Our Activities

Welcome to the June edition of the RUnUP newsletter. Following the RUnUP closing conference that took place on 11th and 12th May 2011, this edition features some of the highlights from the two day event.

Click here to download the RUnUP newsletter

The RUnUP project held its closing conference in Gateshead, United Kingdom on 11 and 12 May 2011. The event signalled the final stages of the RUnUP project which Gateshead Council has lead since the beginning of its implementation phase in 2008.

The speakers included Lord Charles Falconer, who spoke about the development of the knowledge economy in Gateshead, in his role as Chair of 1NG the City Development Company for NewcastleGateshead.

Full details of the event can be found here

The RUnUP network has been busy over the past few months developing its Local Action Plans (LAPs). We take a look at the development of the Lead Partner Gateshead's LAP that is being pulled together by the Gateshead Local Support Group.

Welcome to the latest edition of the RUnUP newsletter. In this month's newsletter you will find the up to date information on the progress of the RUnUP thematic network.

The newsletter also looks forward to the upcoming Thematic Network Event in Barakaldo, Spain that takes place on 17-18 June 2010, as well as feedback from recent network events such as the ULSG study visit  in Coventry, UK.

To view the newsletter please click here

If you wish to subcribe to the RUnUP newsletter please click here 

The RUnUP Thematic Network have announced that the next ULSG Study Visit will take place in Enschede, Netherlands on 24-25 March 2010. The focus of the visit will be on the University of Twente which has been described by EU-Commissioner Hübner as a place where, "The Cooperation between the private sector, the univertsity and the government is Unique".

The first RUnUP event of 2010 will take place in Potsdam on 18/19 February 2010. Potsdam with a population of more than 150,000 people is the capital of the state of Brandenburg.

As outlined in the final application, one of the key elements of the RUnUP project is the communication of the project's activities and outputs. This allows the network to share best practice, news and stories from RUnUP.

The RUnUP newsletter was launched in November 2009 at the Project Management Group meeting in Solna. The newsletter contains information on the project partners, lead expert and recent project activity including the first ULSG study visit to Tampere.

Want to read the first edition? Click here

If you would like to be added to the Newsletter distribution list please click here

On 13-14 October 2009 representatives from the ULSGs of the RUnUP network will visit Tampere, Finland.

A crucial part of the RUnUP work programme is the ULSG study visits that will take place over the lifetime of the project. The first visit of its kind will take place in October 2009, where representatives from ULSGs across the network will take the opportunity to learn best practice from Tampere, the third largest city in Finland and a centre for IT-based innovation.

Download the Lead Expert's Report

On 9 February 2009 as Lead Partner in the URBACT II Thematic Network RUnUP, Gateshead Council hosted a launch event to mark the start of the Implementation phase of the project .

Gateshead Council, Lead Partner of the RUnUP project organised an open conference business forum in December 2010 that focussed on the future economic prosperity of the borough.

The RUnUP Project hosted its closing conference in Gateshead on 12 May 2011. The event was attended by all of the RUnUP project partners and many other stakeholders from Universities, private businesses and local authorities, representative of the triple helix model central to the RUnUP Project.

Before the main event RUnUP project partners and representatives from their ULSGs attended a Project Management Group meeting at Gateshead Civic Centre, where the final stages of the project were discussed. This was followed by a tour of local sites of interest which link to the activities developed in the Gateshead RUnUP local action plan, such as the Northern Design Centre, the Gateshead International Business Centre and the Business and Innovation Hatchery at Northumbria University. The context was then set for the main conference event at Baltic Place on Gateshead Quays. Read on for further information including presentations from the conference speakers.

How can enterprises be economically viable, environmental balanced and socially inclusive?”

It was faced with this question that about 150 participants gathered in Águeda to argue the best options and answers to the economic challenges of today, being able to maximize the results, without constraining the environment and social well-being of society.

The Fifth RUnUP Project Management Group meeting took place at Inguralde in Barakaldo on 18 June 2010. The group met following a Thematic Network Event which was also held in Barakaldo.

The RUnUP network undertook its Third Thematic Network Event in the partner city of Barakaldo  in Spain in June 2010. RUnUP addresses in a uniquely different way the fundamental issues of how universities should engage with their local communities with a particular focus on medium-sized cities; the role of local authorities and municipalities and the importance of triple helix structures for supporting economic development and encouraging entrepreneurship. In this context it was of particular interest that the network event was held at the Innobak Business Centre, Beurko, Barakaldo. The Innobak business centres are a wide network of centres under the same brand, generating an image of Barakaldo linked to high quality services and a strong business offer for companies. As a public: private partnership it enables a wide range of premises to be offered with very competitive conditions in terms of price and services.

The third and last in the series of RUnUP ULSG study visits took place on 25-26 May 2010. The two day event was held at Coventry University's Technology Park and ideal location for a study visit that looked into the role of Universities and wider development of enterprise and entrepreneurship.

The second ULSG Study Visit, took place in Enschede, Netherlands in March 2010. The group visited the University of Twente in Enschede which is one of Three technical Universities in the Netherlands. So far the University have produced more than 600 spin off companies which is more than any other Dutch University.

The Visit took place on 24th-25th March 2010.

The Project Management Group met at the Chamber of Commerce and industry in Potsdam on 19 February 2010 following the Thematic Network Event held in Potsdam the previous day. This meeting was the fourth in the RUnUP work programme.

The first RUnUP thematic network of 2010 took place in Potsdam, Germany on the 18-19 February 2010. Potsdam is world-renowned for its cultural and historical heritage, less so as an exceptional location for science and research. Still the city has one of the highest percentages of scientists among its population in Germany. Also Potsdam is home to a large number of scientific institutions with an excellent reputation as well as highly recognised universities.

URBACT held their annual conference in Stockholm, Sweden on 25 November 2009. Representatives from the RUnUP network were present at the event which was held in an old automotive factory in Nacka Strand, Stockholm.

The third meeting of the RUnUP Project Management Group took place in Solna on 24 November 2009. The meeting took place in Solna the day following URBACT's 2009 Annual Conference in Stockholm. The Project Management Group Meeting was immediatley followed by a visit to the Karolinska Institute in Solna.

The RUnUP Thematic Network travelled to Tampere, Finland in October 2009 for the first in the series of ULSG study visits.

Tampere is the third largest city in Finland and the largest inland centre in the Nordic countries.  Currently there are over 200,000 inhabitants in Tampere, and almost 300,000 inhabitants in Tampere Sub-Region, which comprises Tampere and its neighbouring municipalities.

On study visit included events at the University of Tampere, Hermia Science Park and Demola Openi Innovation Centre

The RUnUP network undertook its first Thematic Network Event in June 2009, in the partner city of Águeda in Portugal.  RUnUP addresses in a uniquely different way the fundamental issues of how universities should engage with their local communities, with a particular focus on medium-sized cities; the role of local authorities and municipalities; and the importance of triple helix structures for supporting economic development and encouraging entrepreneurship.  As Mayor Gil Nadais highlighted in opening the conference, “RUnUP provides an important mechanism for understanding the triple-helix, connections to universities and entrepreneurial conditions, and for enhancing the quality of life within the city”.

The first Project Management Group of the Implementation phase of the project took place in Gateshead on February 10 2009. The meeting coincided with the RUnUP opening conference which was held at Gateshead Heritage @ St. Mary's the previous day.

The RUnUP launch event took place at Gateshead Heritage @ St. Mary's, Gateshead, UK on 9 Feb 2009. The launch signalled the start of the two year development phase of the RUnUP network.

A number of high profile speakers shared their thoughts, hopes and expectations of RUnUP and what it will deliver not only to those cities who make up the network but others facing similar economic challenges across the EU.

Dr. Clive Winters, Lead Expert for RUnUP reflects on a successful event in his Lead Expert Report, which is available for download by clicking on this link.