Request for Proposals Issued for 2020 COMS Conference

The Micro, Nano and Emerging Technologies Commercialization Education Foundation (MANCEF) has announced the request for proposals (RFP) for its 22nd annual Commercialization of Micro and Emerging Technologies Conference (COMS) to be held in the Americas in the fall of 2020. The three-day annual conference, expected to bring over 225 technologists from the Americas, Europe and Asia, will address the opportunities and challenges in the commercialization of micro, nano and emerging technologies.

Past participants in this world-renowned conference include industry thought leaders, government staffers and academicians. Previous venues of the event have been hosted in Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Mexico, Australia, Canada and the US. The most recent COMS was successfully held in Montreux, Switzerland. The organizing committee of the conference will be co-staffed by members of the board of MANCEF as well as members from the sponsoring region. Deadline of proposals is August 15, 2019 and is open to hosting regions in North, South and Central America as well as in the Caribbean Islands.

The conference host will select a theme complementing its region’s established competencies in the micro, nano and or emerging technology area to help showcase to the conference attendees’ various organizations within its region that are actively supporting micro, nano and emerging technologies, according to Dr. Todd Christenson, president of MANCEF.

The theme will also support areas of workforce development targeted by the hosts. The call for abstracts for presentation will be solicited in early October and approximately 50 speakers will be selected to make presentations.

In addition, COMS 2020 will include an all-day Entrepreneurial Workshop to help give local as well as visiting entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn from the instructors, which will be comprised of MANCEF board of directors. There will be a half-day tour of a local technology organization as well as a conference gala dinner.

Sponsorship of the conference will be solicited by both the MANCEF and local committee teams. 

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.