Denis Collins, Chairman of the Board it@cork, European Tech Cluster, welcomed Mayor Edwin Lee on his first official trip outside the USA to Cork, San Francisco's sister City.

Mayor Lee and a large delegation comprised of San Francisco supervisors, industry and municipal leaders were in Cork on an official visit and met with the team in CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory and it@cork Board members.  

In his speech Collins commented “Our Global Cluster is focused on leading and building linkages for mutual economic benefits, academic improvements, and social enhancements.  Our organization represents many companies based in San Francisco.  It's my pleasure to welcome Mayor Lee and I look forward to growing our relationship.  Our cluster of 300 companies, driving 300 billion globally, and more than 1 billion in Ireland is fully committed to making a tangible difference".

Mayor Lee said "I am delighted to work with Denis Collins and a pedigree global organization like the European Tech Cluster.  I look forward to strengthening ties between our regions for mutual benefit"

it@cork has led the development of an industry-led, relevant collaborative cluster, successfully integrating senior government, public sector, and academia. An organization with regional roots, national impact and global reach.  It is leading world class initiatives that are making a difference for economic, academic, and social results.  Our groundbreaking “Adopt-a-School” programme is a shining example of how to excite, engage and educate kids in the areas that are critical to regions IT cluster and the general development of the region.  The CIT BCO group demonstrates this ethos with their Telescope Project.

Collins said “It is imperative that we accelerate the vision, value and reach of our European Tech Cluster. I look forward to making another exciting announcement as part of the European Union Framework 7 (FP7) in the coming weeks. Stay tuned”.