The programme will be divided into a variety of sessions – retaining both the traditional plenary and parallel sessions on specific topics, as well as more innovative formats – to encourage a more dynamic knowledge exchange. The format of the sessions will only be determined after the paper review and authors are invited to choose from 4 thematic tracks to submit their abstracts. All conference sessions will be related to the overall theme for the 2015 IASP World Conference which has been set as:

“Science Parks and Areas of Innovation:

New Technologies, New Industries, New Communities”

From the perspective of the synergy between the three elements, ‘technology’, ‘industry’ and ‘community’, the functions and value of science parks in a global era will be analysed along with how emerging technologies and scientific developments can influence future human progress in terms of values and habits. The theme covers a plethora of fields where multiple facets of the development of scienceparks can be discussed, and is closely related to the technology and innovation policies of an increasing number of countries, including China, where this conference will be held.

For methodological purposes, these tracks address the main topics of the conference theme (new technologies, new industries, new communities) as separate units, although always from the point of view of STPs/AIs. However, contributions with a holistic approach that try to highlight the relationships between these three threads and the way they intertwine will be especially appreciated. As our colleague Xiadong Zeng from the organising committee stated, “if technologies are points and industries are lines, then communities are planes, and even multi-dimensional structures”. This Euclidean simile illustrates the interdependence and interaction that will enrich this conference.

The three main elements of the conference theme also open up a fourth thematic track that authors can address: the global dimension of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation.

Below you can see a preliminary overview of contents. When submitting a proposal authors are kindly requested to specify which track their abstract is intended for.