Beijing, China, 25 April 2007 – this afternoon sees a rich mix of themes up for discussion and features a roundtable, which will highlight the main outcomes and help set the agenda for co-operation between Europe and China.

The Thematic Session on Management in Grids highlights the increasing need for management mechanism enabling Grid computing to satisfy diverse application requirements. The presentation by Professor Zhongzhi Luan, Beihang University, explains why management should be an essential attribute of Grid on account of the large-scale Grid environment and rapid extension in terms of both resources and networking. Management mechanisms need to be flexible and automated. Professor Luan discusses the state of the art, key issues and useful technologies & related research activities. The talk by ETICS Project representative, Andrea Manieri, revolves around a Quality Certification Model for Grid research projects, showcasing the ETICS Feasibility Study. ETICS is aimed at developing a Grid-based infrastructure for building and testing distributed software. ETICS tools take care of the whole integration-build-testing-packaging phase crucial for many research projects.

Chinese national Grid initiatives are the focus of the session dedicated to On-going Research versus Enterprise Challenges. The three initiatives in the spotlight are ChinaGrid; CROWN; and CNGrid. Professor Hai Jin, HUST is representing ChinaGrid, while Professor Jinpeng Huai, Beihang University, CROWN. Professor Depei Qian discusses CNGrid: Today and Tomorrow, looking at the current status including Grid software and applications, as well as the objectives of the High Productivity Computer and Grid Service Environment programme.

The Roundtable on Future Collaborative Scenarios is panelled by a team of experts from industry and research discussing and evaluating key areas for future co-operation for innovation. Closing the conference will be Thierry Priol, INRIA, Federico Ruggieri, University of Rome, and Professor Depei Qian.