For the record 13 May

13-05-2008

by Bryan Collins

Technology from Ideas partners with NUI Galway | European Commission promotes efficient ICT

The Mobile Marketing Association has revealed its new board of directors for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The board is chaired by Russell Buckley, European managing director for AdMob. The other board members include representatives from Orange, Google, O2/Telefonica, Nokia, Coca-Cola, T-Mobile, Yahoo and AKQA. The board's aim is to foster region-wide leadership on issues affecting the industry like best practices and consumer privacy.

The UK's IT professionals would recommend their career to a child. According to a survey by recruitment companies, the IT Job Board and Barkers, 69 percent of respondents felt their company's market position is very secure or somewhat secure. Additionally, 75 percent said they would recommend a career in IT to a child. "It is easy to be swayed by the plethora of bad news stories, but it is important for the IT industry to put these into perspective. The benefits of technology cannot be underestimated and the results of our research suggest that organisations are still investing in it," said Robert Peasnell, managing director of Barkers.

Technology from Ideas Limited (TfI), an Irish technology commercialisation company, has signed an extended partnership agreement with NUI Galway. The new 10-year framework agreement will see TfI collaborate with the NUI Galway Technology Transfer Office and invest in technologies emerging from the university's laboratories. TfI is expanding its network of university partners across Ireland and UK, following a recent funding round. "NUIG was our first partner back in 2006. The projects we have invested in at NUI Galway are in the ICT and renewable energy sectors, and have great potential for the future," said Dan Richardson, TfI's managing director.

Women spend more time talking and texting on their mobiles than men, according to a survey by mobile phone network Three Ireland. However, men are more likely to use their phones as an entertainment hub for music, sports and news downloads. "These findings show that women communicate more often than men, whether by phone or text. Men, on the other hand, are more mobile-savvy. As a woman who talks and texts a lot herself, it's no surprise to me to see the ladies do all the talking," said Rachel Channing, head of PR and communications at Three.

The European Commission is promoting the use of efficient sustainable Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) as part of its effort to combat climate change. It believes that efficient ICT, if widely deployed, can lead to greener behaviour and cut Europe's carbon footprint. "To meet Europe's energy efficiency goals by 2020, we need a high growth, low carbon economy. Research and rapid take-up of innovative energy efficient ICT solutions will be crucial to lowering emissions across the whole economy," said Viviane Reding, commissioner for information society and media.

Telecoms firm Calyx has appointed Tara Brady as Chief Operating Officer for the group. Calyx recently announced a rebranding initiative, which involved all nine of its divisions merging together under the Calyx brand. As COO Brady is responsible for the management of operations within the group as a whole.