IP/08/1220
Brussels, 30 July 2008
The EIT's first Governing Board was officially appointed today following a European Commission Decision. The Board will hold its inaugural meeting in Budapest on 15 September 2008 with a view to establish the basis that will lead to the launch of the first two to three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) by the end of 2009.
Welcoming the appointment, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso stated: "I am delighted with the nomination of the EIT's first Governing Board. I am convinced that the excellence of the Board's members will make it a success. The EIT is soon to become a reality. Europe needs more than ever a strong commitment
to innovation and technology."
The EIT's initial Governing Board comprises 18 professionals, providing a collective balance of expertise and experience from the worlds of business, research and higher education in Europe. All have widespread reputations in their various fields and the majority have dual academic-industrial backgrounds (short biographies are
included in the appendix).
The Governing Board members were chosen by an ad-hoc independent Identification Committee following a two-stage public consultation1. The European Parliament and Council took cognisance of the outcome of the selection process.
Following the entry into force of the EIT Regulation in April 2008, and the choice of Budapest as the EIT headquarters in June, the first EIT Governing Board meeting on 15 September will mark the official launch of the EIT's activities.
The Board will be responsible for overall strategy-setting and for the selection, coordination and evaluation of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs), the EIT's operational centres. KICs will be highly integrated partnerships pooling a critical mass of the very best European resources in business, higher education and research and other innovation stakeholders. Their mission will be to generate and promote innovation in key areas of economic and societal interest.
The first two to three KICs are to be selected and launched by the end of 2009. Once the first KICs have been established, the Governing Board will include four additional members elected from among the administrative staff, students and doctoral candidates of the EIT and KICs.
EIT Website : http://eit.europa.eu
Contacts : John Macdonald : +32 2 295 52 67;
Sophie Andersson : +32 2 295 02 08
1 See IP/08/188