With the fast-growing number of new ICT services and applications, it is becoming more and more difficult to guarantee the required quality levels. To strengthen research in the field of Quality of Service, CWI, TNO Information and Communication Technology and the University of Twente founded the E-Quality expertise centre. The official kick-off took place on September 30 in Enschede. Goals of the new centre are to transfer knowledge to the market, to further expand the knowledge and expertise of the partners of joint projects and to train specialists.
During the kick-off meeting the directors of the participating institutes signed an agreement: Jan Karel Lenstra (CWI), Peter Apers (UT-CTIT), Gerard van Oortmerssen (TNO-ICT) and Henk Zijm (rector of UT). About eighty visitors - from companies and universities - listened to the directors' statements about the importance of E-Quality for their institutes.
The E-Quality participants bring in a wealth of expertise in the area of Quality of Service, but each with a different and complementary focus. Rob van der Mei (CWI): ``The academic partners are somewhat fundamentally oriented, whereas TNO has a strong focus on the market. This makes an excellent combination!'' E-Quality's coordinator Hans van den Berg (TNO and UT) explained the plans and two world-famous speakers closed the programme, James Roberts of France Télécom and Daniel Menascé of the George Mason University.
