Nov@log confirmed.

After three years’ experience and concerted effort, Nov@log is maintaining its competitiveness cluster label and can now set to developing new projects for the future. During the CIACT (Interministerial Committee for Territorial Development and Competitiveness) on the 11th of May, the government announced the certification of the 13 competitiveness clusters it had classified as requiring reconfiguration in 2008, following an initial assessment. Hence, Nov@log will be maintaining its competitiveness cluster label. The number of R&D projects, which considerably contributed to the competitiveness cluster’s score, is also impressive since, to date, around 80 projects have been certified for a total investment of €110 million.

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Closing date for applications to participate in the équidefi® competition - 1st September 2010.

Successfully launched in 2008, équidéfi® rewards the two best innovative projects in the horse industry – those that demonstrate the ultimate aim of creating a new economic activity, genuine development potential and an asserted desire for commitment in Lower Normandy. The competition is co-organised by the IFCE (French Horse and Equestrian Institute), Normandie Incubation and the Horse Industry Competitiveness Cluster. For further information: equidefi

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The INPI and the TES Cluster sign an agreement for the promotion of industrial property.

During the recent TES Cluster encounters, Céline Couroux, in charge of the INPI’s Lower Normandy branch, together with Pascal Baisnée, President of the TES Cluster, signed a partnership agreement aimed at promoting and increasing awareness among TES Cluster member companies, in order that they consider industrial property as an essential tool for further developing their Research and Development investments.

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Laurence Cuenin – new Innovation Delegate for Oséo Basse-Normandie.

Laurence Cuenin will be taking over from Alexandre Jeanne as Innovation Delegate for Oséo Basse-Normandie.

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Ipdia in the race for Europe.

Less than a year after its creation, Ipdia (Connexions N°40, page 6) is one of 175 European companies selected to participate in the final phase of the “European Business Awards”. Ipdia is one of 25 companies representing France for the prize, along with other, highly prestigious names such as Airbus, Auchan, Thales… The jury’s choice was based on criteria associated with innovation, economic excellence and sustainable development. The next phases include - first of all in July 2010 - the nomination of the “Ribbons of Honour”, or national finalists, then the final European selection in the autumn of the same year.

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Officially created on the 15th of February 2010, DIRECCTE (Regional Directorate for business, fair trade, consumer affairs, work and employment) reunites, throughout Lower Normandy, 8 State services or directorates originating from both the Ministry for Economy, Industry and Employment and the Ministry for Work, Solidarity and Civil Services.

The directorate offers the opportunity to provide businesses and socio-economic players with a global and coherent service, via a vast range of interventions. It is divided into three territorial units, located in each département (Calvados, Manche, Orne) and three regional poles: the Work pole, the Competition pole and the “Economy, Enterprise, Employment” pole. The latter reunites players from the worlds of professional training, economic development, international affairs, crafts, tourism and business intelligence.

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Investigating the morale of industrialists.

MIRIADE has published its on-line indicator of industrial morale. It can be consulted on MIRIADE’s website.

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Working towards collaborative projects.

On the 16th of June 2010, Normandie Aerospace (NAE), the Norman association in the aeronautical, spatial, defence and security field, organised a forum entitled “Technologies and Innovations” in Deauville, in partnership with the two innovation agencies Seinari, for Upper Normandy, and Miriade for Lower Normandy. The aim of the forum was to federate Normandy’s SMEs and laboratories around collaborative projects and to generate new themes. During the forum, several testimonies on collaborative projects and subcontracting were presented, together with an insight into the many opportunities for financial, industrial and human support.

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LMNO and GREYC: image denoising via block thresholding.

In many fields of application, images are omnipresent and their processing is essential if we want to make judicious use of them. Images can be subject to deterioration such as vagary perturbations, which are commonly referred to as noise. Researchers from the LMNO (CNRS, UCBN), the GREYC (CNRS, ENSICAEN, UCBN) and the CEA Saclay are now turning to a hitherto unexplored method for image denoising: the BlockJS (Block James-Stein). The BlockJS combined with recent transformations born from harmonic analysis such as curvelets, enables images to be optimally denoised with reduced calculation time.

For further information: www.cnrs.fr

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The ESITC (Higher School of Civil Engineering) in Caen is striving to transmit knowledge and skills for sustainable construction.

Building with a low environmental impact, whilst optimising resource economy – such is the key research theme at the Higher School of Civil Engineering (ESITC) laboratory. In this engineering school, state of the art higher education in eco-materials and sustainable development is now enhanced by research aimed at offering solutions for current public works and construction issues, in particular sustainable construction. Thanks to its expertise in the field, ESITC’s materials and construction research laboratory has been selected within the framework of a Franco-British research project entitled SETARMS, and of a further collaborative project aimed at developing and promoting the use of linen fibre in construction materials, recently certified by the PGCE* Competitiveness Cluster.

*Pôle Génie Civil Ecoconstruction (Civil Engineering and Eco-construction)

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