The 5th Triple Helix Conference: Turin, May 18-21, 2005.(Conference Reports)(Conference news)(Brief article)

The Triple Helix Conference is held every second year with previous conferences having been held in Amsterdam, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Copenhagen. The triple helix is the metaphor used to represent the relationships between research (primarily university based), industry and government, developed by Henry Etzkowitz and Loet Leydersdorff. One particular feature of this conference is its multi-disciplinary nature in that it attracts researchers from a great variety of subject areas who are studying the components of, and interactions in, the Triple Helix from different perspectives. It also attracts researchers from a very wide range of countries, including many 'emerging' nations--as encouraging relationships between industry and researchers is seen by many governments as a way to lift economic performance. Thus many of the sessions contain case studies of the stages at which the Triple Helix exists in many of these nations, as well as comparative studies between nations or in regional blocs. Turin was a great location, albeit with much construction happening for the 2006 Winter Olympics. The welcome function was held in the wonderful Mole Antonelliana, an old Synagogue now converted into a film museum. The gala dinner was a very a formal affair held in the State Archives off the central Piazza Costello, the latter being inundated later in the evening by Juventus (the Turin team) fans after their win in the Italian football league (in fact the celebrations were reminiscent of election night events in Puerto Rico!). The location for the 6th Triple Helix conference in 2007 has not been announced but both India and New Zealand were put forward as possibilities.

SALLY DAVENPORT, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand

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