Elsevier’s Science & Technology Division and Science News Partner to Organize the First “Attracting Academic Talent Summit” in Beijing

BEIJING, May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Elsevier ‘s Science &
Technology division China and Science News announced today that they will
jointly organize the first “Attracting Academic Talent Summit” in Beijing on
June 2, 2009, at the Beijing Rongjin International Hotel.

At a time when China has increased efforts to build high-level capacities
in science and technology industry innovation, the increased competition for
academic talent among universities is a topic of growing importance and
concern for China. The “One Thousand Talents Plan,” a national human resource
program launched in 2008 by the Chinese Central Government, was established
to attract back to China high level academics who have gone oversees to work
or study. These international researchers are becoming a new force in Chinese
universities and are needed resources in order to grow China’s science and
technology skills. As China’s economy is relatively strong in the current
global downturn, many Chinese who are abroad view this as a good opportunity
to go back to work in China. For China it is more important than ever to
develop methods and tools to identify, select, evaluate and manage talent, in
order to improve research performance and get the best Return on Investment
(ROI).

The summit will be attended by Human Resources and Research Department
Directors, leading scientists from the top 20 Chinese universities and
research institutes, including Shanghai Jiaotong University, the Chinese
University of Science & Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),
and policy makers from the Ministry of Education (MoE), and the Ministry of
Science and Technology (MoST).

“The Chinese Central Government is highly invested in this program to
attract high level talent from abroad to come back to China. We are excited
about supporting this by working with Elsevier’s Science and Technology
division in China to co-host a summit on such an important topic. We think it
will be a great platform to show what China has to offer ambitious academics,
especially in today’s economy”, said Mr. Jia Hepeng, Editor in Chief of
Science News in China.

Sun Gaopeng, Regional Sales Director of Elsevier in China added: “With
the types of solutions Elsevier is developing today, we are in an excellent
position to support China’s efforts to attract talent. With solutions like
Scival Spotlight, a solution launching in June that helps institutes map out
scientific expertise and benchmark with competitive institutes, and Scopus,
we can help Chinese universities and research institutes improve ways of
identifying and managing research talent and making informed decisions for
investments.

“We see the ‘Attracting Academic Talent Summit’ as an opportunity to
listen to our customers and get deeper insights into their needs and
challenges”, commented Hugo Zhang, Managing Director of Elsevier Science
&Technology China. “Our mission is to become China’s ideal partner in
realizing its ambitions for further developing its science and technology
capacities. In order to reach those goals, China needs to have the best
people in place to get them there. This means being able to identify and
attract top researchers to China. We are in a good place to support this and
look forward to continuing to work with our Chinese customers in developing
solutions that meet their needs”.

About Science News

Science News (http://www.science-weekly.cn) is a bi-weekly magazine
focused on science and technology in China. Science News is a sister
organization of ScienceNet (http://www.sciencenet.cn), the most popular
scientific website in China. Both of these media outlets are affiliated with
Science Times, which is the official medium of Chinese Academy of Sciences
(CAS).

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and
medical information products and services. Working in partnership with the
global science and health communities, Elsevier’s 7,000 employees in over 70
offices worldwide publish more than 2,000 journals and 1,900 new books per
year, in addition to offering a suite of innovative electronic products, such
as ScienceDirect (http://www.sciencedirect.com/), MD Consult (
http://www.mdconsult.com/), Scopus (http://www.info.scopus.com/),
bibliographic databases, and online reference works.

Elsevier (http://www.elsevier.com/) is a global business headquartered in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands and has offices worldwide. Elsevier is part of
Reed Elsevier Group plc (http://www.reedelsevier.com/), a world-leading
publisher and information provider. Operating in the science and medical,
legal, education, and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides
high-quality and flexible information solutions to users, with increasing
emphasis on the Internet as a means of delivery. Reed Elsevier’s ticker
symbols are REN (Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK, and
ENL (New York Stock Exchange).

    Media Contact:
    Xiaoling Kang
    Elsevier
    +86-10-85208816
    x.kang@elsevier.com

    Anna Hogrebe
    Elsevier
    +31(20)-485-3269
    newsroom@elsevier.com

SOURCE Elsevier