We call it Innovation in an Idea Economy

At COFES2005, we will explore how engineering innovations – and an organization’s intellectual property -  can create the path for future survival in the global economy. How engineering innovations of the past can be applied to create opportunities for businesses, entrepreneurs, cultures and society.

We will also look at new challenges:

• Benefiting from the growing pool of professional labor in <st1:place w:st="on">Asia;
• The “quiet crisis” (in the words of Shirley Ann Jackson, head of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) of the western world falling behind its rivals elsewhere;
• Creating an environment where innovation is not stifled by political, cultural, or business constraints
• And cultivating a culture where the best minds are attracted to engineering and science.

Predicting the future is a notoriously dicey pursuit. But at COFES we bring together the best minds, individuals from across a range of industries, who bring insight, creativity, and experience to the table. And together we find ways to help people in the engineering software industry identify, understand, plan for, and exploit the coming economic and technological innovations.

Visual Journalism

On the walls surrounding the COFES sessions, murals will be unfolding on 4’ by 8’ paper to document the presentations and discussions among presenters and participants. The murals serve as tools for communicating the “gestalt” of abstract ideas, opening further discussion, and recording group memory. Visual journalist Eileen Clegg will create these visuals to capture out the tacit knowledge, intuition, unspoken themes, and creative ideas of the COFES event. More on visual journalism at COFES.

Building Community

COFES2005 is designed to help you see where the engineering technology industry is going, while giving you the opportunity to help set its direction. By creating opportunities for leaders of our industry to meet across vertical boundaries, COFES2005 will build a strong community among industry players--one that will provide leadership in the coming turbulent years. Come and help us design the future! Register today.