EuroNanoForum
The largest official conference of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to date, EuroNanoForm 2013 attracted a record-breaking 1,500 active members of the nantechnology community from 50 countries around the world.
Delegates: 1,500
Client: Enterprise Ireland
Event: EuroNanoForum 2013
Type: Conference
Date: June 2013
Days: 3
Brief
The EuroNanoForum is a nanotechnology conference which takes place every two years and was the highlight of Nanoweek 2013, which is an annual event organised by NanoNet Ireland that concentrates on various aspects of nanotechnology. The EuroNanoForum conference focuses on the impact which nanotechnology has in problem solving across key societal sectors such as health, energy and environment. The conference showcases nanotechnology innovations and boasts high profile speakers from industry, government and research, all discussing the economic and technological impact of nanotechnologies on European growth.
EuroNanoForum takes place in the country which holds the Presidency of the European Union and this year was hosted under the auspices of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, supported by the European Commission and its Industrial Technologies programme, and co-organised by Enterprise Ireland, Conference Partners and Spinverse Ltd. The EuroNanoForum 2013 was also supported by an International and a National Advisory group which was comprised of many eminent scientists and leading industry players including Intel.
Solution
The Convention Centre Dublin (The CCD) was chosen as the ideal venue in Ireland to host the sixth EuroNanoForum for three key reasons. The Auditorium in The CCD has a capacity of 2,000 delegates which can easily cater for the estimated delegate numbers of 1,000 during plenary sessions. The CCD is an iconic building and the organisers felt it was the perfect ‘showcase venue’ for a technology based event. Finally, The CCD’s city centre location and close proximity to Dublin airport meant that the venue was easily accessible for all.
The aim of EuroNanoForum 2013 was to bring business and industry, scientists and policy makers together. Over 140 high-level speakers gave vivid talks throughout three plenaries held in The CCD’s 2,000 seat Auditorium and during 15 parallel sessions, 12 integrated workshops, 500 posters and closed meetings in The CCD’s meeting spaces. The fifth floor with stunning views over Dublin and the River Liffey, provided the perfect setting for the ‘Matchmaking Session’ where 20 minute networking meetings took place in order to find technology and research partners. Over 150 participants took part in 350 meetings on the morning of day three.
The EuroNanoForum 2013 also hosted the Nanotech Europe exhibition and the International Brokerage event. The Nanotech Europe exhibition was held in The CCD’s 2,721 square metre ground floor Forum where 70 organisations from 20 countries showcased their ground-breaking innovations. The first day of the conference hosted the NanoNet Ireland showcase where more than 20 Irish companies and research centres demonstrated their capabilities. This was organised by CCAN – Ireland’s Collaborative Centre in Applied nanotechnology. According to Dr Liam Brown, Enterprise Ireland’s coordinator of the EuroNanoForum 2013 “This has been an ideal opportunity to showcase Ireland as a hotbed of Research, Development and Innovation in Nanotechnology and beyond...”
One of the event highlights was a video message during the gala dinner and awards ceremony by U2’s guitarist, David Howell Evans, better known as The Edge, to all delegates, asking them to live their dreams to change the world for the better.
Results
The sixth EuroNanoForum was an important event for The CCD, attracting a high level of European dignitaries and far-reaching publicity across Europe. It was the largest EuroNanoForum to date and was deemed a tremendous success attracting a record-breaking 1,500 active members of the nanotechnology community from 50 countries around the world. It was also the largest official conference of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union to date.
Post-event comments from delegates stated that The CCD had ‘a great location, great staff, great food and was an excellent venue’. Other delegates commented that ‘EuroNanoForum was a very well organised event in an exceptional venue with friendly and helpful staff’.
"I am delighted that the EuroNanoForum is being held in Dublin as part of Ireland's Presidency of the EU and it looks set to be the most successful ever." Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn T.D.