NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

The iBridge Network Continues Reaching New Heights in Catalyzing Innovation

KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The iBridge(SM) Network, a program of the not-for-profit Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc., today announced that it has doubled its number of member organizations and listed innovations over the past year. As part of its ongoing efforts to drive collaboration and meet member demand, the Network has continually added new site functionalities and technology integrations to the web site. In today's current environment, innovation and collaboration are critically important to driving economic recovery and the iBridge Network provides the tools, resources and relationship opportunities to ensure tangible outcomes.

"Our objective is to put ideas, access, transparency and outcomes at the forefront of today's innovation agenda," said Katie Petersen, manager of the iBridge Network. "We've undergone some tremendous developments over the past year and have really reached a tipping point as far as being recognized as a valued resource for both universities and those seeking innovations."

In addition to redesigning the site to be even more user-friendly, the Network has taken major steps to ensure users can easily upload, transfer and find innovations. Creating interfaces for two information management systems, Inteum Company and Knowledge Sharing Systems, has allowed iBridge members who use either company's system to seamlessly share their research and innovations with the iBridge Network community, resulting in even more member-supplied information on the site.

Additionally, the Network recently added automated patent number linking to Google Patents and the World Intellectual Property Organization, providing even more pertinent information for each innovation on the site.

With 109 organizations supplying more than 12,500 innovations on the iBridge Network, it has become the destination of choice for university researchers, entrepreneurs and industry to share and discover best practices and research across a variety of topic areas.

The iBridge Network will announce a supplemental program that will focus on supporting and driving new businesses at TiECon 2010 in Santa Clara on May 14th. TiECon is the largest convention in the world for entrepreneurs and the perfect venue for announcing the Network's new initiative. For more information, visit www.iBridgeNetwork.org.

About the iBridge(SM) Network

The iBridge(SM) Network is a program of the Kauffman Innovation Network, Inc., an initiative of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. To learn more, please visit www.iBridgeNetwork.org, e-mail us at info@iBridgeNetwork.org, or call 800-573-5136.

SOURCE iBridge Network