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The Battle Against European 'Brain Drain'
by William New
Europe will have to add 500,000 additional researchers to its ranks to achieve its goal of investing 3 percent of its gross domestic product in research, according to European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin, who on Monday introduced measures to reach the goal.
Busquin is on a mission to stop a "brain drain" of researchers to the United States by raising their status in Europe. To address that issue, he said the European Commission has earmarked about $1.5 billion to improve the training, mobility and career development of researchers.
Busquin this week also announced an initiative to boost the impact of environmental technologies in Europe. And last week he spoke on the need for advanced security research in the European Union.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament on Tuesday planned to hold a forum on the best strategy for the protection of Europe's personal data in the changed climate since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States. Scheduled speakers included key parliamentary members, European commission officials, law enforcement representatives, and U.S. and European privacy and consumer advocates, and they were expected to address the need for coherent policies among EU nations and issues such as data mining, among other things.
And separately, the European Commission appears to be prepared to impose import duties of up to 35 percent on products from Hynix Semiconductor, the world's third largest maker of dynamic random-access memory chips, the Financial Times reported this week. European authorities have ruled that the troubled Korean chipmaker has been receiving illegal state aid.
The report said while Europe purchases a small percentage of the world's chips because it has a small computer manufacturing industry, the decision could influence the United States' investigation of Hynix.
German City Takes 'Open Source' Path
A German town not known for its tech sophistication claims that it has become the world's first city to adopt "open source" software based on the Linux operating system in place of Microsoft's operating system and software, USA Today reports.
The city of Schwaebisch Hall's sweeping adoption of open-source software is unprecedented, according to the city's Linux distributor. The town expects six-figure savings from the initial changeover, but Microsoft argues that long-term training and administrative costs will surpass the savings. Open-source systems like Linux enable computer users to see and alter the code that underlies the software, while propriety systems like Microsoft Windows do not grant such access.
Elsewhere in Europe, a new proposal by the British government would require that all new homes built in the United Kingdom be wired for high-speed Internet access, the Guardian reports. Britain has set a goal of providing every household with the choice of being online by 2005, but so far only 1.1 million of its 26 million households have broadband access. The proposal is estimated to add about $725 to home construction costs, or roughly $110 million per year.
Canadian Military Studies U.S. 'Transformation'
Canadian military forces this week joined the U.S. Joint Forces Command in Suffolk, Va., to learn about high-tech war-fighting and the U.S. military's transformation toward that goal.
Transformation essentially is the modernization and networking of military operations, a new approach to fighting. Canadian officers attended a two-day forum at the "transformation academy," a smaller version of the new quarterly sessions conducted by the joint forces. The next full session is April 24-25.
With heightened security, meanwhile, Canada last week announced its plan for increased vigilance at the nation's borders.
Comments Sought On Global Information Summit
The U.N. International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has posted for comment the draft declaration and draft action plan for the World Summit on the Information Society.
The summit will be held in Geneva on Dec. 10-12 and Tunis, Tunisia, on Nov. 16-18. The objective of the summit is to develop a declaration and action plan designed to ensure that the benefits and rights of the information society are extended to all. Comments received by May 31 will be included in a reference document, ITU said.
The working documents focus on an information society centered on citizens and require respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Asia-Pacific To Create Cyber-Security Teams
The nations of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) this week held a seminar on the establishment of computer emergency response teams (CERTs) that protect against cyber attacks.
The seminar was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 22-23, in close consultation with Malaysia as the host of the APEC telecommunications and information working group conference on March 24-28.
Hidetoshi Ohno, director of the information technology security office at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Japan, said in a statement that protection of the Internet and computer systems is critical to the region's economic stability and security. He added that Internet attacks have increased in frequency, sophistication and scale in recent years.
APEC countries have agreed to establish national cyber-crime units and international high-tech assistance points of contact by October 2003. Nations also are establishing CERT coordination centers, in some cases helped by Australia's commitment of $100,000 to provide in-country training to expand CERT capacity.
Thailand, Philippines Consider Privacy Bills
The governments of Thailand and the Philippines are considering legislation to strengthen protection of personal data.
In Thailand, a draft of a bill is pending submission to the cabinet, which could make changes, as could the parliament later. The Bangkok Post reports that a recent version of the bill would establish rules for handling all types of data, whether collected online or offline.
In the Philippines, the security subcommittee of the highest policy body for information technology matters is preparing privacy legislation. The country is under pressure from the European Union to adopt privacy laws, an official told Manila-based IT Matters. The need for privacy legislation may be driven by the rising use of mobile data services, the official said.
Manufacturers' Group Targets Counterfeiting
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) on Tuesday announced an initiative to quell the proliferation of counterfeit versions of U.S. products sold in international markets. Nearly one in 10 products in the world is a fake, NAM said.
The announcement came after a meeting of 40 NAM companies, at which they created a working group designed to coordinate company anti-counterfeiting efforts and press the Bush administration on the issue. The electronics industry is among those affected by counterfeiting, the association said.
Last week, meanwhile, NAM wrote to the Senate Finance Committee on the administration's trade agenda, urging that the benefits for U.S. manufacturing exports contained in the U.S.-Singapore trade agreement be extended to other Asian countries.
People In The News
A key decision-making committee of the World Intellectual Property Organization on Tuesday unanimously decided to recommend the appointment of Kamil Idris as director general for a second six-year term. The WIPO coordination committee consists of 79 members. Idris' current term expires at the end of November.
Meanwhile, Australia has appointed a new investment commissioner for the United States. Robert Hunt, who has extensive experience in marketing to the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, will be based in San Francisco. He worked for several software companies before joining the government. Australia is pursuing a plan to invest in ICT, biotechnology and nanotechnology.
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