King Albert II, visited Belgium’s innovation hotspot, the Digital Innovation Valley in Mons.

In terms of modernising educational systems, Commissioner Vassiliou says, “We have a long way to go” As an 18-year-old, Androulla Vassiliou had her heart set on studying fashion design in London, but her parents insisted she read law instead. Later, as Vassiliou’s legal career took off, she hoped to become a judge. But the judiciary system in her home country, Cyprus, wasn’t ready...

International rankings confirm Europe “must do better”

The EU is preparing a new global list of institutions of higher learning that will be “more open, more transparent, more useful”.

In May 2010 the European Commission adopted its Digital Agenda, with “enhancing digital literacy skills and inclusion” as a priority. “Improving digital literacy is crucial to Europe’s future,” Commissioners Neelie Kroes and Androulla Vassiliou announced. “We must invest in the e-skills of all EU citizens to make sure that no one is left behind as the economy goes...

Sylvie Laffarge tells FUTURES why eSkills are increasingly important for immigrant women looking for employment in the EU.

Innovative teachers + technology + smart policies = the active learning and collaborative skills required for the 21st century.

If doctors could use natural user interfaces, like gestures, surgery could be quicker and safer.

Microsoft is taking Facebook to the office and tailoring your Twitter feed.

Teenagers use Facebook, MySpace and Twitter to form their social identities – in a world that may or may not include their parents.

When Richard Banks’ grandfather died about five years ago, he left behind a suitcase filled with hundreds of photographs, many depicting his time as a pilot during World War II. Looking through those images made Banks think about the legacy he would leave his daughter, and about the physical limitations of photos and floppy disks that become obsolete as images and information are increasingly stored...

Looking back at his three-year term as chairman of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT), Martin Schuurmans has mixed feelings. While he is proud of the three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) that are now up and running, he feels that they could have been set up faster and have achieved more.

The EU Cybersecurity and Digital Crimes Forum is a full day conference on cyber and internet security addressing European policy makers and national security and digital crime specialists. We invite you to discover or re-discover key Microsoft programmes & initiatives around this topic. FUTURES interview with ROBERT MADELIN, Director-general for Information Society and Media at the European...

Visit a website, get a cookie. You can’t see it, but it is a small file that is installed on your computer whenever you browse a travel site, buy books online or search for a new refrigerator. The cookie remembers you, allowing the site to store information about you and your preferences – and making you a better advertising target.

The EU Cybersecurity and Digital Crimes Forum is a full day conference on cyber and internet security addressing European policy makers and national security and digital crime specialists. We invite you to discover or re-discover key Microsoft programmes & initiatives around this topic. More than 100 million people in Western Europe will buy a smartphone this year. Within minutes of opening the...

The EU Cybersecurity and Digital Crimes Forum is a full day conference on cyber and internet security addressing European policy makers and national security and digital crime specialists. We invite you to discover or re-discover key Microsoft programmes & initiatives around this topic. Scammers are getting more clever. But software companies and policymakers are becoming smarter too.

A start-up created by two British medics combines social networks and cloud computing to make hospital staffing more efficient.

In just 15 years, Switzerland’s government and universities have worked to make the country a leader in entrepreneurship. It may be known for snow-covered mountains and cold-weather sports, but in terms of innovation, Switzerland is hot. The Alpine country with a population of 7.6 million is home to 61 technology parks, and its universities churn out dozens of science-based start-ups every year.

Online messaging hasn’t changed much since it was introduced more than a decade ago. But German start-up Cooee, based in Kaiserlautern, is seeking to liven up the chat experience with elements from computer gaming and social networking.

Founded three years ago, Kobojo develops games for social media such as Facebook. Now it is developing a business model that transforms virtual currencies into hard euros.

It’s nearly impossible for companies to stay on top of the explosion of useful information about markets, competitors and customers that crops up daily on social media and other websites. But that’s also a business opportunity – and one seized by British start-up, Artesian, which seeks to transform the torrent of web-based information into a wellspring of business intelligence.