• Hub welcomes new Board Members
• Adding value to telecommunications technology
• Join our Cyberspace Community
• Expertron patent receives a clean bill of health
• Hub's pre-incubation programme attracts innovators
• Hub progress sheet and infrastructure milestones
• ElectroSoft changes its name to Des-Pro
• Virtual reality excites visitors to Ubuntu Village
• A global look at business, social and urban development impacts on science and technology parks

Programming into the future
Innovation Hub hits the right note

The Hub Team
The Hub Board

Chief Executive Officer
Dr Neville Comins
Business Development & Marketing
Thibi Matshele
Enterprise Support and Networking
Martin Yuill
Incubation
Jill Sawers
Empowerment Initiatives
Tsietsi Maleho
Chief Information Officer
Modiba Ramohlale

Tel: +27 12 349 0376 / 70
Fax: +27 12 349 0322
Physical Address: Bld 46, CSIR site, Meiring Naude Rd, Lynnwood, Pretoria, South Africa
Postal Address: PostNet Suite 213, Private Bag X844, Silverton 0127, Pretoria, South Africa
Website: www.theinnovationhub.com
Directors:
NL Moikangoa (Chairman), J Hattingh,
AJ Jordaan, S Lowitt,
Prof NC Manganyi, P Maharaj,
M Mokoena, I Naidoo, JSJ Nel, M Petje

The Innovation Hub is a strategic partnership between the Gauteng Provincial Government's Blue IQ initiative, and SERA, the Southern Education and Research Alliance, a partnership between the CSIR and the University of Pretoria

Hub progress sheet and infrastructure milestones

Some of the recent highlights and developments at The Innovation Hub that add substance to the progress being made are profiled in this newsletter.

• On the infrastructure side, the Master Plan for the infrastructure development has been completed and the Request for Information (RFI) process for design consultants has been finalised. Recommendations for a short list of design service suppliers will go before The Innovation Hub Board before the end of October this year, to be followed by the start of a Request for Proposals (RFP) process on selected projects early in November.

  Discussions with Tshwane Metro to finalise the submission to the Development Facilitation Act Tribunal are ongoing. Subject to these approvals the envisaged date for occupation of the initial buildings on The Innovation Hub's proposed site is still the last quarter of 2004. Advanced discussions with prospective tenants are also ongoing.

• Facilitated by the Hub's Empowerment Initiatives programme, three very early stage companies are currently participating in the pilot pre-incubation programme (two are profiled in this newsletter) while the employment rate of the companies in the pilot Incubator at the Hub have increased by 50% (from 10 to 22) over the last ten months and a number of lucrative business deals have been concluded.

• The activities of the Incubation programme, in addition to overseeing the management of the pilot Incubator that has seen the incubation process for start-ups defined and implemented, have included the facilitation of a "first ever" workshop for Incubator Managers, that was organised in conjunction with the Softstart and eGoli Bioincubators and co-sponsored by GODISA. Currently negotiations for the appointment of a Chair of Technological Entrepreneurship at the University of Pretoria are ongoing.

• The Enterprise and Networking programme at the Hub has initiated a process to develop the framework for a virtual community and is inviting entrepreneurs and innovators to
  join a virtual community to share ideas and learning. Over time, the plan is to develop on-line structures for computer-mediated meetings, informal exchanges, information sharing sessions, training programmes and technical and financial discussions so that participants can benefit interactively from the inputs and contributions of experienced business professionals and technical experts.

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