The initiative is not common in Portugal, but about 50 technology companies formalized this morning the creation of a consortium for the area of ​​Education, as TeK wrote, which aims to serve the national market, but also to broaden horizons with international projects.
The next step is the creation of an administration and executive committee that represents the consortium, which should happen quickly as a first project is in progress, which has already been signed but which cannot yet be disclosed.
The idea appeared a year ago, in the ambit of exploratory conversations – promoted by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Communications – about how Portuguese companies could take advantage of the opportunities created with the new generation networks. THE cluster Education has proved to be one of the most prepared to move forward, which led to the consortium being implemented, but there are other interests that may take shape in the near future, a source from that organization told TeK.
On the sidelines of the conference LuĂs Cabrita, president of ProlĂłgica, admitted to TeK that there is some overlap of competences between the companies that belong to the consortium but explains that it will now be up to the market dynamics to select the best ones. With the experience that the consortium with JP Sá Couto brings, since 2007, Luis Cabrita believes that the creation of this ACE will be a competitive advantage, guaranteeing critical mass and the possibility of a complete offer in the education area, which enhances the implementation of projects educational.
After the signing of the Protocol among the close to five dozen companies participating in the consortium, Prime Minister José Sócrates congratulated the companies for the initiative and recalled that this type of dynamics were foreseen from the first moment in the Technological Plan, adding that the modernization of the School in Portugal, which created conditions for these companies to develop products and services that they can now export to other countries.
«Today we have competencies that go beyond the Magalhães computer, in the creation of infrastructures in schools, in video projectors, interactive whiteboards, management software and student cards,» said the Prime Minister.
Rogério Carapuça, President of Novabase, advocated during his speech the need to create a School of the Future so that there can be a Portugal of the Future, pointing out the capacity of national companies to create intellectual property that does not exist so that teachers can teach in a different way. But he warns that «these references must be implemented here, because nobody sells what they don’t practice».
The companies participating in the E-xample consortium are Bettersoft, BI-Bright, Brandia Central, Cabelte, Caixa Mágica, CBE, CME, Cnotinfor, ConhecerMaisTI, Critical Links, DST SGPS, Duet, Edubox, Edigma, Efapel, Famasete, GlobalLeda , Globaltronic, Inforlândia, ISA, Impresa Digital, i-Zone, JP Sá Coutp, JSL, Leya, Leadership, Lusoeduc, Microfil, Micro I / O, Mobbit, Novabase, Nautilus, OniTelecom, Porto Editora, Prológica, PT Inovação, Quitérios , SoftLimits, Somitel, Take the Wind, Televes, Ubiwere, Viatecla, Viatel, Visualforma, WsBP and Y-Dreams.
Editor’s Note: The news has been updated with the list of companies participating in the consortium.
