order to drive and enhance cross sectorial partnerships among higher education institutions (HEIs) and businesses and encourage systemic cooperation in exchange of experience in the Nordic countries and the Balticsan international conference „FROM BRIDING TO SUCCEEDING" will be organized by „Knowledge Triangle Network" in cooperation with the project partners and „DPA SQUALIO" on 20thof March in the AULA MAGNA at the University of Latvia. The conference is a part of the project „University-Business Co-operation Success Stories" organized by Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

At the Assembly the findings from university – business cooperation (UBC) case studies will be presented, the pre-defined prerequisites for successful cooperation will be approbated, and perspectives of forward developments will be discussed. The event will assemble representatives from higher education institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, participants of employers' associations, industries and businesses.

Knowledge Triangle Network (NGO based in Latvia), Stavanger University (Norway), University of Turku (Finland), University of Latvia (Latvia), Vilnius University (Lithuania) and SMK University of Applied Social Sciences(Lithuania) together withtheEmployers' Confederation of Latvia (LDDK, Latvia) as amember of BUSINESS NETWORK within the project "University – Business Cooperation driven by Success Stories" have joined their efforts to collect case studies and success stories across 6 fields of cooperation: research and development, mobility, commercialization of ideas, curriculum development and delivery, lifelong learning and governance.

The assembly "FROM BRIDING To SUCCEEDING" will be structured around three major headlines: INNOVATIVE IDEAS (solutions), PEOPLE (human resources), ENVIRONMENT (platforms) and it is envisioned to be an event for active discussion questioning Why to cooperate?, What are prerequisites?, How does success look like? and What lessons are learned?, as well as networking and inspiration from each other and from the key-note speakers who will be sharing and reflecting on their experiences and future visions.

Conference will be opened byprof. Mārcis Auziņš, rector of the University of Latvia, Mr.VitalijsGavrilovs, president of the Employers' Confederation of Latvia and by Europe's most widely published and known futurologist Mr.Ray Hammond from the UK, who promises to talk about the trends that will shape business over the next ten years.

During the first session "From Ideas To Innovative Solutions" representatives of Turku (Finland), Latvia and Vilnius will share their case studies. At the end of the first session paneldiscussionwill be held about research and development – the main conditions for successful business development in the Baltic and Nordic countries.

During the second session "Future Of Human Resources And Labour Market Partnerships" projects by Stavanger University (Norway) and SMK University (Lithuania) will be presented and experts at the panel will discuss how future professionals and workers will change and shake up the traditional models of labour relations.

In the final session "Future of Cooperation" case studies and projects from Latvia and Norway will be presented. For example, the DPA SQUALIO new business development direction Aigars Jaundālders will share experience on successful trilateral cooperation in science, education and innovation that drives innovation and product development, for example such as "CaptureIn".

Final panel discussion will be focused on debating about future scenarios and trying to find the best ideas for the implementation of the global trends into the local markets.

Entrepreneurs and business representatives, university managerial staff, academics and researchers as well as policy makers and representatives of business associations are welcome to take a part in the conference.

Working language at the Assembly will be English. Entrance is free.

Participants are invited to register for the event here by 18 March, 2014.

Partners of the initiative are University of Latvia (Latvia), University of Turku (Finland), Stavanger University (Norway), Vilnius University (Lithuania), SMK University of Applied Social Sciences (Lithuania), Employers' Confederation of Latvia as biggest Latvian organization of employee and BUSINESS EUROPE representative. Coordinator of the project is NGO Knowledge Triangle Network (Latvia).

The Project is primarily funded by The Nordplus Horizontal Programme: a cross-sectoral programme which supports innovative projects spanning from traditional categories and sectors to new, different, broader or more complex issues and challenges, as well as supported by the local industry representatives.

Additional information:
Kristīne Tjarve
DPA Communication specialist
Phone: 29296617
E-mail: