XplanaZine

Updates on: Tony Kent Strix Award, European Research Council, Ingenuity Point contest, European eLearning Award

The 2007 Tony Kent Strix Award, sponsored by Sage Publications was awarded to Mats Lindquist, who traveled from the National Library of Sweden with two colleagues to accept the trophy. The award was given on the basis of both his key role in the development of, or significant improvement in, accessibility to an information service, and for his sustained contribution to the field of information retrieval generally over a number of years. — UKeiG Weblog

The European Research Council (ERC), a new research funding body created under the EU’s 7th Framework Program for Research, announced the outcome of its first competition for Starting Independent Investigators. About 300 up-and-coming research leaders, between two and nine years after their doctorate, will receive grants. The first Starting Grants will be signed in February of 2008. — Public Technology

Microsoft recognized the creators of My Tobii - Tobii Technology of Stockholm, Sweden - for the positive impact that the software is having on the lives of people with disabilities as part of the Ingenuity Point contest, a competition for software development efforts in the areas of education, healthcare and environmental sustainability. The other winners are TR Control Solutions, a UK-based provider of resource monitoring technologies for schools, and OSIsoft, a California-based developer of real-time information controls that are used by water utilities around the world. — MySolutioninfo.com

Malta won in the 2007 European eLearning Award held in Brussels, Belgium. The Maltese entry, entitled “Rescue La Vallette – An Adventure in Time,” is a game that introduces young learners to the e-skills of the European Computer Driving Licence through a mix of storytelling and instructional content. — The Malta Independent Online