11th SPICE Meeting 36th ICECE Work Group Meeting

St. Petersburg, Russia
15 – 18 Jun 1999

The "White (Technology) Nights" of St. Petersburg were the second part of the ICECE Forum. Some anniversaries were to celebrate: The "10th Annual Conference on Science and technology Parks" was the "playground" for the ICECE/SPICE Group. The international part of this conference was prepared and moderated by the SPICE Group and members were the speakers: Dinah Adkins gave a report on technology transfer mechanisms, Piero Formica contributed to the discussion on the role of universities in innovation, Jeff Milanette provided important insights into venture capital financing, Slava Khodko, host of the conference and SPICE meeting, reported on ten years of struggle for innovation and entrepreneurship in Russia and Heinz Fiedler, moderator of the session, reflected the results of ten years of international networking.

On this occasion Slava Khodko was honored by the SPICE Group for ten years of active contribution to the international exchange of information and experience in innovation and entrepreneurship and for his important contributions to international projects in this field. A collage made from photos taken at many different events combined with the congratulations of the SPICE Group was handed to Slava Khodko by the SPICE president Heinz Fiedler.

The 10th SPICE Meeting was a remarkable event consisting of parts with very different character. There was a visit to a business incubator "Svetlana" - an impressive example for nurturing technology based enterprises in the environment of Russia today. Andrej Fursenko, managing director of the incubator welcomed the SPICE Group and provided a very informative tour. Later Andrej gave another example of the unbeatable Russian hospitality by guiding the SPICE Girls & Boys to a dinner in a Vikings restaurant, a night walk on Nevsky Prospect and a night cap and dance in the "Old Customs House".

The official SPICE Dinner hosted by Slava Khodko again began with a reception in the American Consulate, continued with a dinner in the restaurant "Austeria" in the fortress Peter - Paul" with Lenin personally visiting our table (no, it was not too much vodka) and culminated in a midnight boat tour on the river Neva and the canals of St. Petersburg ending at - the office of Slava Khodko. All in all the "White Technology Nights" of St. Petersburg again proved to be the place to visit in June.

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