20th November 2009

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A University of Ulster telecommunications expert will take part in a major UK technology exhibition next week. 

Professor Gerard Parr will be representing the India-UK Advanced Technology Centre (IU-ATC) – an organisation he leads in the UK that promotes collaboration between Britain and India’s academic institutions, governments and industries – at the event in Coventry.
 
‘The Technology World 2009’ exhibition, which begins on Monday, has been organised by the government’s international development group, UK Trade & Investment.  

The aim of the two-day event is to support businesses seeking to establish in the UK and to helping local companies grow internationally through partnerships and engaging with research excellence in universities.  

Professor Parr said: “We are delighted to participate at Technology World 2009 as part of the official Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC) team.   

“Our India-UK research initiative is involved in the experimentation and development of new technologies and services for delivery of the future  Internet in urban and rural  areas of the UK and India. This covers the design, planning and management of communications infrastructure using fixed and wireless access technologies.   

“We are a consortium of leading academic and industrial partners in both India and the UK which has BT as its lead industrial sponsor and is funded under the EPSRC Digital Economy Programme.    

“Our work is closely aligned to the ‘Digital Britain’ initiative recently launched by Lord Mandelson during the summer of 2009. 

“Working in partnership with the EPSRC allows us to promote our exciting programme of work and to showcase excellence in our research and technology transfer capabilities that will be of benefit to industry, commerce and governments.” 

The government’s EPSRC funds the India-UK Advanced Technology Centre (IU-ATC) jointly with the government of India.  

Speaking before the exhibition, Dr Hannah Foreman, Infrastructure and International Manager at EPSRC, said: "We are really excited about hosting a stand at Technology World 2009. EPSRC is the main UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and the physical sciences, investing around £800m a year. 

“Improving the level of interactions between business and the research base and increasing the uptake and exploitation of EPSRC's investments is very important to us. Our vision is for the UK to be as renowned for knowledge transfer and innovation as it is for research discovery."

The University of Ulster, represented by Professor Parr, is one of the lead organisations in the IU-ATC which was set up to establish the support infrastructure and creative sponsorship opportunities that will enable successful collaboration between Britain and India’s academic institutions, government and industry in general. 

Professor Parr has also been invited to speak at a panel discussion with Mike Short, Vice President of Research and Development at the O2, Christopher Hare, Head of Industry Collaboration, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (USA) and Melanie Stewart, Director, Wireless Technologies, Turner Broadcast System.   Lord Davies, Minister for Trade, Investment and Business will be attending the event. 

Earlier this year, Professor Parr accompanied Lord Davies on a visit to Nagpur in India where he gave a keynote presentation in round table discussions hosted by the British Council and UK Trade and Investment.  

Further details about IU-ATC can be viewed at http://www.iu-atc.com

For further information, please contact:

Sinead Johnson
Telephone: 028 90368390
Email: Sinead Johnson