Transfer Summit 2011: Open Innovation Everywhere

On September 5-8, TransferSummit will host an Open Source conference and training sessions at Keble College in Oxford, UK. The event provides an opportunity for business executives and members of the academic and research community “to discuss requirements, challenges, and opportunities in the use, development, licensing, and future of Open Source technology.”

This year’s event features a two-day conference and two days of training in addition to hands-on learning and break-out sessions, gadget “playtime,” and an intimate setting of no more than 300 participants. There will be a focus on mobile technologies, in addition to networking, open development, and software innovation:

“TransferSummit focuses on the comprehensive impact of open innovation across a range of disciplines and applications. Participants share, discuss, and discover strategic opportunities that accelerate growth through knowledge transfer partnerships, innovation promotion, community outreach, academic-business interaction, spin-outs and startups, applied research, intellectual property licensing, incubators and collaborative think-tanks, and more.”

The conference program is divided into three tracks:

• Open Innovation, which features “top-level immersion into the world of Open Source and open innovation in software. Topics include foundations, infrastructure, licensing, governance, business models, community-building and more.”
• Open Development, which offers “day-to-day practice of putting Open Source in action…specifically in the mobile technologies space. Topics include version control, IP tracking, user engagement packaging and distribution, distributed project management, and much more.”
• Case Studies, which focuses on “real world case studies, proofs of concept, first-hand accounts, market trends, and analyses what’s upcoming in Open Source.”

During the conference, Mark O’Neill, the head of the UK Government’s “Skunkworks,” will hold a special meeting “on how and why the government has created this special IT division.” Skunkworks has proven itself “a major component” in the effort to open up the IT field to “new and innovative solutions from open source and open standards-equipped SMEs”: http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/TransferSummit-Government-Skunkworks-founder-to-present-1315998.html

Additionally, TransferSummit will be hosting several experienced leaders from the open source community, including Andrew Katz (intellectual property expert), Stephen Walli (OuterCurce Foundation), Amanda Brock (Canonical legal counsel), and James Governor (founder of open source analysts Redmonk), among others: http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/TransferSummit-2011-program-highlights-announced-1271044.html

TransferSummit will exhibit several examples of innovative open gadgets during the conference, including a “Talking Book” (an audio record and playback device designed for those who are illiterate and live without electricity) and a RepRap (a 3D printer that can print various objects, including a copy of itself).

To register and/or view a breakdown of the costs, visit: http://www.transfersummit.com/registration. For more general information, go here: http://www.transfersummit.com/. You can also view the list of speakers: http://www.transfersummit.com/programme/speakers.