This volume represents the proceedings of the Second International Conference on Innovation through Knowledge Transfer, InnovationKT’2010, organised jointly by KES International and the Institute of Knowledge Transfer, and taking place in Coventry, UK on 7&8 December 2010. Featuring world-class invited speakers and contributions from a range of backgrounds and countries, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to disseminate, share and discuss the impact of university-business interaction through knowledge transfer in all its forms. There were two main motivations in initiating the Innovation through Knowledge Transfer series. The first aim was to provide the chance for publication on a subject where few opportunities exist already. The second motivation was to foster the development of a community from the diverse range of individuals practicing knowledge transfer. It is becoming clear that the delegates of the conference are drawn from a diverse community of practice. InnovationKT’2010 has succeeded in bringing together contributions from both the academic and practitioner sections of the knowledge transfer community. The programme contained seven invited keynote talks, 40 oral presentations grouped into eight sessions, and one interactive workshop. The proceedings contain 29 chapters drawn from this material. There were 91 registered delegates drawn from 10 countries of the world. The field of knowledge transfer is still immature, but these proceedings demonstrate that InnovationKT conference is making a significant contribution to its academic development.

Across the world there is growing awareness of the importance of innovation and knowledge transfer. Innovation in the sense of generating new knowledge and making better use of existing knowledge, coupled with knowledge transfer and sharing paradigms, have never been more relevant to the universities, industry, commerce and the third sector. This volume represents the proceedings of the Innovation through Knowledge Transfer 2012 Conference which formed an excellent opportunity to disseminate, share and discuss the impact of innovation, knowledge sharing, enterprise and entrepreneurship. The volume contains papers presented at a Workshop on ‘The Meta Transfer of Knowledge: Challenges in the Transfer of Knowledge in Industry’, others from thematic sessions on ‘Next-Practice in University Based Open Innovation’, ‘Social Innovation and Related Paradigms’, ‘Engagement with Industry and Commerce’ and ‘Knowledge Exchange’. All papers were thoroughly reviewed by referees knowledgeable in practical and theoretical aspects of the subject.

Knowledge transfer between universities, business and the community is a topical subject of increasing importance. The first International Conference on 'Innovation through Knowledge Transfer: Research with Impact', InnovationKT'09, held in Kingston, London, UK, provided a rare and welcome opportunity to share some of the successes of knowledge transfer. The conference attracted 150 delegates and featured 42 oral presentations. This volume, representing the proceedings of the conference, contains 35 papers based on selected conference presentations. The papers are divided into seven sections entitled ‘Key Knowledge Transfer Perspectives’, ‘Knowledge Transfer Case Studies’, ‘Innovative Knowledge Transfer Techniques’, ‘Strategic and Organisational Approaches to Knowledge Transfer’, ‘Knowledge transfer in the Arts and the Community’, ‘Knowledge Transfer Methodology and Practice’ and ‘Innovation and Enterprise’. The first InnovationKT conference was unique in gathering such a tremendous range of knowledge transfer experience and expertise. This volume forms a valuable resource for all those who are involved in knowledge transfer, or wish to know more about it. University academics can read examples of ways in which research can be commercialised, increasing impact and improving relevance. Knowledge transfer practitioners can find out about best practice in their subject and read case studies. Companies can read about how universities can help find solutions to their problems. We recommend this volume as a statement of the benefits that knowledge transfer can bring to all those involved.

The ways in which codified and tacit knowledge are sourced, transferred, and combined are critical in furthering open innovation. When used effectively, knowledge sharing and organizational success are significantly increased, improving products and services. The Role of Knowledge Transfer in Open Innovation is a collection of innovative research on a set of analyses, reflections, and recommendations within the framework of knowledge transfer practices in different areas of knowledge and in various industries. While highlighting topics including tacit knowledge, organizational culture, and knowledge representation, this book is ideally designed for professionals, academicians, and researchers seeking current research on the best practices for transfer of knowledge as an intermediate open innovation.

This book demonstrates how managers can use and transfer knowledge more effectively to stimulate innovation in their organization in order to increase their competitive advantage. Jones and Mahon draw on their discussions with combat Veterans, whose very survival relies on their skill in transferring crucial knowledge and information quickly, effectively and efficiently. They note that in today’s competitive and fast-paced business world, these skills translate into continual innovation, metamorphosis,and ultimately success. The authors have built a conceptual framework that demonstrates to the reader how to develop the same underlying skills and to use them effectively in the business environment. With rich and lively examples throughout, Knowledge Transfer and Innovation equips students and practitioners of knowledge management, innovation, leadership and strategy with the skills, tools and strategies to succeed in today’s fast-paced business environment.

This book is about the role of knowledge spillovers and strategic entrepreneurship in the management context. It focuses on how knowledge spillovers and strategic entrepreneurship are crucial to the process of creative destruction and construction. The book aims to provide insights into and discussion on how firms combine entrepreneurial action that creates new opportunities for industries, regions and economies. This book is first of its kind to link knowledge management perspectives to strategic entrepreneurship to understand the co-creation process. Being interdisciplinary in nature, this book appeals to entrepreneurship and knowledge management scholars, students and practitioners.

This important book is about the origins and diffusion of innovation, in theory and in practice. The practice draws on a variety of industries, from electronics to eyewear, from furniture to mechatronics, in a range of economies including Europe, USA and China.

How do organizations not only survive, but thrive in today’s new operating environment? By developing resilience and agility. Knowledge transfer is critical to this, and talent development practitioners are positioned to help companies prepare. In “Knowledge Transfer: The Key to Organizational Resilience and Agility,” Chris Cancialosi details: • what knowledge transfer is and why it is critical to organizations’ resilience and agility • the role of effective knowledge transfer in the future of workways to develop and strengthen an organization’s ability to effectively transfer and manage knowledge.

Welcome to the proceedings of the Third International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB’11, held in Marseilles in France, organised by the Laboratoire des Sciences del'Information et des Systèmes (LSIS) in Marseille, France in partnership with KES International. SEB'11 formed a welcome opportunity for researchers in subjects related to sustainability, renewable energy technology, and applications in the built environment to mix with other scientists, industrialists and stakeholders in the field. The conference featured presentations on a range of renewable energy and sustainability related topics. In addition the conference explored two innovative themes: the application of intelligent sensing, control, optimisation and modelling techniques to sustainability and the technology of sustainable buildings. These two themes combine synergetically to address issues relating to The Intelligent Building. SEB’11 attracted a significant number of submissions from around the world. These were subjected to a two-stage blind peer-review process. With the objective of producing a high-quality conference, only the best 50 or so of these were selected for presentation at the conference and publication in the proceedings. It is hoped that you will find this volume an interesting, informative and useful resource for your research.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Intelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services (IIMSS-2011). IIMSS-2011 comes as a sequel to IIMSS-2008 (Piraeus-Athens, Greece, July 9, 10 and 11, 2008), IIMSS-2009 (Mogliano Veneto (near Venice), Italy, July 15, 16 and 17, 2009) and IIMSS-2010 (Baltimore, USA, July 28, 29, and 30, 2010). This fourth edition of the IIMSS Conference was organized jointly by the Department of Informatics of the University of Piraeus, Greece and the School of Electrical and Information Engineering of the University of South Australia, in conjunction with KES International. At a time when computers are more widespread than ever and computer users range from highly qualified scientists to non-computer-expert professionals and may include people with special needs, interactivity, personalization and adaptivity have become a necessity in modern multimedia systems. Modern intelligent multimedia systems need to be interactive not only through classical modes of interaction where the user inputs information through a keyboard or mouse. They must also support other modes of interaction, such as visual or lingual computer-user interfaces, which render them more attractive, user friendlier, more human-like and more informative. IIMSS is a new series of international scientific conferences aimed at presenting novel research in the fields of intelligent multimedia systems relevant to the development of a new generation of interactive, user-centric services.