Archive for July 21st, 2014
Global Innovation Index 2014: Switzerland, UK and Sweden Lead Rankings with Encouraging Signs from Sub-Saharan Africa; Human Factor Powers Innovation
SYDNEY, July 18, 2014/PRNewswire/ — Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Sweden topped this year’s Global Innovation Index, while Sub-Saharan Africa posted significant regional improvement in the annual rankings published by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Amid a newly documented slowdown in the growth of global research and development, the theme of the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2014 is “The Human Factor in Innovation,” exploring the role of human capital in the innovation process and underlining the growing interest that firms and governments have shown in identifying and energizing creative individuals and teams.
For this year’s GII launch, Australia’s Minister for Industry Ian Macfarlane joined authors of the report and its partners in Sydney at a gathering of international business leaders (known as B20) which is part of Australia’s preparations to host the annual Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders Summit on November 15-16, 2014.
“Launching the GII in the run-up to the G20 hosted by the Australian Government and as its first launch in the Asia-Pacific region reflects the uniqueness of the GII as tool for measuring and improving innovation performance,” said Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). He added: “It recognizes the centrality of innovation for a job-rich, strong, sustainable and balanced growth path – as envisioned by the G20 leadership.”
“I’m honored to launch the GII in Sydney today and am very proud to see Australia leading the way in trade and competition. Australia is an investment destination offering a highly skilled workforce. We understand that efforts to increase prosperity depend on innovation, creativity and a focus on new global markets, as well as a strong intellectual property system – a central part of the growth agenda being discussed by the G20,” said Mr. Macfarlane.
The GII 2014 surveys 143 economies around the world, using 81 indicators–to gauge both their innovation capabilities and measurable results. Published annually since 2007, the GII is now a leading benchmarking tool for business executives, policy makers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. This year’s study benefits from the experience of its Knowledge Partners: the Confederation of Indian Industry, du and Huawei, as well as of an Advisory Board of 14 international experts.
Top Rankings
For the GII 2014, Switzerland remains the leader for the fourth consecutive year. The United Kingdom moves up a rank to second place, followed by Sweden. A new entry into the top 10 this year is Luxembourg (9th).
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Top Ten 2014 ranking |
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1 |
Switzerland (Number 1 in 2013) |
6 |
United States of America (5) |
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2 |
United Kingdom (3) |
7 |
Singapore (8) |
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3 |
Sweden (2) |
8 |
Denmark (9) |
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4 |
Finland (6) |
9 |
Luxembourg (12) |
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5 |
Netherlands (4) |
10 |
Hong Kong (China) (7) |
These GII leaders have created well-linked innovation ecosystems, where investments in human capital combined with strong innovation infrastructures contribute to high levels of creativity. In particular, the top 25 countries in the GII consistently score high in most indicators and have strengths in areas such as innovation infrastructure, including information and communication technologies; business sophistication such as knowledge workers, innovation linkages, and knowledge absorption; and innovation outputs such as creative goods and services and online creativity.
The quality of innovation is assessed as well. In terms of innovation quality – as measured by university performance, the reach of scholarly articles and the international dimension of patent applications – the United States of America (USA) holds the top place within the high-income group, followed by Japan, Germany and Switzerland. Top-scoring middle-income economies are narrowing the gap on innovation quality with China in the lead, followed by Brazil and India.
Soumitra Dutta, Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean, Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University and co-author of the report, points out that “When reviewing the GII quality indicators, top performing middle-income economies are closing the gap with high-income economies. China significantly outperforms the average score of high-income economies across the combined quality indicators. To close the gap even further, middle-income economies must continue to invest in strengthening their innovation ecosystems and closely monitor the quality of their innovation indicators.”
The GII 2014 confirms the persistence of global innovation divides. Among the top 10 and top 25, rankings have changed but the list of economies remains unaltered. A difficult-to-bridge divide exists where less-innovative economies have difficulty keeping up with the rate of progress of higher-ranking economies, even when making notable gains themselves. This can be partially explained by their difficulties to grow and retain the human resources necessary for sustained innovation, which is the focus of this year’s report.
Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director for Global Indices at INSEAD, and co-author of the report, stresses that “As innovation becomes a global game, a growing number of emerging economies are confronted with complex issues whereby ‘brain gain’ can only be generated through a delicate balance between talents outflows (e.g. citizens seeking an education abroad) and inflows (whereby high performers return home to innovate and create local jobs, and diasporas contribute to national competitiveness). Around the world, we see encouraging signs that this is happening.”
Various Groups Score Differently on Innovation
Viewing economies among their regional or income-group peers can illustrate important relative competitive advantages and help decision-makers glean important lessons for improved performance that are applicable on the ground.
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Innovation by Region |
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Rank in Region |
GII 2013 Overall Rank |
Country Name |
| Central and Southern Asia | ||
| 1 | 76 | India |
| 2 | 79 | Kazakhstan |
| 3 | 86 | Bhutan |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| 1 | 40 | Mauritius |
| 2 | 51 | Seychelles |
| 3 | 53 | South Africa |
| Southeast Asia and Oceania | ||
| 1 | 7 | Singapore |
| 2 | 10 | Hong Kong (China) |
| 3 | 16 | Korea, Rep. |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | ||
| 1 | 41 | Barbados |
| 2 | 46 | Chile |
| 3 | 52 | Panama |
| Northern Africa and Western Asia | ||
| 1 | 15 | Israel |
| 2 | 30 | Cyprus |
| 3 | 36 | United Arab Emirates |
| Europe | ||
| 1 | 1 | Switzerland |
| 2 | 2 | United Kingdom |
| 3 | 3 | Sweden |
| Northern America | ||
| 1 | 6 | United States of America |
| 2 | 12 | Canada |
How “Innovation Learners” Can Leverage Their Strengths
Economies that perform at least 10 percent higher than their peers for their level of gross domestic product are called “Innovation Learners.”
The 12 high- and middle-income countries outperforming other countries in their respective income groups – in order of performance – are the Republic of Moldova, China, Mongolia, Viet Nam, India, Jordan, Armenia, Senegal, Malaysia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Georgia, and among low-income countries Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Rwanda, Malawi, Gambia, and Burkina Faso. These “innovation learners” demonstrate rising levels of innovation results because of improvements made to institutional frameworks, a skilled labor force with expanded tertiary education, better innovation infrastructures, a deeper integration with global credit investment and trade markets, and a sophisticated business community—even if progress on these dimensions is not uniform across their economies.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Becoming a Region of “Innovation Learners”
Among low-income countries displaying above par-performance, the Sub-Saharan African region now makes up nearly 50 percent of the so-called “innovation learner” economies. Sub-Saharan Africa now has more “innovation learner” economies than any other region, with five African economies joining that status in 2014: Burkina Faso, Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, and Rwanda.
These five economies demonstrate rising levels of innovation, particularly in the areas of human capital and research (collectively improving in their ranking on this pillar by 71 places) and market sophistication (collectively improving by 148 places).
Overall, Sub-Saharan Africa has seen the most significant improvement of all regions in the GII rankings, with Côte d’Ivoire showing the biggest improvement (20 places) and Mauritius taking the leading regional position (40th, an improvement of 13 places from 53rd in 2013). Of the 33 African countries surveyed in the GII 2014, 17 saw an improvement in ranking.
The BRICS Economies
Among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), four improved their positions (Brazil by 3 places to reach the 61st rank, the Russian Federation by 13 places to reach 49th, and China by 6 places to reach 29th, and South Africa by 5 places to reach 53rd). The progress of China and the Russian Federation in the rankings is among the most notable of all countries; China’s ranking is now comparable to that of many high-income economies. India, however slips 10 places to 76th position this year.
“To become a country qualified as “innovation learner” in the GII, policy makers need to identify and focus on areas which help propel their performance on innovation inputs and outputs relative to their peers and to excel beyond what is expected from them considering their level of development,” said ChandrajitBanerjee, Director General of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), noting “ The chapter on India in the GII 2014 analyses one such important parameter like human capital, and showcases how policies for nurturing human capital affect the performance of an innovation learner like India.”
du CEO Osman Sultan, commented: “Innovation and sustainable growth go hand in hand. In a boundary-less world such as ours, connected innovation is increasingly gaining prominence. This is being fuelled by a more collaborative approach, challenging conventional methodologies and freeing-up efficiencies thereby benefitting everybody. The UAE leadership’s vision is a great example of this as it fosters a connected innovation ecosystem from the ground up. As a telecommunications service provider in the UAE, we are uniquely positioned in strengthening the ‘Human Factor’ in this evolving innovation ecosystem, by facilitating the global exchange of intellectual capital and collaborative empowerment.”
“These findings underline the importance of human capital in fostering innovation,” said Ken Hu, CEO of Huawei. “We believe that the 2014 GII report will act as a catalyst for countries to learn from one another and jointly create an open and effective innovation environment. At Huawei, we are committed to innovation by investing in our most important resource: our people.”
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Innovation Per Income Bracket |
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Group rank |
GII rank |
Country/economy | Income group |
| 1 | 1 | Switzerland | High income |
| 2 | 2 | United Kingdom | High income |
| 3 | 3 | Sweden | High income |
| 1 | 29 | China | Upper-middle income |
| 2 | 33 | Malaysia | Upper-middle income |
| 3 | 35 | Hungary | Upper-middle income |
| 1 | 43 | Moldova, Rep. | Lower-middle income |
| 2 | 56 | Mongolia | Lower-middle income |
| 3 | 63 | Ukraine | Lower-middle income |
| 1 | 85 | Kenya | Low income |
| 2 | 91 | Uganda | Low income |
| 3 | 102 | Rwanda | Low income |
The Human Factor: The Essential Spark to Innovation
This year’s report, both through its sub-indicators and through the chapters provided by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the OECD and reports on India, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Morocco highlights how the human factor of innovation partly explains which innovation champions remain at the top, and why some of the large emerging economies offer divergent innovation performances.
In terms of education as a subset of human capital formation the top performers within the high income group are the Republic of Korea, Finland and the UK. China, Argentina and Hungary take the top positions among the middle-income countries. All of these countries have made visible efforts to maintain or enhance the quality of their human resources through education and life-long learning.
The GII shows that better educated citizens are more successful in higher-income economies in leveraging the favorable contexts for driving innovation. As countries move up the scale of innovation sophistication, the quality of its talents in science, engineering, but also in business and management for example become even more critical.
Global R&D Spending: Strong Post-Crisis Recovery; Growth Slowing Since
A fall in the growth of public R&D support coupled with the continued hesitancy of company R&D expenditures seems to be leading to slower overall growth of total R&D expenditures worldwide; this is the case especially in high-income countries. In many advanced countries, fiscal consolidation also seems to have negatively affected public spending on education since 2010.
Second, although governments have effectively included a significant number of future innovation-related growth projects in stimulus packages in 2009, support for such efforts seems to have lost momentum in some countries. To be sure, the majority of countries for which data are available continue to show positive R&D expenditure growth in 2013 and 2014. Yet strong R&D spending growth in 2013 and 2014 is expected to take place mostly in Asia, in particular in China, the Republic of Korea, and India.
About the Global Innovation Index
The Global Innovation Index 2014 (GII), in its 7th edition this year, is co-published by Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO, a specialized agency of the United Nations).
The core of the GII Report consists of a ranking of world economies’ innovation capabilities and results. Recognizing the key role of innovation as a driver of economic growth and prosperity, and the need for a broad horizontal vision of innovation applicable to developed and emerging economies, the GII includes indicators that go beyond the traditional measures of innovation such as the level of research and development.
In just 7 years, the GII has established itself as the premier reference among innovation indices, and has evolved into a valuable benchmarking tool to facilitate public-private dialogue, whereby policymakers, business leaders and other stakeholders can evaluate progress on a continual basis.
To support the global innovation debate, to guide polices and to highlight good practices, metrics are required to assess innovation and related policy performance. The Global Innovation Index (GII) creates an environment in which innovation factors are under continual evaluation, including the following features:
* 143 country profiles, including data, ranks and strengths and weaknesses on 81 indicators
* 81 data tables for indicators from over 30 international public and private sources, of which 56 are hard data, 20 composite indicators, and 5 survey questions
* A transparent and replicable computation methodology including 90% confidence interval for each index ranking (GII, output and input sub-indices) and an analysis of factors affecting year-on-year changes in rankings
The GII 2014 is calculated as the average of two sub-indices. The Innovation Input Sub-Index gauges elements of the national economy which embody innovative activities grouped in five pillars: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. The Innovation Output Sub-Index captures actual evidence of innovation results, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.
The index is submitted to an independent statistical audit by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. To download the full report visit:www.globalinnovationindex.org.
Knowledge Partners
The Confederation of Indian Industry, du, and Huawei collaborate as Knowledge Partners in 2014.
Knowledge Partners believe in the role of innovation in increasing the competitiveness of nations, enabling economic growth, driving societal changes and building the foundation of a country’s future.
They are committed to producing a valuable and non-partisan resource. Knowledge Partners support the elaboration of the GII; contribute analytical chapters or case studies to the GII Report; and participate in the discussion and dissemination of the GII results.
About Cornell University
Cornell is a privately endowed research university and a partner of the State University of New York. As the federal land-grant institution in New York State, we have a responsibility—unique within the Ivy League—to make contributions in all fields of knowledge in a manner that prioritizes public engagement to help improve the quality of life in our state, the nation, the world.
The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University is a leader in innovative business education for the connected world. Consistently ranked as one of the top business schools in the world, Johnson offers six MBA programs, spanning the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Mexico, and China. Our two most recent innovations in MBA education are the Johnson Cornell Tech MBA in New York City, and a dual-degree MBA/FBA with Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Johnson is home to the renowned academic journal Administrative Science Quarterly; its 59 full-time, tenure-track faculty members conduct award-winning research and educate some 650 MBA and PhD students each year.
About INSEAD, The Business School for the World
As one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools, INSEAD brings together people, cultures and ideas to change lives and to transform organisations. A global perspective and cultural diversity are reflected in all aspects of our research and teaching.
With campuses in Europe (France), Asia (Singapore) and Abu Dhabi, INSEAD’s business education and research spans three continents. Our 146 renowned Faculty members from 34 countries inspire more than 1,300 degree participants annually in our MBA, Executive MBA, Specialised Master’s degrees (Master in Finance, Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for Change) and PhD programmes. In addition, more than 12,000 executives participate in INSEAD’s Executive Education programmes each year.
In addition to INSEAD’s programmes on our three campuses, INSEAD participates in academic partnerships with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia & San Francisco); the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University near Chicago, and Johns Hopkins University/SAIS in Washington DC. In Asia, INSEAD partners with Tsinghua University in Beijing and with CEIBS. INSEAD is a founding member in the multidisciplinary Sorbonne University created in 2012, and also partners with Fundação Dom Cabral in Brazil.
INSEAD became a pioneer of international business education with the graduation of the first MBA class on the Fontainebleau campus in Europe in 1960. In 2000, INSEAD opened its Asia campus in Singapore. And in 2007 the school began an association in the Middle East, officially opening the Abu Dhabi campus in 2010.
Around the world and over the decades, INSEAD continues to conduct cutting edge research and to innovate across all our programmes to provide business leaders with the knowledge and sensitivity to operate anywhere. These core values have enabled us to become truly “The Business School for the World.”
More information about INSEAD can be found at www.insead.edu.
About WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the leading global forum for the promotion of intellectual property as a force for innovation and creativity to achieve positive change. A specialized agency of the United Nations, WIPO assists its 187 member states in developing a balanced international IP legal framework to meet society’s evolving needs. It provides business services for obtaining IP rights in multiple countries and resolving disputes. It delivers capacity-building programs to help developing countries benefit from using IP. And it provides free access to unique knowledge banks of IP information.
SOURCE: World Intellectual Property Organization
Jin Jiang International Hotels Opens Yangzhou Yangpeng Jin Jiang Hotel in Yangzhou, China
SHANGHAI /PRNewswire/ — Jin Jiang International Hotels officially announced the opening of its newest property, Yangzhou Yangpeng Jin Jiang Hotel, to open in Yangzhou, in central Jiangsu province, eastern China. The hotel had its soft opening on 28 May and is scheduled to officially open during the end of Q3, 2014.
Exterior of Yangzhou Yangpeng Jin Jiang Hotel
Yangzhou is a thriving prefecture-level city which lies on a plain north of the Yangzte River. Enriched with a long history dating back to the fifth century BC, it is a popular destination due to its historic culture, architecture, art and cuisine. The city also has a number of tourist attractions such as the state protected heritage He Garden, and the Slender West Lake which spreads over a sprawling 30 hectares and boasts such many famous scenic spots as the Five Pavilion Bridge, White Pagoda and Xiaojin Hill. The hotel is located near the Slender West Lake and is in close proximity to the city center and is within convenient access to the main transportation links such as Yanzhou Taizhou Airport and Nanjing Lukou International airport, and the Nanjing-Qidong rail line which links the city to a number of major cities such as Xi’an, Wuhan and Guangzhou.
This four star luxury business hotel stands at 9 stories and covers an area of 9,994 square meters. Situated from the 5th to 9th floors of the building will be the 155 contemporary and spacious guest rooms and suites, each stylishly designed and well equipped with modern and high end amenities. The hotel features a range of business services to serve all the needs of busy business guests and allow them to stay connected, including a fully equipped 24-hour business center with wireless Internet, laptop and mobile phone rental, copying, faxing and printing facilities. There are also secretarial services which include English and Chinese typing, translating and comprehensive concierge services. The hotel has a 400 square meter multi-functional banquet hall and 3 conference rooms which can each hold up to 60 people. All rooms are equipped with advanced audio visual systems and are each designed to cater to a variety of events from conferences, business meetings to formal banquets. The hotel’s restaurant, Lake Cafe, will have an a carte menu serving a range of Chinese and Western dishes and will also have a daily international buffet. The Lounge, located in the lobby, is open daily until late and will serve a variety of beverages and snacks. Additional recreational facilities include a state-of-the-art, fully equipped, 24-hour fitness center.
Mr. Simon Zhang, Chief Executive Officer of Jin Jiang International Hotels, stated on the impending opening, “We very much look forward to the opening of our newest property the Yangzhou Yangpeng Jin Jiang Hotel. This will be the first Jin Jiang branded hotel to open in Yangzhou and will join an existing 11 Jin Jiang hotels already established withinJiangsu province. The hotel will showcase its top quality hospitality services and extensive range of business facilities, and will undoubtedly add to further strengthening our existing brand presence within the thriving Jiangsu region.”
Japan Jewellery Fair 2014 Continues to Grow
TOKYO /PRNewswire/ — Japan is one of the largest, most affluent and — importantly — consistently strong jewelery markets in the world. To put it in perspective, Japanese consumers have accumulated savings of a staggering USD 14 trillion, and Tokyo has the largest GDP of any city in the world, exceeding even that of New York.
Ms Moeka Numata, the 2014 winner of the Miss Nippon Grand Prize beauty contest, will make an appearance on stage as the special guest of the event.
Ms. Moeka Numata, the 2014 winner of the Miss Nippon Grand Prize beauty contest, will make an appearance on stage as the special guest of the event.
Ms. Hiromi Nagasaku, a famous Japanese actress, has been chosen as the “Woman of the Year 2014”.
The Japan Jewelery Fair (JJF), co-organised by UBM and the Japan Jewelery Association, has played a prominent role for over 20 years for both local and international jewelery buyers as a place for stock purchasing ahead of the autumn, Christmas and New Year retail seasons. Even though the fair experienced a negative impact from the economic downturn precipitated by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in terms of the number of exhibitors in 2008, since then the number of exhibitors has been on an upward trend. JJF 2014 will comprise of over 420 exhibitors from 18 countries and regions and is expected to attract more than 15,000 Jewelery professionals.
Japan Jewelery Designers Association celebrates 50-year anniversary
The Japan Jewelery Designers Association (JJDA) will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a members’ pavilion in JJF 2014 for the first time. Leading members of the association, including Mr. Tomoyuki Suganuma, the Chairman of JJDA, will be exhibiting at the fair for the first time and showcase their originally-designed jewelery, rich with uniqueness and ingenuity. In addition to the JJDA pavilion there will be four other designer pavilions at JJF 2014.
Competitive Prices, Top Quality and High Level of Trust: Japan is a great place to buy jewelery!
It is a well-known fact that the Japan pavilion is the most crowded pavilion at the Hong Kong jewelery fairs. Japanese pearls are always one of the leading attractions that capture international buyers’ attention. Recently, Japanese jewelery exhibitors have also been very popular at overseas exhibitions because of their competitive prices and superior product quality. The weakening of the Yen has improved profit margins on Jewelery by 25% compared with just three years ago. So it is time to throw away the stereotype idea that everything in Japan is expensive. Actually, Japan is a great place to buy jewelery.
New Pavilion: Re-Styled Jewelery Pavilion — The splendor of fine jewelery lasts forever!
Re-styled Jewelery, a thriving business trend in Japan, has become a significant market segment. Jewelery companies are purchasing back jewelery items from consumers and remodelling or remaking them for resale. This year for the first time there will be a Re-Styled Jewelery Pavilion at JJF where buyers can meet many of the leading companies in this field and source high quality products at extremely competitive prices.
Bridal Jewelery Zone
Because of their strong tradition of working with platinum jewelery, Japanese jewelery manufacturers have played a leading role in processing techniques for platinum and have been at the forefront of producing high-quality bridal jewelery. The Bridal Jewelery Zone is a showcase of exclusive collections of advanced designs which reflect the latest market trends not only in Japan but also in other Asian countries.
JJA Jewelery Design Award 2014 — Miss Nippon Grand Prize winner to present the award
The JJA Jewelery Design Award, which is hosted annually by the Japan Jewelery Association, is the most prestigious jewelery design contest in Japan. The award is aimed at recognising and celebrating the very best in jewelery designs and designers, and encouraging excellence in creativity, technique and skills.
The winners of this year’s JJA Jewelery Design Awards will be announced and presented with prizes at the fair ground on the first day of the fair. The presentation ceremony on stage will introduce the top eight award winning jewelery items through a fashion show that will bring alive the full creative spirit of the winning designs. Ms Moeka Numata, the 2014 winner of the Miss Nippon Grand Prize beauty contest, will make an appearance on stage as the special guest of the event.
Inaugural Jeweler’s Choice “Woman of the Year” Award
The presentation of the “Jeweller’s Choice: Woman of the Year” award will be held on the stage in the morning of the second day. The values that define women’s lives today are becoming more and more diversified. Enigmatic women enjoy life in multifaceted ways with a variety of senses of worth. To receive the award, the organisers of JJF selected a woman from the worlds of show business, sports and society who are representative of fully enjoying and challenging life in a beautiful manner. This year, Ms. Hiromi Nagasaku, a famous Japanese actress, has been chosen as the “Woman of the Year 2014”. The award presentation ceremony will be held on stage on the second day of the show.
Hiromi Nagasaku is a highly popular and successfully actress in both big-screen films and in television dramas. She is one of the most famous actresses in Japan and is in high demand for film and TV appearances. She is a role model for contemporary Japanese women as someone who is able to effortlessly balance her life as a celebrity, a wife and a mother.
Event Summary
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Name: |
Japan Jewelery Fair 2014 |
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Dates: |
26-28 August 2014 |
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Venue: |
Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Center, East Halls 2 & 3 |
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Organisers: |
UBM Japan Co Ltd |
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Japan Jewelery Association |
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Supported by: |
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry |
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Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) |
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Chamber of Commerce of Japan |
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Japan Pearl Promotion Society |
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Japan Gold Metal Association |
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Japan Watch Importers Association |
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All Japan Watch Retailers Association |
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Japan Jewelery Designers Association |
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The Japan Direct Marketing Association |
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In cooperation with: |
Platinum Guild International K.K. |
For further information contact:
UBM Japan Co Ltd, JJF Secretariat
Kanda 91 Bldg. 1-8-3 Kajicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0044
TEL: +81-3-5296-1020
FAX: +81-3-5296-1018
Email: info@japanJeweleryfair.com
Website: http://www.japanJeweleryfair.com
Photo – http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140718/8521404090-a
Photo – http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140718/8521404090-b
Photo – http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20140718/8521404090-c
Atos Begins 30 Days Countdown to the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games
BEIJING, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — With merely a month to the opening ceremony of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Atos, the Chief Systems Integrator and international IT services company, announces today that the implementation of the Games IT systems is right on track.
The Youth Olympics Games (YOG) is the most complex IT project for a sporting event ever undertaken in Nanjingto date. With global audiences watching the Games on multiple devices, anywhere and anytime, Atos business technologists are laser-focused on delivering the massive, mission critical IT infrastructure and solutions that will deliver real-time results to a global audience of billions and empower one of the most anticipated sports events inChina this summer.
The highest-level of international sports event hosted by China since Beijing 2008 includes:
- 28 sports in 28 venues + 4 non-competition venues
- 6000 athletes and officials from the 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs)
- 3000 media representatives
- 20,000 volunteers
- 120,000 accreditations
Herbert Leung, CEO of Atos in APAC said, “In 30 days, Atos will deliver IT services and real-time results from theNanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games to a global audience of billions. We are committed to making this YOG another resounding success.”
Atos holds the largest sports IT contract in the world with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2001 and recently renewed until 2024. As a long-standing partner to the International Olympic Committee, Atos is recognized as a game changer on and off the field and will continue to transform the Games as well as businesses.
About Atos
Atos SE (Societas Europaea) is an international information technology services company with 2013 annual revenue of EUR8.6 billion and 76,300 employees in 52 countries. Serving a global client base, it delivers IT services in 3 domains, Consulting & Technology Services, Systems Integration and Managed Services & BPO, and transactional services through Worldline. With its deep technology expertise and industry knowledge, it works with clients across the following market sectors: Manufacturing, Retail & Services; Public sector, Healthcare & Transports; Financial Services; Telco, Media & Utilities.
Atos is focused on business technology that powers progress and helps organizations to create their firm of the future. It is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic & Paralympic Games and is quoted on the NYSE Euronext Paris market. Atos operates under the brands Atos, Atos Consulting & Technology Services, Worldline and Atos Worldgrid.
For more information, please contact:
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Rhoda Dinesen |
Crystal Zhang |
The WORD Network Now Available In Africa
DETROIT /PRNewswire/ — The WORD Network is now available to an additional 70 million viewers throughout Central and Southern Africa. This is due to a new working agreement with ViewSat to launch on IntelSat20. The WORD Network position is on a selection of Free To Air Networks available to all residents living in Central and Southern African countries.
“We are ecstatic to be working with ViewSat and being able to get our message out to people throughout Africa. With this new relationship, we remain the largest African American religious network in the world!” stated WORD Network CEO Kevin Adell.
The WORD Network, which launched in February of 2000, beams into more than 200 counties and has a viewership worldwide of more than 3 billion.
MEDIA CONTACTS: MORT MEISNER ASSOCIATES, MORT MEISNER, +1-248-545-2222
“We are delighted to be broadcasting The Word Network into Sub Saharan Africa’s premium free to air neighborhood,” Safia Rana, Head of Sales and Marketing, ViewSat
NI System-on-Module (SOM) Technology to Play a Critical Role in Shaping the Future of Embedded Design
SINGAPORE, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — National Instruments, the provider of solutions that enable engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges, has introduced the NI SOM. The first global product launched from India, with NI introducing a major transformation in embedded technology for the world, the NI SOM combines the Xilinx Zynq All Programmable system on a chip (SoC) with supporting components such as memory on a small PCB and features a complete middleware solution and ready-to-go Linux-based real-time operating system (RTOS) already integrated. The NI SOM gives design teams the customizability of a SOM without the increased time and risk of developing custom software.
Joel Shapiro, Leader for Marketing, Emerging Markets Region, NI said, “The NI System on Module (SOM), combined with powerful LabVIEW libraries, enables engineers to transform their ideas into embedded products faster than any other tool available on the market. Healthcare devices, smart machines, and other applications that require embedded technology will benefit as the NI SOM not only speeds up, but also bridges design, prototyping, and deployment with a single platform.”
The NI SOM enables design teams to deploy reliable, complex embedded systems faster because it is based on and has the same rigorous design standards as the LabVIEW reconfigurable I/O (RIO) architecture. This architecture has already been used in high-reliability applications such as unmanned aerial vehicles and cataract surgery machines. NI, with this technology, aims to create a world of fresh possibilities for engineers, scientists and innovators — across life sciences, automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and energy sectors.
We have evaluated several SOMs and embedded SBCs, and there is no comparison to the software integration offered by NI,” said Sebastien Boria, R&D mechatronics technology leader at Airbus. “We estimate that our development costs with the NI SOM are a tenth of the costs of alternative approaches because of the productivity gains of NI’s approach to system design, in particular to NI Linux Real-Time and LabVIEW FPGA.”
Key Benefits
- Complete Middleware Solution: The NI SOM is shipped with a complete middleware solution out of the box to remove the time and risk associated with developing an embedded OS, custom software drivers and other common software components.
- LabVIEW FPGA Integration: LabVIEW FPGA eliminates a design team’s need for hardware description language expertise, making powerful FPGA technology more accessible than ever before.
- NI Linux Real-Time: The NI SOM offers a robust Linux-based RTOS, which gives design teams access to an extensive community of applications and IP.
- Shorter Prototyping Phase With CompactRIO: Design teams can use CompactRIO to quickly prototype their applications and then deploy them with the same code used for prototyping, which saves significant time and effort.
For more information about the NI SOM, visit http://www.ni.com/som.
Editorial Contact: Jessie Lee, +65-6226-5886
About NI
Since 1976, NI (www.ni.com) has made it possible for engineers and scientists to solve the world’s greatest engineering challenges with powerful, flexible technology solutions that accelerate productivity and drive rapid innovation. Customers from a wide variety of industries — from healthcare to automotive and from consumer electronics to particle physics — use NI’s integrated hardware and software platform to improve the world we live in.
CompactRIO, LabVIEW, NI and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. The registered trademark Linux® is used pursuant to a sublicense from LMI, the exclusive licensee of Linus Torvalds, owner of the mark on a worldwide basis. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.
Simplify Your Comfort — Ambi Climate Accepting Pre-orders on 22nd July
HONG KONG /PRNewswire/ — Ambi Climate, the delightfully simple add-on upgrade that simplifies your comfort and optimises your home’s air conditioning (“AC”), will be accepting pre-orders from9am on 22nd July, as one of the inaugural projects on a new Asia focused crowdfunding platform launching that day.
Ambi Climate. Simplify your comfort.
Ambi Climate solves a problem that is familiar in many Asian households — over 90% of households in the leading cities in Asia use ACs, yet many users find that their ACs do not adequately maintain their comfort. “Our online survey of 6 major Asian markets last year showed that over 70% of respondents identified with at least one comfort complaint caused by their AC, with the most common complaints being temperature related, such as finding the room too hot or too cold; or humidity related, such as condensation problems or finding things too humid,” explains Ambi Labs founder and CEO Julian Lee. These comfort challenges require effort on the user to solve, with some research participants remarking “[I am] looking forward to not having to touch the remote 5 times an hour” and “Crazy unpredictable weather. [It is] hard to really control [my] aircon based on my needs.”
“One goal of this crowdfunding campaign is to recruit more beta testers,” said Julian. “We already have over 100 beta testers signed up, mainly in Singapore and Hong Kong, and we wish to recruit users from other Asian countries to ensure our product meets the needs of consumers across the region. Our beta units are already in production and will ship in September. To make this reward especially attractive, we have priced these units atUS$89, over 40% off our expected retail price of US$149 — despite higher manufacturing costs for these early units. Backers who wish to support us, but who would prefer to wait for a more mature version, are encouraged to back our production reward tiers, which will ship in April 2015 and start at US$69 for the early bird promotion.”
For more details of our upcoming campaign, and to sign up for news of upcoming promotions and discounts ahead of the launch, visit: http://www.ambiclimate.com/campaign
Press Contact:
Elizabeth Choi
+852-22595100
media@ambiclimate.com
Press Page: http://bit.ly/ambiclimate
Facebook: facebook.com/ambiclimate
Twitter: @ambiclimate
About Ambi Climate
Ambi Climate harnesses machine learning and big data techniques to solve common air conditioner (“AC”) usage challenges. It is the world’s first system that learns not just your preferences, but also predicts how conditions in your home will change. Ambi Climate’s patent pending algorithms build up a holistic picture of your home, and is able to adjust your AC settings to ensure your comfort, no matter the time of the day, or outdoor weather patterns. Ambi Climate also provides deep, data-driven insights into the conditions in the user’s home, and the impact of their usage behaviour. This knowledge helps users to take control of their AC usage patterns, allowing them to understand the tradeoffs between comfort and energy consumption.
Ambi Climate:
- Simplifies your comfort
- Solves common Asia pain point — the need to frequently adjust the AC
- Uses proprietary machine learning techniques to predict conditions in your home
- Gives you more insight into the impact of your AC usage patterns
- Is an add-on upgrade, compatible with all remote controlled ACs
- Smartphone controlled, wifi enabled, talks to your AC in place of your remote control
About Ambi Labs
Ambi Labs is a Hong Kong based startup that is changing how Asian consumers interact with household appliances. Ambi Labs applies its proprietary machine learning and predictive technology to the Asian household, customised for the habits and preferences of the Asian consumer.
The QUANT e-Sportlimousine With nanoFLOWCELL® Drivetrain Concept Approved for Use on Public Roads in Germany and Rest of Europe
VADUZ, Liechtenstein and MUNICH /PRNewswire/ — The QUANT e-Sportlimousine with nanoFLOWCELL® drivetrain concept has been approved by TUV Sud in Munich for use on public roads. Nunzio La Vecchia, chief technical officer at nanoFLOWCELL AG, was handed the official registration plate with number ROD-Q-2014. After an in-depth inspection by TUV Sud, this means that the vehicle with its nanoFLOWCELL® has now been officially approved for use on public roads in Germany and Europe as a whole.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140717/697318-a)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140717/697318-b)
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140717/697318-c)
“This is a historic moment and a milestone not only for our company but perhaps even for the electro-mobility of the future. For the first time an automobile featuring flow-cell electric drive technology will appear on Germany’sroads. Today we have put the product of 14 years’ hard development work on the road. This is a moment for us to celebrate. We are extremely proud that as a small company we have developed such visionary technology as the nanoFLOWCELL® and are now also able to put it into practice. But this is only the beginning of our journey of discovery,” is Nunzio La Vecchia’s delighted comment on this important step in the development of the company.
Currently the nanoFLOWCELL AG team and its partners are working at top speed on the homologation of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine with nanoFLOWCELL® for series production.
“At the car’s world premiere in Geneva, a large number of investors and automobile manufacturers showed tremendous interest in the new QUANT e-Sportlimousine and the nanoFLOWCELL® drivetrain concept, together with its wide range of possible applications. Now that the automobile has been approved for use on public roads in Germany and the rest of Europe we can enter into detailed planning with our partners, adding an exciting new chapter to the future of electro-mobility,” states chief technical officer Nunzio La Vecchia, commenting on the wide interest in the innovative drive technology represented by nanoFLOWCELL AG. “The attention received by the nanoFLOWCELL® and the positive response to it has encouraged us to think about investment possibilities in the project, right up to a possible initial public offering. This would enable us to drive forward the wide range of possible applications and potential of the nanoFLOWCELL® on an international scale. Initial planning and discussions are already taking place,” Nunzio La Vecchia explains.
“Here in Munich in particular, where other prestigious automobile manufacturers are advertising their electric vehicle with the slogan ‘ERSTER EINER NEUEN ZEIT’ (‘FIRST IN A NEW AGE’) or ‘THE MOST PROGRESSIVE SPORTS CAR’, we are delighted as pioneers to be able to present an automobile driven by flow cell technology on public roads, and one which achieves not only fantastic performance values but also zero emissions. With a projected top speed of over 350 km/h, acceleration from 0-100 in 2.8 seconds, a torque of four times 2,900 NM, a length of over 5.25 m and a range of more than 600 km, the four-seater QUANT e-Sportlimousine is not only a highly competitive sports car but also ‘SEINER ZEIT VORAUS – UND ZWAR SCHON HEUTE’ (‘WELL AHEAD OF ITS TIME – IN FACT TODAY’),” is how technical manager Nunzio La Vecchia assesses the future possibilities of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine, with reference to other cars produced by German automobile manufacturers in Bavaria.
“Approval of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine with the nanoFLOWCELL® drivetrain concept is a vital step forward for nanoFLOWCELL AG. What began as the vision of Nunzio La Vecchia has now become reality. The fact that only four months after the car’s world premiere in Geneva we have received approval for the use of the QUANT e-Sportlimousine with nanoFLOWCELL® drivetrain concept on the road in Germany and the rest of Europeindicates the dynamism with which our entire team is working on this project. We are very much looking forward to the next stages of this exciting and promising journey,” states Prof. Jens-Peter Ellermann, chairman of the board of directors at nanoFLOWCELL AG. “We’ve got major plans, and not just within the automobile industry. The potential of the nanoFLOWCELL® is much greater, especially in terms of domestic energy supplies as well as in maritime, rail and aviation technology. The nanoFLOWCELL® offers a wide range of applications as a sustainable, low cost and environmentally-friendly source of energy,” is how Prof. Jens Ellermann describes the diversity of potential uses for the nanoFLOWCELL®.
Background information on approval for road use
In all countries there are regulations for the approval of vehicles for use on public roads, and this is subject to an official approvals process. Approval is documented with the issue of an official registration number and a certificate of registration.
Media Contact nanoFLOWCELL AG
c/o HERING SCHUPPENER
Volker Pulskamp-Bocking
Mainzer Landstrasse 41
60329 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Phone.: +49-69-9218-74-90
Email: presse@nanoflowcell.com
Internet: http://www.nanoflowcell.com
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