The Fusion Digital Media Venture forum will showcase early and growth stage companies that are original content/intellectual property ventures and companies developing platform and enabling tools to deliver digital media content.

Fusion Digital Media Venture Forum is the only financing event in the west dedicated to digital media, will showcase early and growth stage companies that are original content/intellectual property ventures or developing platforms and enabling tools to deliver digital media content. Accepting applications now.

Approximately 25 pre-screened companies focused on the production of video games, online communities, digital entertainment properties including animation, film and music, mobile content and applications and eLearning (serious games/training simulation) will present over two days.

Fusion is designed to showcase the hottest digital media firms, provide valuable insights into key issues in this rapidly growing sector, provide a premium networking opportunity and a chance to learn from world-class investment professionals involved in the sector.

REGISTER TODAY @ WWW.THEFUSIONFORUM.COM

February 20 + 21, 2008
The Vancouver International Film Centre
1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC

The Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund goal is to accelerate the development of new energy technologies that have the potential to solve real, everyday energy and environmental issues and create significant socio-economic benefits for all British Columbians. Accordingly, the ICE Fund will:

• Address specific British Columbia energy and environmental problems that have been identified by government.

• Showcase B.C. technologies that have a strong potential for international market demand because they solve problems that exist both in BC and other jurisdictions.

• Support pre-commercial energy technology that is new, or commercial technologies not currently used in British Columbia.

• Demonstrate commercial success for new energy technologies.

The pre-commercial energy technologies to be supported through the ICE Fund will focus on technologies beyond the R&D or prototype development phase. The ICE Fund will not support research, prototype development, feasibility studies, business start-up initiatives, product manufacturing or marketing. The ICE Fund is administered by the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources (MEMPR), and will receive $25 million from a levy on all final sales of electricity, natural gas, fuel oil and grid-delivered propane. The levy was implemented effective September 1, 2007 and is expected to generate approximately $2 million per month.

Closing Date:  4:30 pm Pacific Standard Time – Monday, March 3^rd, 2008

Enquiries
All enquiries related to this Call for Applications are to be directed to:
 
ICE Fund
Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources
Attention: Claudia Trudeau
Tel. 250-952-0243
Email: Claudia.Trudeau@gov.bc.ca

PROJECT PRIORITIES
The Innovative Clean Energy Fund’s Call for Applications supports pre-commercial energy technology that is new, or commercial technologies not currently used in B.C.

The following three priorities will form the foundation for the upcoming Call for Applications for the ICE Fund:

1. Energy Production: The fund will increase British Columbia’s production of clean or renewable energy.

British Columbia’s robust economy and growing population has increased the demand for energy. The province is now dependent on other jurisdictions for meeting up to 10 per cent of its annual electricity requirements. With a growing awareness of the long-term impacts on the environment from intensive use of traditional fossil fuels, the BC Energy Plan set targets for conservation and clean or renewable energy production.

Priorities for the commercialization of energy production technology include:

•  

  • Capture and storage of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and thermal electricity generation facilities.

  • Development of technology to convert softwood residues to ethanol for use as low-carbon transportation fuel.

  • Production of clean electricity using forestry and agriculture biomass, municipal wastes and other clean or renewable energy resources.

  • Production of clean electricity, fuels or other value-added products made from biomass from regions with mountain pine beetle infestations.

  • New systems/components that improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of commercial clean or renewable energy projects.

  
  

2. Energy Transmission: The fund will improve the ways energy moves from producers to British Columbia consumers.

An important part of meeting the goal of self sufficiency is ensuring a reliable transmission infrastructure is in place. Investment and innovation are required to maintain and expand existing infrastructure to meet growing domestic and export demands, promote energy security and reliability, and develop new energy resources.

Technology commercialization priorities include:

•  

  • Improvements to the operating efficiency and cost-effectiveness of electricity transmission and/or distribution systems to increase reliability and power transfer capabilities. Possible technological solutions include: grid design and construction, systems monitoring and optimization, wide-area management

  
  

  systems, advanced metering platforms, protective relays and substation controllers.

  • Improvements to the operating efficiency and cost-effectiveness of petroleum and natural gas pipeline systems by capturing and using waste energy from compressors and pressure let-down stations to produce electricity.

  • Advanced hydrogen production and fuelling technologies to complete the first seven fuelling stations of the BC Hydrogen Highway and fuelling stations that will link the Hydrogen Highway to California.

  
  

3. Energy Use: The fund will improve the ways energy is used in British Columbia’s communities and across all sectors of the provincial economy.

Energy efficiency and conservation technologies are required to maintain the province’s energy security and address rising energy demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

Technology commercialization priorities include:

•  

  • Local renewable energy resources or technologies to reduce diesel-electric generation in remote, First Nation or off-grid communities.

  • Advanced heating, lighting and cooling technology, and electricity self-generation for “net-zero energy” residential, commercial and institutional buildings.

  • Reduction in the carbon intensity of commercial and passenger vehicles using low-carbon fuels, advanced engines and emissions control technologies.

  • Intelligent lighting control systems in public buildings and transportation corridors to reduce municipal electricity demand.

  • Electric vehicle technology, including plug-ins, hybrids and fuel cells.

  • Clean or renewable energy technologies (e.g. combined heat and power systems) for use in British Columbia’s commercial and industrial sectors.

  
  
  

The following information (below) is just a brief list of some of the available web based online tools that can help you get organized to keep track of your small business or consulting services finances. Any one of these solutions can help you keep an accurate record of payment dates, invoice numbers, client contact information and transactions online.

If you’re a small business owner or a consultant selling services and products over the Internet, you know that getting your clients and customers to pay you and on time can often be a challenge. Getting paid is critical to staying in business, and far too often, not enough time and attention is paid to an effective solution for invoicing and billing.

1. BillMyClients.com: Consultants, freelancers, small businesses and larger corporations can take advantage of this online invoicing solution that features three separate systems designed to help all kinds of business owners keep track of their finances and “quickly and easily create and print invoices and bills.” BillMyClients.com touts itself as being your online partner for all things invoicing and billing. Whether you'd like to do it yourself or have them do it for you, BillMyClients.com claims to have a solution to meet your needs.Their most popular plan starts at only $11.99 per month.

2. FreshBooks: This Canadian based company claims that FreshBooks is “the fastest way to track time and invoice your clients,” and their easy-to-use system is especially popular with small businesses and freelancers.  Freshbooks has over 275,000 users of their online invoicing and time tracking service, and this web based solution claims to save you time and makes you look professional - Fortune 500 professional. 
 
3. BambooInvoice: If you run your own company or freelancing business, try out this open-source invoicing solution to bill your clients and manage your data. According to the website, you’ll “never need to trust your invoicing data to anyone else, and you can get it out of the system easily.”

4. Invoice Journal: The DownloadSquad gives this Web-based system a positive review for it’s simple structure and no-frills website.

5. Simplifythis: Simplifythis promotes “business made easy.” This attractive, professional-looking solution lets companies organize financial data in a clear, concise manner.

 

 

 

RackForce announced today that it now offers enterprise grade backup service for its hosted server customers by utilizing IBM Tivoli Storage Manager in line with Storage Area Networks and LTO4 tape systems.

RackForce’s General Manager Randall Robinson explained, “Hosting infrastructure providers are in the business of providing reliability but our industry has not typically provided backup solutions capable of supporting the fast growing online web sites and applications. We knew we could not stay status quo on this and decided after much research and planning that the award winning Tivoli backup solution was the answer.”

Many enterprise products like IBM Tivoli have traditionally not been available to the small to medium size business. Now that larger hosting infrastructure providers have the economies of scale to attract vendors like IBM they can provide the technology as a service and make it affordable for everyone. Now solutions providers, ISVs and hosting companies can provide first class backup for their customers.

“Tivoli is a system administrator’s dream. With the RackForce implementation our reseller customers will be able to store up to 14 versions per month of backup to RackForce’s SAN and LTO4 tape systems. They will have access to a Graphical User Interface and will be able to customize which data is backed up. Even live databases can be backed up and long-term data archived. This is exactly what today’s online business needs to keep constantly changing data safe and secure,” stated James Bothe, System Administrator for RackForce.

RackForce will begin providing its Tivoli backup service on its 5000, 5100, 5300 and 5350 Server models with Windows or Linux Operating Systems and DDS Windows Virtual Private Servers. It will be affordably priced on a monthly flat rate plus overages. For more information please go to the below website.

About RackForce Networks Inc.

RackForce is one of the fastest growing Hosting Service Providers in North America. From its three data centers the company provides 24/7 dedicated servers, virtual private servers and collocation services to a growing world-wide customer base. Due to its unique location in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada it has access to redundant hydro power feeds, a well educated employee pool and excellent world-class carrier networks.

Vancouver BC, October 10, 2007 —

The BC Technology Industry Association, the largest technology association representing 2100 member companies across BC, today announced that Pascal Spothelfer has been appointed as the new President and CEO.

Pascal, who was born and raised in Switzerland and moved to Canada in 1994, has held a number of senior management roles across several industries both in Europe and Canada. Most recently, he was President and CEO at Spectrum Signal Processing, a Vancouver-based provider of advanced wireless communication systems which was recently purchased by Vecima Networks.

Prior to Spectrum, Pascal was the Senior Vice-President, Strategic Development at Teekay Shipping (Canada) Ltd and from 1994 to 1998, served as the Chief Operating Officer and later President and CEO of NovAtel Inc., a high tech company specialized in global positioning systems. Before moving to Canada Pascal was involved first as a management consultant with The Boston Consulting Group and then as a member of the executive team in the turnaround of Jenoptik AG in Germany.

"Pascal brings to BCTIA a great combination of broad senior management experience, strategic thinking and intellectual horsepower to help the TIA drive an agenda aimed at building a stronger, more dynamic and more robust technology industry in British Columbia. Pascal’s experience as a tech industry CEO in BC also gives him a deep understanding of the demands faced by technology businesses across the province and will allow him to be a very effective advocate for our industry," said Jonathan Wilkinson, Chair of the BCTIA Board of Directors.

Pascal Spothelfer holds a Master of Law and a PhD in law from the University of Basel, Switzerland and a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD in Fontainebleau in France.

Pascal joins the BCTIA on November 13th, replacing outgoing President and CEO, Rob Cruickshank.Â

In conjunction with National Technology Week Nov 5-9th, KAST and The Greater Trail Skills Centre are pleased to announce the KOOTENAY CONTRAPTION CONTEST.

Open to grades 5-12

If you looked into the future at 2030 what do see, what do you think we will need?

Design a new technology “thing a ma jig”, “what ya ma call it” or “widjit” and win cool prizes.

Your contraption must:
• Do something
• Solve a problem
• Address a need

All submissions must include a description and operating instructions; however it does NOT have to actually work.

This is a conception design contest and submissions can be via:
• Computer graphics
• Video
• Photos
• Drawings

Submissions should include:
1 page description (text) of your contraption as well as all drawings, photos,
Name, Age, School

Guidelines:
kastportal.ca/kast/fileadmin/kast/Events/kootenay-contraption-contest-guidelines.pdf

Entry Form:
kastportal.ca/kast/fileadmin/kast/Events/entry-form.pdf

Contest Deadline: Oct 29, winners announced Nov 9th

Please forward submissions via email or snail mail to:

Kootenay Association for Science & Technology
Box 119
Rossland, BC V0G 1Y0 or
Email: info@kast.com

Please accept this request for your assistance and participation in the 2007 TechTalentBC Labour Requirements Study. TechTalentBC is an initiative of the British Columbia Technology Industry Association (BCTIA) in partnership with VIATeC, the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of BC (ASTTBC), the Province of British Columbia, Western Economic Diversification Canada, and several other regional and sector-specific industry associations.

By better understanding the technical skills required by BC companies, the BCTIA, ourselves, and our other industry partners can better guide government and academia on the types of talent we need to grow, attract and retain in BC.

Please click link below to take the survey or cut and paste the following link into your web browser to complete the study.

For your convenience, a paper copy of the survey can be downloaded from www.bctia.org/TechTalentBC and the completed survey faxed to 1-888-869-8963.

The study will take approximately 10 minutes to complete (less for smaller companies and sole entrepreneurs). We ask that you please complete the survey by Friday, Oct 12, 2007.

This study is intended to be completed by a senior individual with knowledge of your company's existing headcount, labour mix, and future labour requirements. If you are not the correct person in your organization, we ask that you please direct this project to their attention.

The study follows the successful 2006 study that identified the need for over 9000 skilled knowledge workers over the past year. Beyond the skilled labour requirements, the 2007 study will also seek to better understand a number of labour-related business practices including:

Academic Engagement
Local and international recruitment activities
Use of non-traditional labour forces
Training

PRIVACY AND SECURITY
All information collected will be strictly confidential and not used for any purposes other than reporting aggregate labour trend statistics. Specific company data will not be shared publicly or with industry partners or stakeholders. A report summarizing the aggregate results is expected to be released to the public in early November.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about this valuable initiative, please visit www.bctia.org/Techtalentbc or contact Cindy Pearson at the BCTIA at cpearson@bctia.org or 604-602-5234.

Thank you for your assistance in helping to build a strong knowledge-based economy in BC.

Links:
www.questionpro.com/akira/TakeSurvey?id=784913

MEDIA RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 27, 2007

BRITISH COLUMBIA – Matthew Watson, CEO of BC Innovation Council, is pleased to announce Eric Cormier of Nelson and Danielle Lalonde of Trail, as winners of the annual Paul and Helen Trussell Science & Technology Scholarships. Valued at $20,000, winners receive $5,000 per year for the last two undergraduate years of study and $5,000 per year for the first two graduate years of study. To be eligible, students must be entering their penultimate (second to last) undergraduate year of a science program at a British Columbia or Alberta university or university-college.

"Congratulations to Eric and Danielle for their outstanding achievements," said Mr. Watson, CEO, BC Innovation Council. "Their accomplishments exemplify the tremendous potential that rests in young British Columbians across our province. It is critical that we continue to support programs like the Trussell Scholarship to encourage the development of a vibrant knowledge-based economy in British Columbia."

"The Trussell scholarship will allow me to pursue my academic goals at the post graduate level," said Mr. Cormier who developed an insatiable curiosity for why things happen at an early age. "I am fascinated by the applications of mathematics to solve real life problems and I look forward to pursuing a career in this discipline. This scholarship will allow me to develop the understanding and creativity necessary to make a strong contribution to applied research." Mr. Cormier is an Honours student at UVIC and plans to pursue a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Engineering.

"Even as a child, I knew that I wanted to have a career in the sciences," said Ms. Lalonde, who at UBC, discovered a strong passion for vertebrate biology and ecology, prompting ideas of a future career as a biologist/ecologist. "I hope to work as a conservation ecologist in British Columbia, to ensure the place that has taught me so much about biology can do the same for others in the future."

The Trussell Science Student Endowment Fund was established with an endowment of $100,000 from Dr. and Mrs. Trussell, with matched funding from the Province of British Columbia and a contribution from the Vancouver Foundation. Administered by BC Innovation Council, the scholarship was created to support promising students studying natural or applied sciences who are from the Kootenay-Boundary area of British Columbia. The scholarship will assist students in pursuing careers necessary for British Columbia and Canada to remain competitive in the global high-technology sector.

The objective of the ICSD Program is to support excellence in research, technology development and commercialization projects of interest to both parties. Supported projects are expected to:

benefit both British Columbia and China;

build productive alliances between British Columbian and Chinese researchers, technology developers, companies and organizations;

provide mutual access to strategically-focussed, leading-edge research, technology development and commercialization opportunities; and

draw on the complementary strengths of British Columbia and China to the mutual benefit of both jurisdictions.
Complete details of the ICSD Program including the program guidelines and application form may be found on the BC Innovation Council's website (click here).

Details of the Chinese portion of the ICSD Program may be found on the People's Republic of China's Ministry of Science and Technology website at www.most.cn.

For further information contact:
Office of International Partnerships
BC Innovation Council
(604) 438-2752
1-800-665-7222 (Toll Free)

OIP@bcinnovationcouncil.com