12 Days Left to Register for SSTI Annual Conference

Only 12 days remain for you to register before Encouraging Regional Innovation kicks off on October 14 in Cleveland with four pre-conference sessions. With the economy seemingly changing every hour, there's never been a more important time to join your colleagues at the nation's premier conference on tech-based economic development. This year's conference, we think, has a great mix of sessions to help you plan for what the future may hold: thought-provoking policy sessions with an underlying theme of "where do we go from here?," best practice sessions to give you new ideas, and sessions to give you tools to operate your programs more effectively.

More than 330 people have already registered for the conference. Join them by registering on-line at: https://www.ssti.org/Conf08/registration.htm

To further your educational opportunities, sign up for one of four intensive pre-conference sessions:
        
Full-day pre-conference sessions (9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Oct 14)

• Secrets for Successful Biocommercialization Support This intensive full-day workshop developed in partnership with Cleveland Clinic Innovations will focus specifically on how best public-private initiatives can  assist bio-based businesses. We'll approach the topic from several perspectives, but all with the end in mind of how we make state and local bio-innovation support initiatives more effective.
• Introduction to Tech-based Economic Development This interactive workshop is tailored to those professionals new to tech-based economic development. Attendance is always limited to a small group to ensure each participant benefits from the personalized session - walking away with a firm foundation for SSTI's full conference and for their TBED responsibilities back home.

Half-day pre-conference sessions (1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m., Oct 14)

• Creating and Strengthening Relationships with Federal Laboratories The nation's federal laboratories have emerged as a tremendous resource for states and regions looking to build their tech-based economies. In fact, 42 of the top 100 innovations identified by R&D Magazine in 2006 were commercialized in partnership with one or more of our 700 federal laboratories. This session is tailored to those organizations looking to get in on the action, to get their foot in the door of the federal laboratories, and to strengthen existing ties in particular fields of research and commercialization. The brightest brains from the leadership of the federal laboratory system and state TBED organizations with successful fed lab experience will be at the session to provide specialized help for those in attendance.
• Effective Entrepreneurship Assistance: Advice from the Experts Initiatives that have demonstrated a history of success are beginning to attract global attention for their achievements. Now, rather than traveling the country to learn firsthand about the programs, we've gathered some of the nation's most respected leaders to share their experience and lessons learned. This session will provide a behind-the-scenes look at some of the country's most effective entrepreneurship programs and the strategies that have helped them succeed. Presenters from Innovation Works, i2E, and JumpStart  will provide insight into building an entrepreneurial culture, identifying potential entrepreneurs, connecting new business owners to the resources they need and helping to build high-growth firms.

We'll see you in Cleveland!