Technology center based in Univ. City

The Wharton School is no longer the only resource for businesses which University City has to offer. Now, thanks to the International Technology Exchange Center division of the University City Science Center, businesses can more easily reach out to international clients, allowing them to both diversify their operations and increase their revenues. ITEC, which began operations last December, is a worldwide network of member companies, who exchange information and share customers, ITEC Director Charlotta Thunander explained earlier this week. Founded by the Science Center and Kyoto Research Park, a Japanese think tank, ITEC offers services and facilities specifically designed to help its members develop international trade relationships and business. "It is a group of small companies who help other companies to get entry into foreign markets," Thunander said. "It is also for established companies to get internationalized." The eight firms that currently represent ITEC in Philadelphia provide such diverse services as technology acquisitions and business matching, data base research, strategic management consulting, licensing technology from other countries and legal consulting. "Together, they bring expertise and skills together in order to offer introduction to international network for other companies," said Thunander. ITEC has branches in Paris and Kyoto, she added, which enables it to provide its members with additional international contacts. "The network of companies that we work with through informal collaboration also provides help to our members," she added. ITEC is indirectly linked to the University. It works with the technology transfer center and has recently co-sponsored a panel discussion with Wharton's Lauder Institute on U.S. investment in the Soviet Union. Herbert Levine, co-director of the Lauder Institute said that consortiums like ITEC are important for businesses looking to expand. "The idea of having a group that is concerned with the international transfer of technology is a very good one. It certainly helps people who are doing research on global business," he said. "It is also a value to the Philadelphia economy and companies who can use the services of [it]." ITEC has also held luncheons for business executives and sponsored seminars on technology transfer and other international business issues. "It's an idea whose time has come," Thunader said. "It concentrates very much on communication. The companies we have worked with found us a very efficient way to do business. We believe that the ITEC will become an important center for conducting business."

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