It is a new venue, a new location and an extended format as the home city of Manchester United Football Club plays host to the 9th European Microwave Week. Now extended to six days, the Week has just one goal — to offer four strong and challenging conferences, balanced by a healthy exhibition featuring international players and complemented by a vibrant social agenda. Europe’s premier RF and microwave event kicks off on 10 September through to 15 September at the city’s G-MEX/MICC Complex, where a capacity crowd is expected to divulge and discuss the latest trends and developments that are widening the field of application of modern microwaves.
Supporters of our industry will be made to feel welcome as Manchester stages the event for the first time, before it travels to Munich in 2007 and Amsterdam in 2008. This year, just as the historical city of Manchester has profited from regeneration, the established conferences have also had a makeover with the introduction of the European Microwave Integrated Circuits Conference (formerly the GAAS Symposium), which is the product of close collaboration between the GAAS Association and the European Microwave Association. The new format will enable it to slot in well and complement the established 36th European Microwave Conference (EuMC 2006); the European Conference on Wireless Technology (ECWT 2006); and the European Radar Conference (EuRAD 2006).
Playing its now familiar mid-field role will be the three-day European Microwave Week Exhibition. It is central to the week and fittingly is being staged in the Central Hall of the G-MEX Centre from 12 to 14 September. The venue, a transformed former train station, is on track to welcome international players, not just from Europe, but from across the globe with strong representation from the US and Asia who recognise the significance of the exhibition to showcase their wares to a wide and focussed audience. The exhibition provides a stage for companies, large and small, established or new start-ups, to spotlight their latest introductions, discuss possible future developments and get feedback from customers. For those wanting to get hands-on experience and guidance direct from the experts there are also workshops and short courses on various subjects.
European Microwave Week always strives to balance work and play by offering a rich calendar of social events and this year is no exception. Highlights include the EuMW Welcome Reception that has now become synonymous with the event as it encourages the interaction between academia and industry. There will be the first EuMIC Dinner, which joins the EuRAD Dinner, and there is also the opportunity to attend the EuMW Gala Dinner at the home of Manchester United Football Club, Old Trafford. Alongside, there are other social events throughout the week and tourist programmes to enable visitors to sample Manchester and the surrounding area.
For Manchester’s famous soccer club to become successful has taken a great deal of teamwork and the same team effort has been put into European Microwave Week 2006. A large number of enthusiasts in industry and universities from the UK, Ireland, across Europe and the US have helped out. On behalf of the local organising committee we would like to thank the four international technical programme committees and the hundreds of reviewers who worked tirelessly to shape the record number of individual contributions into the final programmes. We would like to acknowledge the EuMA Board for its continued advice and guidance, and we wish to thank the Horizon House personnel assigned to this event for their invaluable support in organising this major international event, as well as their contribution in staging a world-class exhibition. Last but not least, we acknowledge the financial and in-kind sponsorship of many industrial enterprises and other organisations.
Great efforts have been made to ensure that European Microwave Week’s first visit to Manchester is a productive and memorable one. It gives the RF and microwave industry the perfect arena to showcase its undoubtable skills and with your continued support we hope to build on past successes and take the event into a new league. The entire team looks forward to welcoming you to the 9th European Microwave Week.
