Students and faculty from Spain's Eseune Business School visit the HSP, on August 22. Photos provided to China Daily

Have you found your roadmap to navigate the future?

This is one of the questions that's been asked at the International Association of Science Parks (IASP) 2011 World Conference, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

An impressive number of delegates from several dozen countries gathered in Copenhagen with the shared aim of developing such "roadmaps for navigating the future" and to discuss new ways to secure growth for cities, regions, and countries in the global knowledge economy, with special focus on the role of STPs.

One success story from the Zhongguancun Haidian Science Park (HSP) about smart roadmaps in innovation, comes from iBridge, a standout at the conference.

The Chinese government is sponsoring project to develop a network for exchanges and cooperation among companies in science parks across China and around the world, based on Web 2.0 technology.

Welcome to the Information Bridge, or, more commonly, the iBridge, an innovative approach to the challenges posed by economic globalization and "knowledge-based" societies.

The pilot project is the baby of the Administrative Committee of HSP, which probes the pathway to future innovations and has provided services for governments, businesses, organizations, and various others.

The iBridge's tools are the blogs, communities, RSS, and other web 2.0 devices. It was designed in 2004 and is the first development of its kind to come from any of China's 108 science parks, with a strategy on "linking businesses across the world".

Its functions include media partnerships, policies releases, government funding, and online services.

The iBridge office has received over 80 delegations from around the world since last year, many of which are from universities, research institutes, or science parks, and are scholars, entrepreneurs, or senior executives of famous companies, who came to share their ideas on innovation.

Small as it is - only about 150 square meters - the office has become a classroom of sorts where innovative people from around the world pay close attention to its approach to connecting innovative resources globally in a new way.

Martin Grossman, from Bridgewater State College, Massachusetts, in the US, wrote a paper on this phenomenon titled " An emerging global knowledge management platform: case of iBridge."

In describing the work to be done on improving the features and functions of iBridge, Grossman cited "introducing more efficient ways of communication, providing more user-friendly display web pages and layouts, and paying more attention to the latest development of web-technology".

He went on to say, "We will encourage transnational knowledge flows and fostering innovation."

Cooperation

HSP developed a fund policy, with a global view, specifically designed for international cooperation in September 2006, and it had provided more than 32 million yuan ($5 million) for several dozen projects by the end of 2009, covering 38 countries and regions.

The fund was the first of its kind for China's science parks and a meaningful example of innovations in financing science. It has become part of HSP's long-term development plan for the coming decade.

Also in 2006, HSP joined Hong Kong's Phoenix TV in promoting its high-tech companies. And, over the next several years, it helped promote 150 enterprises via TV in Europe, creating a new form of media cooperation. Its programs can been found on the iBridge platform, which has helped raise public awareness and lead to the production of similar shows nationwide.

The author is chief of the international Cooperation Division and deputy director of the Administrative Committee of Zhongguancun Haidian Science Park, Beijing

(China Daily 09/15/2011 page18)