Securing Global Competitive Advantage Conference held at Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, London

The knowledge economy now accounts for between 40 and 50 per cent of economic activity and employment in the UK and almost all recent growth in employment comes from the knowledge based sectors. A key government target to 2008 is to improve the relative international performance of the UK research base and increase the overall innovation performance of the UK economy including thorough effective knowledge transfer amongst universities, research institutions and business. This conference brought together government policy makers, industry experts, academics, HR professionals, corporate strategists, economists and entrepreneurs concerned with the future prosperity, economic growth and competitive advantage of the UK in the global market place. Including a video address by Peter Mandelson, Commissioner for External Trade at the European Commission, key speakers were: the Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills; the Rt Hon John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; and Will Hutton, Chief Executive of The Work Foundation.