News
- Forum for the Information Society - Digital Economy
On the 12th October 2010, at the Portuguese Catholic University in Lisbon, it will be held the Forum for the Information Society – Digital Economy, jointly organized by ACEPI – Association Electronic Commerce and Interactive Advertising and the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) (see the Forum agenda (text in Portuguese) with links to presentations) as part of the Portugal |Internet Week’10 (text in Portuguese).
The purpose of this Forum is to discuss some of the main aspects of the Digital Economy, in the context of the Digital Agenda for Europe 2010-2020, launched on the 19th May 2010 by the European Commission Communication "A Digital Agenda for Europe" as the first flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 Strategy for Growth and Employment adopted by the European Council (text in Portuguese) on the 17th of June 2010 (see also European Council Sets Key Objectives of Europe 2020 Strategy for Employment and Growth (text in Portuguese) in the 26th of March 2010), and supported by the Council of EU on Transport, Telecommunications and Energy (text in Portuguese) of the 31st May 2010.
- Portugal is one of the Leading Countries in eBusiness, eCommerce and eGovernment for Enterprises
According to the European Commission report “Europe's Digital Competitiveness Report” for 2009, which was published on 17 May 2010, Portugal continues to make progress in development of the Information Society, particularly in eBusiness, eCommerce and eGovernment for enterprises, judging by the 13 indicators examined for these areas.
Portugal’s figures for 4 of the 6 eBusiness indicators are significantly above the EU average, are exactly on the average in one and even put Portugal second in the entire EU in one of the indicators.
- 1st Brainstorm on Smart Energy
On the 15th June 2010, the 1st Brainstorm on Smart Energy (micro site) was held at the Scientific and Cultural Centre of Macau, Lisbon, organized jointly by the Carnegie Mellon – Portugal Program, the MIT – Portugal Program, and the projects INOVGRID and MOBI.E. The meeting was co-chaired by Marija Ilic, Carnegie Mellon University, and Luis Magalhães, President of the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), had as Program Chair of the brainstorms, Inês Lima Azevedo (Carnegie Mellon University), as local organizers António Vidigal (EDP Innovation) and Luis Henriques (EDP Innovation), had the support of coordination of the Directors of the Carnegie Mellon – Portugal Program, José Moura (Carnegie Mellon University) and John Barros (IT / FEUP), and the Director of the MIT – Portugal Program, Paulo Ferrão (ISR Lisbon / IN + / IST).
- Development Days: Knowledge, Empowerment and Technology Transfer
The 3rd “Development Days” (site in Portuguese), an initiative of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, sponsored by IPAD – Portuguese Development Support Institute, IP, were held on 21-22 April 2010 in the Pavilhão do Rio at the Centro de Congressos de Lisboa, Junqueira. As part of the programme, the “Knowledge, Empowerment and Technology Transfer” Conference (text in Portuguese) was held on 22 April, from 3pm to 5pm for all interested parties in the Pavilion. It was organised by The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, in partnership with IPAD. This Conference focussed on different aspect of Portuguese development cooperation in the fields of science, technology and higher education knowledge, empowerment and technology transfer.
- Portugal invited to intervene at OECD Conference on eCommerce in Washington
An OECD Conference “Empowering e-Consumers: Strengthening Consumer Protection in the Internet Economy” was held on 8-10 December in Washington, DC, USA. Its main objective is to contribute towards preparing new OECD guidelines on the opportunities and challenges facing consumers through the major development of the Internet economy.
Portugal participated with two guest speakers: (1) the President of The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), Luis Magalhães (see intervention notes), on the panel of the session after the opening ceremony, entitled E-commerce trends and outlook: consumer aspects, moderated by Andrew Wyckoff, Director of the OECD Science, Technology and Industry Directorate. The other speakers came from China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, the European Commission and Forrester Research; (2) the President of the Association for eCommerce and Interactive Advertising - ACEPI (site in Portuguese) and Director-General of Controlinveste Media, Alexandre Nilo Fonseca, on the panel of part of the session on B2C: Business as sellers – recent developments, dedicated to “Opportunities for sellers”, which was moderated by Graham Branton, Deputy Director, Consumer and Competition Policy, UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Other panel members were from the European E-commerce and Mail Order Trade Association (EMOTA), the International Federation of Direct Marketing (FEDMA), eBay, and Google.
- ICT, Innovation and Knowledge - 4th Meeting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals and ICT
The 4th Meeting on the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and ICT was held on 3-4 November 2009, at the Centro de Congressos at FIL – Lisbon Industrial Trade Fair in the Parque das Nações. The meeting was dedicated to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Innovation and Knowledge. This meeting is part of the initiatives involving public bodies, enterprises and civil society to prepare contributions for the Iberia - Latin America Heads of State and Government Summit (site in Portuguese). It was jointly organised by The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) and AHCIET – Hispanic-American Association of Research Centers & Telecom Enterprises, a private not-for-profit organisation set up by more than 50 telecommunications operators and enterprises.
Some 100 specialists from 17 Iberian and Latin American countries discussed cooperation in Future of the Internet knowledge and innovation fields.
The meeting’s objective is to analyse policies stimulating ICT innovation and knowledge, involving the public and private sectors: public administrations, international organisations, universities, scientific institutions, enterprises and non-governmental organisations active in the ICT area.
- Portugal is One of the Leaders in eBusiness, eCommerce, eGovernment for Enterprises
According to the 2008 report of the European Commission on the i2010 initiative for the Information Society, recently published, Portugal has one of the best positions in the European Union (EU) on eBusiness and eCommerce, integrating the group of 5 EU countries that, taking into account all the 10 indicators considered for these areas, are in the best positions. Besides Portugal, this group includes Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands and Austria.
In 6 of the 7 indicators considered for eBusiness the values for Portugal are higher than the EU average, and in 3 of the indicators they even reach the 2nd or 3rd best position across the EU:
- List of Top 100 enterprises investing in R&D in 2007 published
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education’s Planning, Strategy, Evaluation and International Relations Office (GPEARI) published the list of the Top 100 enterprises investing in R&D in 2007 (text in Portuguese) on 23 July 2007.
- 4th Innovation Days and Closure of the 2nd Portuguese Presidency of EUREKA
The 4th Innovation Days and the Innovation Days 2009 project exhibition, the shop window for applied research and innovation in European industry, were held on 18 to 20 June 2009 at FIL – Feira das Indústrias de Lisboa, Parque das Nações, in Lisbon.
The 4th Research Days are intended to disseminate R&D results and create conditions to foster new innovative projects through partnerships between companies and research bodies, both Portuguese and international.
- “International Partnerships” bring together Portuguese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Representatives of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) involved in the scientific and technology cooperation programmes in progress with American universities under the Partnerships for the Future action (see Knowledge Networks projects), part of the Commitment to Science for Portugal’s Future initiative, namely with MIT, the University of Texas at Austin and Carnegie Mellon University, met on 11 May 2009 at the Science and Technology Faculty Library of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa in Almada as part of "European SME Week”.
- Digital Economy Seminar for SMEs – 1st European SME Week 09
The Digital Economy Seminar for SMEs was held on 8th May 2009 at the Customs House in Porto. It was part of the 1st European SME Week 09 and was organised by the DGAE – Directorate-General for Economic Activities in collaboration with IAPMEI – Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Innovation Support Institute, IP, of the Ministry for the Economy and Innovation.
The Digital Economy Seminar for SMEs programme (in Portuguese) involved an opening intervention by the Director General for Economic Activities, Mário Lobo, followed by an intervention by the President of the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), Luis Magalhães, entitled The Information Society in Portugal (text in Portuguese), a presentation the Digital SMEs and SIED – System of Incentives for the Digital Economy actions by the DGAE’s Director of Service for Entrepreneurial Innovation and Competitiveness, José António Feu, a presentation of best practices for SIED projects by 5 enterprises, and a presentation of the actions supporting the Digital Economy at QREN.
- 2nd UTEN Network Seminar on Internationalisation and Technology Transfer
The 2nd Seminar on Internationalisation and Technology Transfer, organised by UTEN – University Technology Enterprise Network was held on 30th March 2009 at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon. It involved a dialogue with MIT experts on technology transfer and marketing, including discussions of Portuguese case studies.
The UTEN network was set up in the scope of the UT Austin – Portugal Program of the Partnerships for the Future action, which is part of the Commitment to Science for Portugal’s Future, which also includes the MIT – Portugal Program, the CMU – Portugal Program and the Fraunhofer – Portugal Program, all of which were invited to contribute to this seminar.
- Portugal Adopts the Highest Level of Fiscal Incentives in Europe for R&D Companies
Reductions in Company Tax (IRC) up to 82.5% of expenses on R&D.
Companies active in Portugal may make deductions in their annual taxation amount by at least 1/3 of the revenue expended on Research and Development (R&D), thus benefitting from the most favourable table of fiscal benefits within the European space.
- UMIC and ACEP Meet with Brazilian FAA and USP Delegation
The ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal and the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) met a Brazilian delegation from the Armando Alvares Penteado Foundation (FAAP), which operates as a university based in São Paulo, and the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) following the interest shown by these Brazilian bodies in cooperating with regard to how civil society and the State have participated in eCommerce, eInvoicing and e-Business in general.
- Technological Portugal 2008
Pavilions 2 and 3 of FIL - the Industrial Fair of Lisbon, situated in Parque das Nações, in Lisbon, played host to the Fair “Technological Portugal 2008”, which was held on 18 to 23 November 2008 and which was open to the public as a whole, with the aim of providing contact with what is best in Portugal in the areas of technology, innovation and knowledge, including sectors such as Energy, Telecommunications, Education, Health, Tourism, Mobility, Security, and the Automobile Industry.
The central theme of the module on Science (content in portuguese) was the new frontiers in science and scientists in Portugal. This module included around 400 photographs of new scientists hired by scientific institutions in the last two years under the scope of the Programmeme to stimulate scientific employment, financed by Science and Technology Foundation (FCT), which aims to ensure the contracting of at least more than 1,000 graduates by the end of the parliamentary term. There were also various installations in two distinct spaces, where events were organised under the scope of the Partnerships for the Future activity integrated within the Commitment to Science for Portugal’s Future initiative.
- 5th eCommerce week
The 5th eCommerce Week, organised by ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal (site in Portuguese) in partnership with Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), was held from 16th to 25th October 2008. It included various initiatives, of which the following are of note:
- 18th and 20th October: Free distribution of the Practical Guide Buying on the Internet with the Jornal de Notícias, Diário de Notícias and Público newspapers (310,000 copies).
- Portuguese Low-Cost Computer Developed for 1st-Cycle Students
A Portuguese consortium, JP Sá Couto – Prológica, in partnership with the multinational company Intel, has launched a new laptop computer based on the 2nd version of Intel’s Classmate (see product brief). The launch took place on 3 April 2008, and the laptop has been specifically designed for the education market. 30% of the new computer’s technology will be Portuguese in the 1st production phase and by the end of the year, all technology included will be Portuguese, with the exception of Intel’s microprocessor.
The computer, named the “Magalhães”, will be manufactured in Matosinhos by the consortium JP Sá Couto-Prológica and may be exported to Africa, Latin America and Europe. The computer is Internet-enabled, has an autonomy of six hours, is shockproof and waterproof, operates on an Intel-Celeron M processor at 900 MHz, runs the Windows XP and Linus operating systems, has 512 MB RAM memory, a 30 GB hard disk, 9-inch screen, weighs 1.4 kg and is estimated to cost 180 Euros to produce.
- Portugal National Day at the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre in Brussels
Portugal National Day is being held at the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre in Brussels on 28th November 2007, which includes a session with a panel dedicated to the topic “2007-2013: Employability and Innovation”.
- 3rd Innovation Days
Adl – the Innovation Agency – is organising the 3rd Innovation Days, with the support of Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) and the Knowledge Society Operational Programme, to be held from 7th to 10th November 2007 in Pavilion 3 and the Multiusos Pavilion at FIL - Parque das Nações. The objectives of these days are to share R&D results, support economic appreciation of the results and to encourage partnerships and synergy finding between entrepreneurs, researchers and investors.
- TSF Forum on eCommerce
The 5th November TSF Forum from 10.30 am to 12.00 pm on 5th November 2007 will be dedicated to eCommerce. The President of ACEP – ACEP – Association for e-Commerce in Portugal and the President of the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC).
- eCommerce Week Opening Session
The eCommerce Week Opening Session will take place on 6th November 2007 from 10.00 am to 10.30 am in the Fundação das Comunicações’ Auditorium in Lisbon. It is being organised by ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal and Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC).
- eBusiness: Opportunities, Risks and Benefits for Portuguese Companies
The "eBusiness: Opportunities, Risks and Benefits for Portuguese Companies" Seminar (in Portuguese) will be held on 6th November 2007 from 10.30 am to 1 pm in the Fundação das Comunicações’ Auditorium in Lisbon.
- 2nd Public Administration Open Source Meeting
The 2nd Public Administration Freeware Meeting will be held on 7th-8th November 2007 at the LNEC – National Civil Engineering Laboratory in Lisbon. It is being promoted by the Office of the National Coordinator of the Lisbon Strategy and the Technological Plan, Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), AMA – Agency for Administrative Modernisation, IP, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture and the ODF Alliance.
The agenda (in Portuguese) for the 1st day has sessions on: opening session with interventions from the Secretary of State for Justice, the National Coordinator of the Lisbon Strategy and the Technological Plan, the President of Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), the Director-General for Innovation and Curricular Development and the President of LNEC, Free Software in Primary, Secondary and Higher Education, Free Software in the Modernisation of the Public Administration, e-Accessibility and e-Inclusion, Open Norms – the Market’s View.
- Internet Banking: Online Financial Services – Trends and Challenges
The "Internet Banking: Online Financial Services - Trends and Challenges" Workshop (in Portuguese), organised by ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal, will take place on 7th November 2007 from 9 am to 12 pm in the Fundação das Comunicações’ Polyvalente meeting room in Lisbon.
- eInvoicing: Organisations' Efficiency and Competitiveness in a Global and Digital World
The "eInvoicing: Organisations' Efficiency and Competitiveness in a Global and Digital World” Conference will be held on 8th November 2007 from 9.30 am to 6 pm at the Hotel Tivoli in Lisbon, with the institutional support of ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal and Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC).
- Mobile-Commerce as a Catalyst for eCommerce
The “Mobile-Commerce as a Catalyst for eCommerce” Workshop (in Portuguese) will be held on 9th November 2007 from 9.30 am to 1 pm in the Fundação das Comunicações’ Polyvalente meeting room in Lisbon.
- "Using ICT for SME Competitiveness" Conference
The Using ICT for SME Competitiveness conference will be held on 13th November from 9 am to 6 pm in the AIP/FIL Auditorium in Parque das Nações, Lisbon.
- Iberian-American Seminar on Self-Regulation in eCommerce
The Iberian-American Seminar on Self-Regulation in eCommerce (in Portuguese) will take place on 14th November 2007 from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Instituto Politécnico de Beja.
- New Business Opportunities: Buying and Selling in Electronic Markets for Companies
The New Business Opportunities: Buying and Selling in Electronic Markets for Companies workshop will take place on 15th November 2007 from 9 am to 1 pm in the Fundação das Comunicações’ Polyvalente meeting room in Lisbon.
- eCommerce in Portugal Accessibility - Main conclusions from the Integra21 project
The “eCommerce in Portugal Accessibility - Main conclusions from the Integra21 project” workshop will take place on 16th November 2007 from 9 am to 1 pm in the 'Fundação das Comunicações’ Polyvalente meeting room in Lisbon.
This workshop is being organised by ACEP and the Vector21 company.
- 4th eCommerce week
The 4th eCommerce week, organised by ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal (text in Portuguese) in partnership with Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), will be held from 6th to 16th November 2007. The objective is to debate such topics as: eBusiness, Internet banking, eInvoicing, e-retail, mobile-commerce, Internet accessibility, among many others.
The following planned public initiatives are of note:
- Launch of the 2nd Wave of Living Labs
The launch of the 2nd Wave of the European Network of Living Labs is taking place in Brussels on 17th October 2007 under the Portuguese Presidency of the EU at the event: “Co-creative Research, Development and Innovation to Connect the Lisbon Strategy to People: Launch of the 2nd wave of the European Network of Living Labs”.
- YDreams sets up in Austin, Texas, and is to focus on the UT Austin - Portugal Program
The Portuguese technology-based company YDreams decided to set up a new operations centre in the city of Austin, in the United States of America, to reinforce the UT Austin – Portugal Program, an agreement between the Portuguese State and the University of Texas at Austin which was signed in the last month, March, under the scope of the Knowledge Networks activities.
According to the company's CEO, António Câmara, the offices in Austin will be an excellent starting point for the consolidation of the company in the North American market. "Austin is the world capital of video games, American independent cinema and has a large concentration of technology companies".
- Novabase-Diário Económico Conference on ICTs Creating Value for Business
A conference organised by Novabase and Diário Económico on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Creating Value for Business is being held at the Pestana Place Hotel on 29th May 2007. The conference, entitled Building Business Value With Technology: does IT really matter? will include a speech by Nicholas Carr, a former Harvard Business School Press executive and the author of the book Does IT Matter? Information Technology and the Corrosion of Competitive Advantage, which was published in 2004 by the Harvard Business School Press and which gained international attention by drawing peoples’ attention to computers becoming commodities, . The following speakers will also address the conference: Tor-Jakob Ramsoy, Partner, McKinsey & Co.; Rogério Carapuça, President of Novabase; Carlos Zorrinho, Coordinator of the Lisbon Strategy and the Technological Plan, Luis Magalhães (text in Portuguese), President of the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), and Maria Manuel Leitão Marques, Secretary of State for Administrative Modernisation.
- Public Administration Open Source Meeting
The Public Administration Freeware Meeting is being held on 29th November 2006 in Torre do Tombo in Lisbon. The objective behind the agenda (in Portuguese) is to flag specific cases of free software use and to identify constraints on and the potential for its use by public services. Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) is one of the organising bodies, together with the Office of the Coordinator of the Technological Plan, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Justice.
- Seminar on Adoption of eInvoicing in Public Administration
Adoption of eInvoicing in the Public Administration stimulates companies to provide services and adopt eInvoicing solutions
The "Adoption of eInvoicing by the Public Administration" Seminar (in Portuguese) is being held on Monday, 6th November 2006 from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm in the Fórum Picoas Auditorium, Av. Fontes Pereira de Melo nº 38C, Lisbon. The Minister for Science, Innovation and Higher Education will attend the 4 pm closing session. The seminar is being organised by the Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC).
- International Information and Communication Technologies Fair
Find out about the Connect Portugal programme’s projects to mobilise the Information and Knowledge Society
The International Information and Communication Technologies Fair (SITIC) is being held from 2nd to 5th November 2006 at the FIL – Parque das Nações, Lisbon. It is for the entire ICT sector and will host a huge array of company and citizen-oriented solutions in three major areas: Multimedia and Business Communications, Systems and Solutions, Equipment and Digital Content.
- 2nd Edition of the Electronic Invoicing Guide
The 2nd edition of the Electronic Invoicing Guide (text in Portuguese) is available here. Amendments have been made following the comments received during the public consultation process opened when the first edition was published.
- eCommerce week
ACEP – Association for eCommerce in Portugal and Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) are working in partnership to promote the third version of eCommerce Week, an initiative which, from the 4th to the 14th May, aims to kick-start the debate from the North of the country to the South on this subject area.
- 1st version of the Electronic Invoicing Guide
An initial version of the 1st version of the Electronic Invoicing Guide (text in Portuguese) is available here. The objective is to gain feedback so as to improve the guide during a public consultation phase to finish at the end of March 2006. At this time, a new version will be prepared, taking account of the feedback received.
- Europaper Digital 2006
Digital Europaper 2006 is part of the Europaper trade fair being held by FIL - Feira Internacional de Lisboa/AIP, from 2nd to 5th March 2006 with the theme of eCommerce. In this context, due to the Government’s decision in August 2005 for eInvoicing to be adopted by the public administration by the end of 2006, Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC), in partnership with FIL, is organising the following seminar on 3rd March 2006:
2nd Digital Europaper Seminar:-Adopting Electronic Invoicing as a Modernising Feature
- Resetting and reinforcing tax incentives for entrepreneurial R&D
Law nº 40/2005, of 3rd August, which was approved following a Government initiative in the scope of the Technological Plan, resets and reinforces the Tax Breaks for the Entrepreneurial R&D System (SIFIDE) in force from 2002 to 2004. This system, which was first introduced in October 1997, had already been reinforced by the Decree Law approved in 2001, but was interrupted in 2004.
- Council of Ministers rules on adoption of eInvoicing
The Council of Ministers Resolution nº 137/2005, published in the 17th August Diário da República, states that by the 31st December 2006, the public services and organisms that are directly and indirectly part of the State administration shall issue invoices or equivalent documents by electronic means and shall give preference to receiving invoices by electronic means also. Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) was selected to monitor and assess the execution of this resolution.