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The Law Of Correspondence

Copyrighting does not mean defending a name. There lie only couple of situations in which copyright has been applicable to the name. In case of a want to shield your name you really should file on an application which offers you a unique trademark for your name. This strategy is different from attaining patent or copyright. Copyrighting a name consists of several directions and specifications as follows.

If you are involved in a legal dispute involving two or much more parties that may outcome in monetary compensation or some precise functionality rather than criminal sanctions then you have to have a Ventura County civil litigation attorney. When you hire a civil litigation lawyer, he will examine your case rigorously and identify regardless of whether or not you have a claim. The attorney will file the complaint and represent you in court, though issues such as monetary damages will most likely settle prior to trial. Hiring a Ventura County civil litigation lawyer can relieve a lot of anxiety simply because the attorney will be managing and litigating your case. An attorney will ask you regardless of whether you want to go to trial or want to settle the dispute, meaning that eventually you are still in control of your case’s path.the law of correspondence

When building a new internet site, it is desirable to attain and place a copyright notice on your internet site so as to announce your ownership towards any perform that is displayed here from time to time. Such projects frequently take fairly some time especially if you design it oneself, with out any professional aid. It is preferable to retain a track of drafts and alterations with dates so no charges of infringement can come upon.

Read Also – missouri board of law examiners

When a piece of perform is brought into a tangible kind, it automatically acquires copyright protection. It is nonetheless a great thought to preserve each document with time, date and some official stamp. If ever this record has to be reproduced to challenge infringement, this data will be pretty valuable in influencing the decision in the owner’s favour. Like any other kind of function such as art, design, music, film, drama or investigation perform, producing a new website also demands very good preparing and preservation to avoid plagiarism.

You can ask your mates or relatives for references of any little small business lawyer and civil litigation lawyer around your neighborhood. They should have adequate legal and small business knowledge to deal with your routine operate and to represent you effectively in case of any legal trouble. The lawyer you pick out must be reliable and accessible by means of unique means, such as by way of telephone and email, so you have many methods to attain them in case of an emergency. A business enterprise lawyer ought to also have comprehensive expertise about the various contracts, licenses or permits expected to run your business enterprise in your state whereas a civil attorney need to be nicely versed about crime, individual injury, landlord/tenant disputes and motor vehicle disputes.

Business lawyers are pros who have practical experience and know-how of problems that surrounds the beginning and operating of a business. They are ordinarily generalists who have a operating experience on a wide range of challenges, from copyright and trademark to tax and employment law. Some larger law firms have attorneys specializes in distinct areas. The very best way to come across a small business lawyer in Ventura County that works with modest corporations is to ask acquaintances and friends who have small corporations.

For authenticity, the operate may also be registered with the USPTO.

Why someone ought to definitely look for a lawyer? The answer is when you have a conflict or when you worry losing profit. Lawyers delve into the nitty-gritty of all the human difficulties that a person can think about. They are paid to extricate consumers from the emotional or financial nets in which they have turn into enmeshed or to locate ways for the clientele to escape being netted.

If you own a company in Ventura County then at some point you are going to need to have a lawyer. Contrary to well known perception, lawyers do more than just solve difficulties. An knowledgeable small-small business lawyer can enable you to begin your organization, appear more than and negotiate proposed leases and prepare contracts. Attorneys assistance you comply with regulations, which govern all the things from finance and credit to incorporation and zoning. You will need to have a lawyer if you acquire an intellectual home, engage in litigation, sell your company or file for bankruptcy, for instance.

Read Alsokevin law

From time to time copyright does not offer you a full possession of your web site as concepts, translation in foreign languages, domain names, titles, names and slogans, except in specific circumstances, are not match for the policy. Though there are other alternatives readily available, USPTO is taken to be the highest grade of authenticity. The US Copyright Office assures displaying your copyright certificate on all public forums to assert your ownership. A treaty called Berne Convention has been signed by specific other nations accepting copyright owner in US to hold the identical rights in their nations also.

(two) Illustration of logo or mark For authenticity, the perform may also be registered with the USPTO. But, as this service is very costly, yet another third party can come to assistance. They might be a Solicitor, a Notary or an Escrow Service. This is often needed since the poor man’s copy” has certain limitations for that reason, its credibility is frequently challenged by specialists. Specifications to copyright the name:

The Law Of Correspondence – A treaty referred to as Berne Convention has been signed by particular other countries accepting copyright owner in US to hold the exact same rights in their countries too.

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Frezyderm Rosacea Review*

Happy new year! My year has started off with lovely calm skin and I think one of the reasons is the Frezyderm products I was kindly gifted by their PR team in the UK.

Frezyderm is a Greek skincare brand founded in 1986. Since 1986 Frezyderm has always strived for high quality skincare products that meet strict pharmaceutical standards, becoming dermatologists’ go-to brand across the world.

Frezyderm remains a family owned, well-renowned and trusted dermo-cosmetic brand, offering premium skincare solutions for all ages and skin types.

I have always been interested in trying their rosacea products, as I’ve seen really great reviews for them.

I was sent the Sensitive Red Facial Cream. It is a soft cream for regulating and reversing the symptoms of rosacea and sensitive intolerant skin. Directly and significantly reduces redness, spider veins, inflammation, blackheads and swelling. Enhances the skin barrier and activates the function of the skin, while providing strong hydration. The soothing action relieves and gives elasticity and skin comfort. With strong anti-acne, anti-wrinkle and antioxidant activity, it is suitable for all ages.

Sounds great! I really believe it does what it says it will. My skin was a lot calmer and my spider veins were less prominent. My mum also used it too and I thought her face looked a lot more even and smoother. So, it worked on different ages and different issues. I highly recommend it!

I was also sent the Sensitive Red Skin SPF 30 CC Cream, which is one of my new favourite products. Firstly, a little goes a long way so it is a bargain! It covers the skin nicely if you are looking for a nice light to medium coverage for daytime wear. Also, the key part is the sun protection. Those of us with rosacea know how important it is to wear SPF all year round! I can’t recommend this product enough. The colour matches a variety of paler skin tones, so that was great for me. If you wanted heavier coverage or to change the tone slightly, I think it would make a great base. One of the best rosacea products I’ve found.

Another lovely product I was sent was their Mild Wash Liquid. It offers gentle cleansing and does not cause irritation. It also strengthens the natural skin defenses, protects the skin barrier, has moisturizing and emollient properties and a cool texture that gives a sensation of wellbeing. I usually don’t use water on my face, but I did like this as a cleanser. My face felt clean but not stingy. Also, it can be used on all the body (all!), so if you have other sensitive skin issues this is a go to product for the shower!

I am so impressed with these products and I will certainly be buying them again and more from the range! Thank you Frezyderm!

A Synesthesiac’s Perfume Review

I love perfume and body sprays. For me, they elicit memories, feelings and even colours. I’ve been trying a few new perfumes this summer, but also sticking to some firm favourites. Here are some of my favourites at the moment:

Fijian Water Lotus Eau de Toilette

This really is one of my favourite perfumes. It’s a lovely light, fresh daytime scent. It is the first aquatic-base perfume I’ve tried and it’s exactly the sort of smell I’ve been looking for. It smells so clean and has lovely crisp undertones of mandarin. Bearing in mind it contains extract of hand picked water lotus, I feel like it is quite the bargain.

Buy it here

Ghost Deep Night Eau de Toilette Spray

I’ve been wearing this perfume since I was 16. It is a firm favourite. It is a powerful scent, which lasts a long time. The base is the exotic and fragrant flower -Indian Rose. The sweetness of Apricot and Peach is blended with base notes of White Woods and Vanilla to add warmth to the fragrance. It is slightly more of a deep and heady scent than I usually go for, but the sweetness balances this out. I definitely want to try more from the Ghost range. This perfume always reminds me of great memories of evenings out. A great evening scent.

Buy it here

Monsoon Rose Gold Eau De Parfum*

This is a new perfume to me this summer and I am so glad I tried it! Usually I’m put off by muskier scents, as I feel they are too strong smelling or more suitable for a slighter more mature person, but this is a new favourite! It rivals very expensive perfumes on the market and never seems to fade. It has top notes of sparkling lemon and soft fruit.  Ozonic scents are layered with velvety rose, tuberose, neroli and cyclamen, and underpinned with base notes of Eastern woods, vanilla, mosses, musk and balsamic amber. It is such a deep and complex smell- it is very alluring. At first you are reminded of a rose garden, then you begin to smell the citrus tones. This is a definite winner for me.

Buy it here

Gwen Stefani Harajuku Lovers Sunshine Cuties Eau de Toilette- G

Oh man I wish they still made this. I have one open bottle and one still in it’s packaging which I’m saving for special occasions. This was my absolute favourite perfume. Maybe it’s because of the point in time I was wearing it, but it really does smell great too. It is really coconutty, but not sickly sweet. It reminds me of my first year of uni and always puts me in a good mood. This perfume also got me a lot of compliments and seemed to draw people in. I don’t think you can ever go wrong with coconuts!

I believe that it is similar to the other G perfumes, so I’ll definitely be trying that.

Buy it here

Accessorize Love Lily*

Firstly, the bottle of this perfume is so lovely. It really looks good on your dresser. It reminds me so much of being a teenager and I don’t know why. It’s a really young fruity scent. It features notes of raspberry, orange, jasmine and sweet vanilla. I think this is a lovely perfume for teenagers, but it is a little bit sweet for me.  Nice for a bit of nostalgia though!

Buy it here

*products marked with asterisks were kindly given to me as PR samples from Sparkle PR

Hotter Shoes Blogger Evening

A while ago I was lucky enough to be invited to a Hotter Shoes blogger event in Bromley. I’d heard good things about Hotter from a lot of people, and I’d really been looking for some hypermobile feet- friendly shoes!

As soon as I arrived I had something fizzy in hand, so I was very happy. There was also a lovely selection of nibbles and treats, so we were spoiled as soon as we got to the door.

I’d never actually been in a Hotter shop before and I was pleasantly surprised. I think a lot of people are under the misconception that they make ‘old lady shoes’ but this just isn’t true. Yes, the emphasis is on comfort, but there were a good selection of stylish shoes on display.  Many have #comfortconcept features like “memorise” insoles, extra wide or even dual fitting. I am a big fan of the memorise insoles. The painful heels I’d been suffering with have really gone away since using them.

I picked a pair of stylish trainers called Stellar as my gift from Hotter and I love them.

I’ve been wearing them to the gym for a few weeks and I’m very happy with them. They’re lightweight, easy to get on and really supportive. I definitely recommend them as trainers for anyone who has trouble feet or just doesn’t fancy standard sports brands.

I am a true Hotter Shoe convert. I think I own about 6 pairs of Hotters and I know that collection will be ever growing!

Here I am at the event talking about my trainers:

Purepotions Skin Salvation*

I decided to try something new on my skin this week. I’ve had dermatitis on my hands since I was a child and nothing has ever worked at getting rid of it, so I wanted to work on that.

Pure Potions gifted me with their Daily Moisturising Cream and Intensive Moisturising Ointment and I couldn’t wait to try it out!

I started by using the ointment on my hands twice a day. I was amazed at how fast my hands got better. Within one use, my flakey skin had almost all gone. My hands are basically completely healed. I would highly recommend this to anyone else with sensitive and dry skin. The great thing about Pure Potions is that it is 100% natural, so it’s a lot less likely to cause you any side effects or reactions.

I then started to use the moisturiser on my face, as I really trusted the brand. I’m particularly funny about what goes on my face. My Rosacea is very temperamental, so I’m weary about trying anything new. Within one use, I saw the difference. My face has never been so glowy and clear! I’m still flushing occasionally, but I don’t dry out and my skin is so clear! No bumps or blackheads!

I really recommend this to anyone who has allergy prone skin or is looking for natural, cruelty free vegan beauty products.

Check out the full line of products here:

*The products in this blog were gifted, but the opinions are honest and mine.

I love thisworks. I have had insomnia since I was a teenager and I’ve been making a big effort to fix my sleeping pattern recently. The deep sleep pillow spray has definitely helped me drift off. It’s nice to set a routine at bed time, to train yourself to fall asleep at bedtime. This pillow spray is a good product to add to your routine.

Conversely, I’ve found if I’m a little tired at work, breathing in some of the energy bank roll-on perks me up and can be used as perfume!

Have a look at some of their other products here.

Anatomicals is one of my favourite brands. Not only does it smell AMAZING, but it also actually works. My dry skin is a lot better since using the jet set saviour body lotion.

You can find the brand on ASOS or Ulta Beauty.

Hotter Shoes

I have had problems finding comfy shoes for as long as I can remember. Because I have Hypermobility Syndrome (and I broke my foot as a teenager and didn’t know!) it’s really important that I wear good supportive shoes.

My life has changed since discovering Hotter shoes. Particularly the designs using memorise insoles. I walk so much easier now and don’t feel frumpy!

L’Oréal Infallible Total Cover Review

When I saw there was a new foundation out which claimed to be able to cover just about anything, I was a bit skeptical. Often I find that even my favourite foundations still let a bit of rosacea peek through or make you look like a clown. This one is different.

I popped to Boots to buy the foundation and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was 3 for 2 on the range… and you got a free blender!

The concealer palette is now a new favourite of mine. In the past I’ve tried  primers with yellows and greens in to neutralise redness and they’ve either, made me look ill or dried my skin out. The green in this palette is very creamy and blends into the skin easily, so it’s not like a thick layer on your face.

The main thing which impressed me was the blue section, to help cover dark circles. I’ve never found anything which covers up dark circles as well as this. Often, under eye concealers can fall in the creases too much. This is lightweight, so it doesn’t do that.

I expected the foundation to be VERY heavy looking and feeling to be able to cover up my rosacea and acne marks. It really isn’t. It is surprisingly lightweight and natural looking but completely covers my blotches. I didn’t even need to apply concealer to my redder areas-which is new to me.

I also think the porcelain colour is better than standard porcelain. I often look washed out if I use porcelain, but anything darker is too dark. This has got a bit more of a warm tone to it, so it looks natural and makes your face look healthy.

Fixing Mist

The fixing mist is great for keeping the make up exactly how you left it in the morning, without drying your skin out.

I highly recommend trying this, if you too suffer with rosacea or redness. Much more affordable than a lot of the high coverage brands and not as cakey!

Have a look at their range here.

The Wet Brush

The Wet Brush Pro

I have been brushing my hair whilst drying it for years. Recently I read that doing this can really damage you’re hair, and I’m not surprised, as my hair was very split ended! Since using The Wet Brush, my hair has been in a lot better condition and it drys a much nice shape.

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Everything You Need To Know About Hydro Flask Stickers

Hydro Flask Stickers - Sira Print Inc.

If you’re not living under a rock, you’re either fan of hydro flasks or in the market for one.  Beyond the obvious hydrating benefits and portability of hydroflasks, they also are making a splash with the stickers people are using to personalize them. That’s where Siraprint comes in!

Here, we share all things hydroflask stickers so you can enjoy your own taste while refreshing your tastebuds.

What are the best stickers for hydro flasks?

From transparent to matte finishes or glossy like the liquids within, you can decorate your hydro flask with all sorts of stickers. We recommend our die cut stickers which not only are durable but also weatherproof, scratch-resistant and cut to exact specifications so your design stays vibrant and exact, no matter how intricate the details. Get creative and slap on as many as you’d like. Overlap or spread out as you deem fit. Our easy application process makes for a smooth, bubble-free finish.

How do I remove hydro flask stickers?

Ready to swap out your favorite band sticker?  Opting for a new look but just can’t fathom replacing your favorite beverage holder?  No worries.  Removal of hydroflask stickers can be done easily and without damaging the bottle itself, especially with stickers made by Sira Print. Our stickers can be removed without leaving behind any residue. For other stickers, wet a paper towel or clean rag with rubbing alcohol, and rub the residue to lift it off. Got a stubborn sticker? Lay an alcohol-soaked rag on the area, and let it sit for several minutes to soften the residue. From there, gently peel away the remaining debris. Ta-da!  Brand new real estate for your new hydro flask stickers to be affixed to.

What are some ideas for hydro flask stickers?

Show off your snarkiness with mottos that fit your personality. Add avatars of your personal fan fiction faves. Choose to use stickers that highlight the places you’ve been and the feats you’ve accomplished?  Ran a marathon?  Stick it!  Blazed a trail?  Stick it! Been there and done that?  Show off more than the t-shirt!  Take your stickers with you wherever you go and show them off to the world with each sip you take. Own a small business?  Showcase your brand’s logo on your hydro flask. Whatever you can imagine sporting, we can create.

Where to order hydro flask stickers?

Order hydro flask stickers with confidence!  Simply upload your file, provide your supply size and quantity, lamination type and let us know of any special instructions, and we will take care of the rest. Of course, we always provide a PDF proof within 24 hours before we begin production so you can rest assured we are creating exactly what you want. You’ll get an ideal sticker or even a plethora of stickers you want when you look at our sticker sheets! Siraprint makes it easy!

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Design & Order Custom Product Labels in Just a Few Simple Steps

Who Invented Stickers?

Stickers Vs Decals, What's The Difference?


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My life in the cook islands

For the past few days I have been living in the Cook Islands. They are a protectorate of New Zealand but they have their own parliament and police force. In the time that we’ve been here It’s been hot, humid and rainy, but other than that it has been a very interesting time. The island on which we shall live on for the rest of the week is called Rarotonga, an amazing island full of beautiful flora, such as; orange tree, coconut palm, papaya tree and banana tree, with a mountain range in the middle. and, if I’m not mistaken, is 32 km long, has only 10 000 inhabitants and is the biggest of the Cook Islands.

 The Cook Islands main industry is tourism, which they supplement by fishing off the reef. There are lots of shops in which you can by souvenirs, great tasting food and cool clothing but, oddly enough all shops close at 5:00 pm and most restaurants are only open until around 9:00 pm. Almost all of the shops are closed on Sunday too. It is very different from other tourist countries in which the souvenir shops will usually stay open until 10:00 pm.

In the normal everyday life, I’ve noticed lots of differences and very few similarities between our countries. For one thing, there are chickens, everywhere! In the streets, in your yard, on your car and even in your own flippin’ house. I literally meant it when I said “everywhere”. The chickens are also of every distinct colour possible. Want a red chicken, they got it. Want a bald chicken, they got it. Also, in addition to the chickens, you can see pigs, goats, cows and even horses in people’s yards. Another difference is that, instead of having cats prowling around in the streets, you have dogs, and they aren’t small. They are usually around the size of a golden retriever.

One of the remarkable things about this place is that, who needs seatbelts? You can see half a dozen people in the trunk of a car an no one even cares. It’s probably because the speed limit doesn’t go past 50 kph and is usually only 30 kph. Another wonderful thing about this place is that you can leave your doors wide open, go shopping for a bit, and come back with nothing gone. Also, because of the island’s small size, you could probably walk the whole thing in one day and still have some time to go shopping, have a drink and make it back home in time for supper. Great, isn’t it? You can live anywhere along the island road and still be in walking distance of some convenience store and a pleasant beach. Pretty convenient, eh?  (I’m such a Canadian) There is also almost always a cool breeze coming off the shore to cool you off if you’re way to warm and if you’re used to a much colder climate (like me! 😊).

 Lastly, the water is freakishly warm and infested with sea snakes (Just kidding! I only saw one).  Anyhow, the water is nice and warm and so much better than our freezing cold lake water back in Canada. You can see clearly through the water, very unlike our dirty brown water in Canada, which means that you can see every living specimen right by your feet. It’s quite an amazing sight.

So, to top things off, I’m quite enjoying myself on my trip. I know that this is only the beginning of my trip but I can’t help but think that everything will be spectacular from here on. The locals are very nice and interactive, I haven’t contracted any tropical diseases or been humiliated because I was attacked by a chicken, the food is awesome and I’m doing lots of fun stuff. Yup, I think I’m really going to enjoy my year this year.

2 Replies to “My life in the cook islands”

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Short Story/Novella Picks of 2011 (1 of 3)

Like most skinshifters, Ariane Conant doesn’t have much use for magic, but, as a faerie, she knows it when she sees it. When she’s sent to spy on a suspicious group of mages, Ariane uncovers a trio of magic thieves. Recognizing her classmate Kiran Eckhart among the thieves’ victims, Ariane rushes to the rescue—and into a race to stop the mages from stealing Kiran’s psychic powers forever.

Luke and his twin sister Sera have unusual abilities. Hers is a gift—she can heal with a touch of her hand. His is a curse—he can see the future but he can’t do anything about it.

On a hike up the mountain, Luke has a vision unlike any other—one that leaves him terrified. Knowing that it will come true—and that he must do everything in his power to stop it—leaves his own future uncertain.

When a Taker takes her best friend’s soul, 16-year-old Evee refuses to let Jaeger become just another Void. She wants to help him, but she has no idea how. After an accident gives her a concussion, she starts hearing voices in her head-–well, one voice, loud, clear, and overly peppy and it belongs to Jaeger’s little sister. And Mercy has a plan to get his soul back, once and for all…as long as they can outwit the Taker hunting them first.

The Haanta Series is the longest, ongoing, online romantic fantasy series. Thousands of readers visit the world of the Two Continents to enjoy the daily short stories featuring all their favorite characters from the Haanta Series novels. In between the business of the books, the commander, Rautu, Otenohi, Unghaahi, Leraa, Kai Linaa and Alasdair enjoy some time together in Diras Castle, but as the stories portray, mischief lies in every corner of the keep where spiders, chocolate pies, petulant giants and grouchy cooks abound.

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Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages

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Anon Líkn 19VII/3 — ræsis ‘ruler’

Hvat megi heldr of græta
hvern mann, er þat kannar,
röðla býs en ræsis
ríks píningar slíkar,
er dýrr á sik sáran
siklingr ept kvöl mikla
hreinn til hjálpar mönnum
hauðrfjörnis tók dauða?

Hvat megi heldr of græta hvern mann, er kannar þat, en slíkar píningar ríks ræsis röðla býs, er dýrr, hreinn siklingr hauðrfjörnis tók sáran dauða á sik ept kvöl mikla til hjálpar mönnum?

What could be more able to make weep each man who ponders it than such torments of the mighty ruler of suns’ dwelling [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)], when the precious, pure king of earth’s helmet [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)] took bitter death upon himself after great torture for the salvation [lit. help] of men?

[3] ræsis röðla býs ‘of the ruler of suns’ dwelling [SKY/HEAVEN > = God (= Christ)]’: Cf. Has 59/3-4 and Kálf Kátr 39/3-4. The gen. pl. röðla ‘of suns’ (contrasting with the sg. in Has 59/4) is attested elsewhere; the extended sense is probably ‘heavenly bodies’, i.e. sun and stars. (Guðrún Nordal 2001, 292 translates it as sg. ‘lord of the dwelling of the sun’, and indeed pl. forms can substitute for sg. in skaldic poetry.)

case: gen.

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The next Summer appears soon…

…much sooner as you want….

And with the Summer the vacation season will be here. We would love to help you to organise your trip throughout Scandinavia with your German and Russian speaking guests. Please don’t hesitate and have a look at our Swedish, German and Russian homepages.

To learn more about us please have a look at our presentations in English, Swedish, German or Russian.

Kaffeeklatsch & Co.

New language course concepts will be launched in February by Richter’s mångsyssleri in cooperation with the Club Tucholsky community. For more information in Swedish check out our Swedish site.

One of them will be called Kaffeeklatsch. It’s called efter the German Kaffeeklatsch, where Germans meet and talk and drink coffee – as long as possible. We will hold our Kaffeeklatsches for about one and a half hours and during this time we will have some coffee as well as some cookies. But we will even talk, German of course, discussing various fields of interests on the basis of a book or a newspaper article we read or a film we have seen, music we have heart during some weeks before the lesson. The courses can be hold every week for a permanent group or as drop-in courses for those who are only interested in some lessons.

The other course is called Futtern wie bei Muttern, Eat as at Mom’s. Here we hire a kitchen and cook together, from studying the receipts until eating the food. A lot of all day words will be taught by this way – and the whole thing in a funny and delicious way.

Both courses will be given at the same day of the week and will last for at least ten weeks – with one break in February and one in April. We are right now working on finding a place for us to be, probably in the Mårtens fälad neighbourhood in Lund.

The prize for one lesson will be 100 SEK.

Herzlich Willkommen!


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Presentation on Surgical Neutering Techniques

Here are the notes and slides for a presentation I recently gave comparing various surgical sterilization and neutering techniques.

Among the most common surgical procedures in small animal practice are those for sterilization (preventing reproduction) and neutering (removing the gonads). The goal of these procedures is both to prevent reproduction and to provide a net health benefit for the patient. This benefit may include avoiding the risks of reproduction, reducing the incidence of those disease that are more common in intact animals, and reducing behaviors associated with intact status that can lead to relinquishment.1-2

There are many variations on these procedures, and the specific techniques used by individual veterinarians seem to depend more on tradition, personal habit, and cultural preference than on explicit evaluation of the pros and cons from a scientific perspective.3 There is, however, research evidence concerning some of these procedures which we can use to make rational decisions about our choice of technique. We can also use this research to inform the recommendations we make to clients. Pet owners are increasingly aware that there are multiple alternatives to choose from, and they may come to us with strong opinions or misconceptions about the most appropriate procedure to their pets.

Most procedures are intended to prevent reproduction. Some also involve gonadectomy, which has a complex array of both beneficial and harmful effects that depend on breed, sex, age, timing of surgery, and many other factors. The long-term pros and cons of gonadectomy are controversial, and I have reviewed them in detail elsewhere.2 In brief, there appears to be a net health benefit for most female dogs and cats from neutering, though the details of the risks and benefits and the effect of the timing of neutering are quite variable. There is much less evidence for a net health benefit in neutering males, though there are other justifications for doing so. Today I will consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of different surgical sterilization methods for males and females.

The most common spay procedure in the United States is ventral midline ovariohysterectomy (OVH). This is an effective technique for sterilization and neutering of both dogs and cats with very low complications rates when performed by experienced surgeons.4-6 There are many minor variations with no research evidence comparing the relative merits of most.

One exception is the flank approach to ovariohysterectomy, preferred in some countries for cats and small dogs. There are theoretical advantages and disadvantages to this approach, and research evidence comparing flank and midline approaches is mixed. Some comparisons suggest the flank approach is faster with fewer complications,7 but other studies find no difference8, and some indicate more discomfort associated with the flank approach.9-10 Access to both ovaries is more difficult with the flank approach unless bilateral flank incisions are made, which significantly complicates the procedure, and hysterectomy can be difficult by this method.11 The flank and midline methods both achieve the goal of gonadectomy and sterilization.

Traditionally, ovariohysterectomy has been preferred in the United States while ovariectomy (OVE) is the more common choice in some other countries.12 Both techniques are equally effective at achieving gonadectomy and preventing mammary carcinoma and pyometra.12-14 Some studies have suggested that OVE is less painful than OVH15, however other studies have not identified any difference in post-operative pain or other complications.10,16

A relatively recent option is the laparoscopic spay. Both laparoscopic ovariectomy and ovariohysterectomy have been reported, using a variety of equipment and techniques. Comparisons are difficult given the many different approaches, equipment, and assessments used in published studies. In general, the disadvantages of laparoscopic OVE and OVH include the cost of equipment, the need for extensive training and practice to achieve proficiency, and the longer surgical time.17-20 Laparoscopic spay may have the advantage of decreasing post-operative pain, complications, and recovery time, though the literature is not consistent and there is a lack of high-quality studies.21

With a growing awareness of the potential negative effects of neutering, there has been some increased interest among breeders and pet owners in sterilization procedures that do not involve gonadectomy. For females, two such procedures are hysterectomy (sometimes called an “ovary-sparing spay”) and ligation of the fallopian tubes or uterine horns. Both procedures have been described in the literature,22-23 but neither have been widely adopted.

There are no controlled research studies comparing tubal ligation or hysterectomy to OVE or OVH. While ligation of the fallopian tubes or uterine horns can prevent reproduction, it is highly likely that any risks and benefits associated with the presence of ovaries2 are the same for females having a tubal ligation as for those not spayed at all. A complete hysterectomy, including removal of the cervix, likely eliminates the concern for pyometra while the other risks and benefits of intact status remain unchanged.

Despite the uncertainties, surgical neutering is the most common approach to sterilization of male cats and dogs. For dogs, frequently used techniques include closed castration (removal of the testes without opening the vaginal tunic) and open castration (which involves opening the vaginal tunic prior to ligating the vessels and ductus deferens). Both procedures can be performed through a scrotal or pre-scrotal incision, and there are a number of variations of each.

There is much debate about the relative merits of open and closed castration in dogs, but it is based mostly on theoretical reasoning and anecdotal evidence. Some argue that closed castrations are safer because there is no direct communication with the abdomen, reducing the risk of ascending infections or herniation of abdominal contents. Others claim that open castrations are less likely to lead to hemorrhage or scrotal hematomas. Typically, closed castration is recommended for small dogs and cats and open castration for larger dogs.

There is little research evidence to inform these debates. One prospective randomized trial did find more overall complications in dogs undergoing open castration.24 However, problems with recruitment of subjects for this study significantly limit the strength of this evidence. Overall, serious complications are few in dogs undergoing castration, and it is unclear if there is a consistent advantage to either technique.

The research evidence comparing scrotal and pre-scrotal approaches in dogs is also quite sparse. A randomized, prospective study comparing the two approaches found similar complication rates.25 The scrotal approach had the advantage of inducing less self-trauma and of being about 30% quicker to perform (though the absolute difference, from about 5 minutes to 3 minutes, is of doubtful clinical significance). Once again, both techniques are effective, and it is not clear that one is superior to the other.

Several techniques have been described for neutering male cats,26 but there is virtually no formal research comparing complication rates. A scrotal approach appears to be the most common, and methods for securing the ductus and vessels include suture ligation and various methods of tying the tissues on themselves. One comparative study of these ligation methods found no significant complications and no difference between methods.27

An uncommon surgical technique used for male dogs in some resource-poor countries is pinhole castration. The spermatic cord is ligated with suture percutaneously to induce necrosis of the testes.28 While this technique is less expensive than standard surgical castration and it does reduce functional testicular tissue volume, it is unclear how effective it is as a means of sterilization, and some reports suggest a higher rate of infection, pain, and other complications compared with standard techniques.29-30

Finally, surgical or laparoscopic vasectomy is sometimes recommended as a means of sterilizing male dogs and cats without neutering.26 Both approaches are effective at achieving this outcome. There have been no direct published comparisons between surgical and laparoscopic vasectomy. One small study comparing laparoscopic vasectomy with surgical castration in dogs found few differences except for a subjectively greater level of post-operative discomfort in the surgical patients.31

  1. New JC. Characteristics of shelter-relinquished animals and their owners compared with animals and their owners in U.S. pet-owning households. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 2000;3(3):179–201.
  2. McKenzie B. Evaluating the benefits and risks of neutering dogs and cats. CAB Reviews: Perspectives in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Nutrition and Natural Resources. 2010;5(45):1-18. Updated version available at:
  3. May S. The flank cat spay: eminence-driven fashions in veterinary surgery. Veterinary Record. 2012;170:460-461.
  4. Howe LM. Surgical methods of contraception and sterilization. Theriogenology. 2006 Aug;66(3):500-9.
  5. Berzon JL. Complications of elective ovariohysterectomies in the dog and the cat at a teaching institution: clinical review of 853 cases. Veterinary Surgery. 1967;8:89–91.
  6. Burrow R. Batchelor D. Cripps P. Complications observed during and after ovariohysterectomy of 142 bitches at a veterinary teaching hospital. Veterinary Record 2005;157:829–833
  7. Kiani FA. Kachiwal AB. Shah MG. et al. Comparative Study on Midline and Flank Approaches for Ovariohystrectomy in Cats. Journal of Agriculture and Food Technology. 2014;4(2):21-31
  8. Coe RJ. Grint NJ. Tivers MS. et al. Comparison of flank and midline approaches to the ovariohysterectomy of cats. Veterinary Record. 2006;159(10):309-313
  9. Oliveira JP. Mencalha R. dos Santos Sousa CA. et al. Pain assessment in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy by midline or lateral celiotomy through use of a previously validated multidimensional composite pain scale. Acta Cirúrgica Brasileira. 2014;29(10):633-38.
  10. Burrow R. Wawra E. Pinchbeck G. et al. Prospective evaluation of postoperative pain in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy by a midline or flank approach. Veterinary Record. 2006;158(19):657-60.
  11. Janssens LA. Janssens GH. 1991. Bilateral flank ovariectomy in the dog—surgical technique and sequelae in 72 animals. Journal of Small Animal Practice. 32: 249– 252.
  12. Van Goethem B. Schaefers-Okkens A. Kirpensteijn J. Making a rational choice between ovariectomy and ovariohysterectomy in the dog: a discussion of the benefits of either technique. Veterinary Surgery. 2006;35(2) 136-143.
  13. DeTora M. McCarthy R. J. 2011. Ovariohysterectomy versus ovariectomy for elective sterilization of female dogs and cats: is removal of the uterus necessary? Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 239: 110
  14. Okkens AC. Kooistra HS. Nickel RF. Comparison of long-term effects of ovariectomy versus ovariohysterectomy in bitches. Journla of Reproduction and Fertility Suppl 1997;51:227–31.
  15. Lee SS. Lee SY. Park S. et al. Comparison of ovariectomy and ovariohysterectomy in terms of postoperative pain behavior and surgical stress in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Clinics. 2013 30 3 166-171
  16. Peeters ME. Kirpensteijn J. Comparison of surgical variables and  short-term postoperative complications in healthy dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy or ovariectomy. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2011:238;189-194.
  1. Davidson EB. Moll HD. Payton ME. Comparison of laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy and ovariohysterectomy in dogs. Veterinary Surgery. 2004;33:62–69.
  2. Ataide MW. de Brun MV. Barcellos LJ. et al. Laparoscopic-assisted or open ovariohysterectomy using Ligasure AtlasTMin dogs. Ciência Rural. 2010;40(9):1974-1979.
  3. Gower S. Mayhew P. Canine laparoscopic and laparoscopic assisted ovariohysterectomy and ovariectomy. Compendium of Continuing Education for the Practicing Veterinarian. 2008;30:430–440.
  4. Case JB. Boscan PL. Monnet EL. et al Comparison of surgical variables and pain in cats undergoing ovariohysterectomy, laparoscopic-assisted ovariohysterectomy, and laparoscopic ovariectomy. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 2015;51(1):1-7.
  5. Phypers C. In Cats and Dogs Does Laparoscopic Ovariectomy Offer Advantages Over Open Ovariectomy for Postoperative Recovery?. Veterinary Evidence. 2017; 2(2). doi:
  6. Grier RL. Tubal ligation-alternative sterilization operation. Iowa State University Veterinarian. 1973;35(2):49-50
  7. Belfield WO. Partial spay (hysterectomy). Veterinary Medicine. 1972;1223-1224.
  8. Hamilton KH. Henderson ER. Toscano M. et al. Comparison of postoperative complications in healthy dogs undergoing open and closed orchidectomy. J Small Anim Pract. 2014 Oct;55(10):521-6.
  9. Woodruff K. Rigdon-Brestle K. Bushby, PA. et al. Scrotal castration versus prescrotal castration in dogs. Vet Med. 2015;110(5):131-135.
  10. Howe LM. Surgical methods of contraception and sterilization. Theriogenology. 2006 Aug;66(3):500-9. Epub 2006 May 23.
  11. Karen Maciel de Oliveira, Leonardo Augusto Lopes Muzzi, Bruno Benetti Junta Torres, et al. A comparative study among three open orchiectomy techniques in cats. Acta Scientiae Veterinariae. 2010;38(2):177-183.
  12. Okwee-Acai J. Omara R. Onyait JS. et al. evaluation of pinhole castration as an alternative technique for dog population control in resource-poor communities. Bulletin of Animal Health and Production in Africa An. 2013;61(3):337-345.
  13. Baba MA, Fazili MR, Athar H, et al. Pinhole castration technique: an alternative to orchiectomy in stray dogs. Anim Reprod Sci. 2013;137(1-2):113-8.
  14. Abd-el-Wahed RE. Korritum AS. Abu-Ahmed al. Evaluation of pinhole castration technique compared with traditional method for castration in dogs. Alexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences. 2014;42:90-98.
  15. Anburaja Mahalingam; Naveen Kumar; Maiti S.K. et al. Laparoscopic sterilization vs. open method sterilization in dogs: a comparison of two techniques. Turkish Journal of Veterinary & Animal Sciences. 2009;33(5):427-436.

OVE, OVH, OMG: Pragmatic Review of Surgical Neutering Techniques Slides

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3 Responses to Presentation on Surgical Neutering Techniques

  1. nomipalony says:

    thank you it really worked

  2. Fernando says:

    Any benefits to vasectomy over neutering? And do you have any article on when to neuter a dog? Thanks.

  3. skeptvet says:

    Vasectomy is essentially the same as not neutering except that it prevents reproduction, so the pros and cons are almost the same as leaving the dog intact.

    Timing is a complex subject without any simple rules-of-thumb. Here is the full collection of my articles and lit reviews on neutering if you want to look at the sections addressing that subject.

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Tag Archives: Goat Cheese

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Funding Sought for Independent Film about Pug’s Leap Farm

Just last week, I breathlessly reviewed Pug’s Leap’s Farms’ outstanding goat cheeses, the Pavé and the Petit Marcel. Pug’s Leap, founded by ex-San Franciscans Eric Smith and Pascal Destandau, is notably dedicated to slow food and sustainable practices. And did I mention that their cheese is out of this world? You really can taste the careful hand-crafting.

Wonderfully, filmmaker Alexandra Austin has also discovered Pug’s Leap, and she is in the process of creating a documentary about Eric and Pascal’s move from corporate San Francisco to their rural Sonoma goat farm. The film is called “Leap of Faith”. Woven throughout the mens’ personal story are the issues of slow food, small farms, and sustainable businesses. John Raymond (Raymond & Co. Cheesemongers) and others are interviewed in the film.

“Leap of Faith” is, at heart, the story of finding meaning in one’s life, something that seems to drive many to the land and to living locally.

Filming is completed, as is some of post-production but, as we know, filmmaking is an expensive endeavor, and more funding is needed to get the job done. There have been many in-kind donations and deferrals from musicians and editors because so many people believe in this project. Alexandra is hoping to finish production in time for a pre-set premier on September 19.

You can see a clip of this wonderful film-in-progress and learn more about it here.

Contributions to the film are tax-deductible and no donation is too small. In addition to creating “Leap of Faith”, the filmmakers are working with the Farm to Consumer Foundation and plan to use the film to raise awareness of Congress’ over-regulation of small farms like Pug’s Leap.

I wish Alexandra all success in funding, completing and distributing “Leap of Faith”. I want to see it at film festivals!

Photo: Susan Sachs Lipman

Pavé is topmost, and the Petit Marcel is at the bottom.

Cheese of the Week: Pug’s Leap Pavé & Petit Marcel Goat Cheeses

I recently had the privilege of visiting Raymond & Co. Cheesemongers in Glen Ellen, CA, and partaking in a little tasting. Yum! Everything they offered was tantalizing and top-of-the-cheese-game, including two farmstead goat cheeses, the Pavé and the Petit Marcel, from the relatively new Pug’s Leap Farm in Healdsburg.

(In the photo, the Pavé is topmost, and the Petit Marcel is at the bottom.)

Pug’s Leap, founded by ex-San Franciscans Eric Smith and Pascal Destandau, is notably dedicated to Slow Food and sustainable practices. They have stated that “buying locally brings health, economic, environmental, and social benefits to the community.” Their single goat herd of Saanens, Toggenbergs, Sables, and some cross-breeds, is fed organic feed. Their cheese production is relatively small-scale and done largely by hand. The farm is solar-powered.

The Pavé is unusually dry in texture, especially for a goat cheese. It’s extremely flavorful — tangy, with strong goat tones and smells, earthy, ashen and mushroomy. The complicated flavors linger nicely on the taste buds.

The wrinkled rind is wonderfully bloomy and the cheese nearest the rind has a great gooey texture. The processes used at Pug’s Leap greatly influence the Pavé’s taste. For one, the fresh curd is treated gently, to produce a rind with external mold, which in turn influences the taste of the ripening cheese. To create the especially dry texture, the whey is expelled.

The Petit Marcel is another winner. It also has a great goat flavor and an even more pungent goat nose (which I like). It’s also dry in texture, though less so than the Pavé . The younger Petit Marcel is sweeter and milkier than the Pavé. The taste, while great, is ultimately less complex, less special, than the Pavé.

As for pairing, both cheeses are wonderfully versatile. Grapes, peaches and cherries are some fruits that work with them. Almonds make a nice accompaniment. The stronger Pavé can take Cabernet and other red wines. I’d stick with a fruitier Syrah or Pinot, or a Chardonnay for the Petit Marcel.

Either way, get yourself a little goat round and enjoy!

Photo by Susan Sachs Lipman

Cheese of the Week: Juniper Grove Tumalo Tomme Goat Cheese

The world’s longest lasting cheese course (lucky us!) continues with a Tumelo Tomme Goat’s Milk cheese (also known as Tumelo Classico) from Juniper Grove Farm in Redmond, Oregon. This is a lovely cheese, with a firmer texture than you might ordinarily find in a goat cheese, which results in something like a goat gouda. It’s a solid, pleasing cheese, with a lot of body in the mouth.

The goat aspect takes a moment to hit you and, when it does, it is equally pleasant and on the mild side. (The Haystack Mountain Queso de Mano, which was on the same plate, is bolder.) There are nutty and sweet, even caramel-like notes, along with an earthy, slightly mushroom-y taste.

Redmond Grove Farm’s owner/cheesemaker, Pierre Kolisch, studied cheesemaking in Normandy with master cheesemaker Francois Durand, and cites European “tomme” cheeses as an influence. (“Tomme” loosely means small cheese from partial milkings, with the “tomme” and “toma” names in particular use in the French and Italian Alps.)

Tumalo is a raw-milk cheese, made from milk from Redmond Grove’s herd of goats, which feed on alfalfa year-round on beautiful land east of Oregon’s Cascade Mountain range. (Indeed, Tumalo bears the name of a local village.) Kolisch employs traditional farmstead methods in his cheesemaking, such as separating curds from whey, and then brining, stacking and hand-turning the washed-rind cheese, as it ages on pine planks in a dry, cool environment for three months.

The result is this nice, lovingly made goat cheese.

The Tomalo Tomme works well with crackers, grapes, apricots, or a fruity red wine, such as Pinot Noir or Merlot.

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

Cheese of the Week: Haystack Mountain Queso de Mano Goat Cheese

Continuing down our Girl and the Fig cheese plate, I really enjoyed the Queso de Mano goat cheese, from Jim Schott’s award-winning Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy in Niwot, Colorado. This is a superb raw-milk cheese — it has a wonderful, prominent, goat taste that is slightly sweet, and carries with it an undertone of nuttiness, as well as a hint of its farmstead grass and herbs. All that makes it terrifically complex and interesting, especially if you love goat-milk cheeses, as I do.

The Queso de Mano also manages to combine a firm texture with a velvety mouth feel. The cheese is aged four months and has a natural washed rind. It would be great with toasted almonds, fresh cherries or apricots, and a good fruity red wine.

For a long time, Haystack Mountain was the last remaining dairy in Boulder County. Sadly, local and other business expenses forced the company to sell its goats to the State Prison in Canon City, Colorado, which has operated an inmate-run dairy for 70 years. The upshot, though, is that the company is still producing and distributing its fabulous cheese from its headquarters in Longmont, Colorado, inmates at Canon City are doing fruitful work and learning a skill, and the Nubian, LaMancha, Sanaan and Nubian Cross goats are continuing to thrive and produce the milk that goes into Haystack Mountain’s cheeses.

The Queso de Mano is the second cheese from the right:

Photos by Susan Sachs Lipman

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SMA General Assembly 2013

God has given me the grace to be a minister of the Gospel so that the nations might become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15: 15-16)

guillaume-j-mFr Jean-Marie Guillaume, SMA Superior General, has summoned a General Assembly of the entire Society. This, the 20th SMA General Assembly, will take place at the SMA Generalate in Rome from 9 April to 3 May 2013.

This General Assembly will bring together about 20 elected delegates from the different units of the Society – 6 Provinces, 3 Districts and and 6 Districts-in-formation. Its ex-officio members are the Superior General, Vicar General and two General Councillors as well as the 15 Unit Superiors,  SMA Associates and other Invitees may also attend with a limited right of participation.

The theme for this, the 20th General Assembly in the 157 years of the Socety’s existence, is SMA Mission today: its challenges and its vision for the future.

As the entire Society prepares for this Assembly “may the Holy Spirit, which guided the Virgin Mary on the day of the Annunciation. continue to inspire us so that, like her, we may, wherever we are, give birth to and watch grow the Word of God, source of salvation, life and peace.” (Convocation Letter, 25 March 2012)


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Building a Network as an Introvert

Hello. I’m Ian, a shy introvert. And those two things are distinct. Through a lot of trial and error, I’ve worked out a way to network and build social capital that works for me even though connecting to people is not exactly natural to me, as I know it isn’t for many academics.

Being an introvert in a world that seems to favor the expressive and extroverted can seem daunting and unwelcoming. A lot of the usual advice is to just act against type*. In other words, be extroverted for as long as you can sustain it, especially at conferences or other events where connecting with people is the goal.

Part of favoring of extroverts is that they announce themselves and seem like the movers, shakers, and doers in the world. In the United States at least, taking (overt) action is favored over introspection or making the decision to do nothing even though taking that decision may well be the right one depending on the situation.

It’s not that introverts don’t do things, don’t take action, or connect with people**. They do, it’s just that introverts recharge their batteries with more focused and solo time. Over-stimulating situations (think large parties, massive conferences, or the overwhelming lights on the Vegas Strip) can drain an introvert’s batteries quickly. However, quieter crowded places like coffee shops, libraries, museums, or a park can all be energizing because they can focus on a book or the scenery and be alone, yet together, with other patrons. And perhaps the introvert will speak with people there, but only one or two at a time and quietly, though this is where my shyness kicks in: I don’t generally speak to strangers unless I feel like I fit in some how.

However, there are effective ways even the shy and introverted can connect more at conferences and effectively network, and it only partially depends on acting against type. Introverts tend to be perceptive, good listeners, dive deeper in conversation (disdaining small talk), and have fewer, but extremely close friendships/relationships.

The first suggestion I have is to get onto social media. Twitter has been a game changer for me. At first, I mostly listened (or read) other’s tweets, following things that interested me (I think the first account I followed was a fellow Whovian). Gradually, I started tweeting myself, responding to others, following hashtags and sharing links to my blog and other things I found interesting.

Crucially, I also started live tweeting from conferences I attended.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I wasn’t the only tweeter at the conference***.

As Terry has pointed out before, who you know matters in academia, as it does elsewhere in the working world. Who you are precedes you and if no one knows who you are, it’s hard to get ahead. Twitter allows you to build your own profile and you can meet and connect with fellow tweeters, having already broken the ice on Twitter, the barrier to meeting them in real life is lowered. And if you get on well in real life as you did on Twitter, your fellow tweeter can introduce you to their friends and you’re off to the races connecting.

Twitter levels the playing field as well. Interacting with famous academic XYZ (maybe it was @hormiga, that’s how I ended up blogging here; getting to know him on Twitter– however, remember no one owes you a response). Knowing someone on Twitter, even potential postdoc advisor X, makes meeting them in real life becomes easier.

This brings me to my next piece of advice for being introverted at conferences. Preparing ahead of time, knowing your goals, and contacting potential people to meet can help you manage your energy over a conference. However you connect with someone, be sure to follow up afterwards, either via social media or email.

What I’ve outlined above still may sound overwhelming and like lots of connecting that would quickly drain energy of any introvert. Just because there are lots of people from Twitter to meet, doesn’t mean you have to connect with all of them. It also helps to be open to meeting a few people the old-fashioned way, just introducing yourself to someone you’re riding down an escalator with, say. Favoring quality interactions over quantity helps. Go for depth over breadth. A few quality connections that will last are better than dozens of more ephemeral ones or no connections at all– at least to this introvert.

Of course it’s OK to have quiet times at the conference or even escape the venue to do something to recharge. Plan that into your schedule. Even attending a conference session or finding a quiet place to write at the conference might be energizing.

Another tactic that can help is to volunteer to do a job at a conference. I live blogged and helped encourage digital coverage of Plant Biology for several years and volunteered to sit at the registration desk for a morning. Having a job to do lowers the barrier to connecting with people because by definition, you fit and are being useful. Along with preparation, it can imbue you with a sense of purpose. Even giving a talk or presenting a poster can be viewed this way****.

All of these things can help those that are shy or introverted effectively build social capital and become a part of the academic community. Over time, conferences become familiar, as do many of the people, and then connecting with new people is even less effort. Then you can serve the function of inviting other people that appear isolated into your social circles, helping build their social capital while continuing to build yours.

Ian Street is a plant scientist, science writer, and editor. His science blog is The Quiet BranchesYou can find him on Twitter @IHStreet.

*Introversion and extroversions is a spectrum. No one is all one or another and we are capable of acting against our default, but we’ll always return to that default as it takes energy to do otherwise.

**I highly recommend reading Susan Cain’s Book Quiet for any introverts feeling like there’s something wrong with them (there isn’t). Or watch her TED Talk. There are lots of resources out there for introverts now because of her work.

***Always obey the conference social media policy, respect speakers/poster presenters that don’t want their talk/unpublished results live tweeted/photographed.

****Though for some reason, I never thought of those things that way, but you are helping contribute to the event.

7 thoughts on “Building a Network as an Introvert

  1. Great post. One thing I really believe in is to find a way to engage that is true to your personality. Introverts can find their way to engage too. I am not an introvert, but I do need a lot of alone time. I never much thought about networking at all or about what it might do for me, but if I had a question, I cornered the best person to ask, so have fond memories of intense conversations with the best, Bill Hamilton, Dick Alexander, John Maynard Smith. Have something to ask and they would rather talk to you about science than gossip with their friends, in most cases.

    • I agree with you on that too! Find the thing that works for you. Something I had to work through was ‘do I want to/deserve/need to connect at all’? (sadly, this is not just a given for too many, because the answer is YES).

  2. Thank you for this. Besides being full of helpful information, your post explained something about my own experience that I’d never been able to understand. This: “Having a job to do lowers the barrier to connecting with people because by definition, you fit and are being useful.” It seemed weird to me that I was quite happy to spend hours alone, including at a party (people-watching is research for writers), but put me to work (including giving a speech to an auditorium full of people) and I was comfortable with that. The job cut down the energy requirement…of course!

    • Glad this post resonated with you. And it is remarkable how much I transform if I have a clear role to play in an event or function beyond being an attendee. Being a writer too has given me more license to email people and talk to them about their work and stories, etc.

  3. Great advice! I love it! I’ll have to try the twitter suggestions!

Comments are closed.


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..A Spy Story: Sergei Skripal Was a Little Fish. He Had a Big Enemy….

………2 spies….2 paths….

Family photos of the former Russian spy Sergei V. Skripal with his daughter, Yulia, in the late 1980s and his wife, Lyudmila, in 1972.

MOSCOW — Sergei V. Skripal was a little fish.

This is how British officials now describe Mr. Skripal, a Russian intelligence officer they recruited as a spy in the mid-1990s.

When the Russians caught Mr. Skripal, they saw him that way, too, granting him a reduced sentence.

So did the Americans: The intelligence chief who orchestrated his release to the West in 2010 had never heard of him when he was included in a spy swap with Moscow.

But Mr. Skripal was significant in the eyes of one man — Vladimir V. Putin, an intelligence officer of the same age and training.

The two men had dedicated their lives to an intelligence war between the Soviet Union and the West.

When that war was suspended, both struggled to adapt.

One rose, and one fell.

While Mr. Skripal was trying to reinvent himself, Mr. Putin and his allies, former intelligence officers, were gathering together the strands of the old Soviet system.

Gaining power, Mr. Putin began settling scores, reserving special hatred for those who had betrayed the intelligence tribe when it was most vulnerable.

“A person who chooses this fate will regret it a thousand times,” President Vladimir V. Putin said of moles.

Six months ago, Mr. Skripal was found beside his daughter, Yulia, slumped on a bench in an English city, hallucinating and foaming at the mouth.

His poisoning led to a Cold War-style confrontation between Russia and the West, with both sides expelling diplomats and wrangling over who tried to kill him and why.

Last Wednesday, British officials offered specifics, accusing Russia of sending two hit men to smear Mr. Skripal’s front door handle with a nerve agent, an accusation vigorously denied by Moscow.

British intelligence chiefs claim they have identified the men as members of the same Russian military intelligence unit, the G.R.U., or Main Intelligence Directorate, where Mr. Skripal once worked.

It is unclear if Mr. Putin played a role in the poisoning of Mr. Skripal, who survived and has gone into hiding.

But dozens of interviews conducted in Britain, Russia, Spain, Estonia, the United States and the Czech Republic, as well as a review of Russian court documents, show how their lives intersected at key moments.

In 2010, when Mr. Skripal and three other convicted spies were released to the West, Mr. Putin had been watching from the sidelines with mounting fury.

Asked to comment on the freed spies, Mr. Putin publicly daydreamed about their death.

It hardly mattered that Mr. Skripal was a little fish.

‘Enrich Yourselves’

A military orchestra festival last month in Red Square in Moscow.

The collapse of the Soviet Union unleashed a drive for personal enrichment.

In the late 1990s, Sergei Skripal returned from Madrid, where he was posted undercover in the office of the Russian military attaché.

Russia was in disarray.

Coal miners, soldiers and doctors had not been paid in months.

Workers took control of a St. Petersburg nuclear power plant, threatening to shut it down unless they received their back pay.

Mr. Skripal was good fun, though, happy in the company of other men.

Oleg B. Ivanov, who worked with him in the Moscow regional governor’s office, recalled him as a man struggling to keep up with changes in the country, more “Death of a Salesman” than John le Carré.

He lived in a shabby housing block in a field of identical housing blocks, drove a rattletrap Niva and told endless stories about his days as a paratrooper.

One thing didn’t fit: At restaurants, he insisted on paying for everyone.

“That was something that set him apart,” Mr. Ivanov said. “I don’t know where this came from.”

In their crowd there were many other former Soviet spies, who had devoted the first part of their life to qualifying as intelligence officers.

Now it all seemed pointless.

“You have to understand, the Soviet Union collapsed,” Mr. Ivanov said.

“All the Soviet ideology that underpinned our government also disappeared into history.

There was a slogan at that time: Enrich yourselves.”

That was Mr. Skripal’s story, he said: Always looking for side hustles.

“By his psychological type, he was a materialist,” Mr. Ivanov said. “He simply loved money.”

“He simply loved money,” Oleg Ivanov said of Mr. Skripal, his former colleague.

And that, he said, explained his friend’s betrayal.

In 2006, Mr. Ivanov was driving in his car when heard Mr. Skripal’s name on the news.

Prosecutors said that, while posted in Spain, Mr. Skripal had entered into a business partnership with a Spanish intelligence agent, who “bumped” him to a recruiter from Britain’s foreign intelligence service.

Mr. Skripal had been meeting his handler secretly since 1996, they said, passing on secrets in exchange for $100,000.

It was not a large amount, around $12,500 a year.

Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 15 years, five less than the maximum, and the judge reduced it to 13, because Mr. Skripal was cooperative.

Mr. Ivanov found Mr. Skripal’s betrayal, if not especially honorable, at least comprehensible.

“It was a period of building up capital,” he said. “It was affecting everyone in the government, including structures like the G.R.U.

He also came under the influence of needing to make money.

The time came.

The oath he gave to the Soviet Union — it seems to me, at least — you didn’t need to adhere to it anymore.”

Those were years of free-fall.

Who could define loyalty?

‘Moscow Is Silent’

Mr. Skripal, bottom left, at a Soviet military academy in 1975.

Vladimir V. Putin, another midcareer intelligence officer, was living through the same loss of status.

In 1990, he was sent home early from his post at K.G.B. headquarters in Dresden.

His salary had not been paid in three months and he had nowhere to live — so many spies were returning that the government could not house them.

He arrived home with nothing to show for his years abroad but some hard currency and a 20-year-old washing machine, a goodbye gift from a neighbor in East Germany.

The unraveling had felt personal for Mr. Putin, who was unable to protect all his German contacts from exposure.

One day Mr. Putin pleaded with the Soviet military command to defend the K.G.B. headquarters, which was surrounded by German protesters eager to seize files.

In a panic, they were stuffing them into a furnace.

“Moscow is silent,” an officer told him.

He would recall that phrase again and again in the years that followed.

“I had the feeling then that the country was no more,” he said later.

His friend Sergei Roldugin said he had never seen Mr. Putin so emotional as when he spoke about those East German informants whose identities had been revealed.

“He said it was equal to treason,” Mr. Roldugin told Mr. Putin’s biographer, Steven Lee Myers.

“He was very upset, extremely.”

Scores of intelligence agents turned to the West at that time, as defectors or informants, and Mr. Putin cannot speak of them without a lip curl of disgust.

They are “beasts” and “swine.”

Treachery, he told one interviewer, is the one sin he is incapable of forgiving.

It could also, he said darkly, be bad for your health.

“Traitors always meet a bad end,” he once said.

“As a rule they either die of heavy drinking or drug abuse.”

When he came to power, Mr. Putin went after traitors the same way he dealt with other ills of the chaotic 1990s, the oligarchs and crime bosses.

His first years in office were marked by a barrage of spy convictions, some clearly meant as revenge.

The tone was set around the time of Mr. Putin’s first election as president in 2000 — the day before, in fact.

That was when the Federal Security Service, which Mr. Putin had recently commanded, leaked the identity of a British MI6 officer who was a prodigious recruiter of Russian spies.

It was a careful, meticulous leak, intended to savage the man’s career, a deliberately personal attack: The spy service also revealed the officer’s wife’s name and the fact that he had two daughters.

That officer, it was later revealed, was the man who had recruited Mr. Skripal.

A Family Collapses

A family photo showing Mr. Skripal with his wife, Lyudmila, and daughter, Yulia, at a school graduation in 2001.

After Mr. Skripal was convicted in 2006, he was “untouchable,” said Mr. Ivanov, his former colleague.

The Skripal family, suddenly alone, kept their shame private.

Ivan V. Fedoseyev, 76, their next-door neighbor, noticed that Mr. Skripal was gone and assumed he had left his wife, Lyudmila, for another woman.

“It was embarrassing to ask about it,” he said.

Lyudmila ruminated bitterly about friends who had testified against her husband, said Viktoria Skripal, Mr. Skripal’s niece.

She complained to Viktoria that plenty of their G.R.U. colleagues had decided to live in the West after the Soviet collapse.

“Why has nobody called them traitors, she said,” Viktoria recalled.

By then, Mr. Putin’s Russia was in full flower.

He had brought Russia’s business tycoons to heel, and his own allies, mostly former intelligence officers from St. Petersburg, took the helm of Russia’s key industries.

Mr. Putin’s friends took their place among the world’s superrich, buying up yachts and Mayfair mansions.

But Lyudmila Skripal was reduced to begging for money.

She could no longer afford to send the monthly allotment that her husband needed in prison, for food and toiletries, so she asked that his mother’s pension, roughly $500 or $600 a month, be diverted to him, Viktoria Skripal said.

In sheaves of legal appeals, she begged a long list of Russian military officials — the defense minister himself, finally — to restore her husband’s pension.

“I am forced to appeal to you for help due to the difficult situation that I, a pensioner, find myself in at the current time,” she wrote.

For her efforts, over two years, she was awarded 33,148 rubles and 89 kopeks, which at the time was worth about $1,000.

Viktoria Skripal, Mr. Skripal’s niece, said that his family suffered greatly while he was in prison

She had stopped taking care of herself.

The family’s apartment was falling apart, the walls warped and the linoleum stained, said Lilia Borisovna, who bought the apartment later.

“The apartment was decaying,” she said.

So was Mrs. Skripal’s body.

She was experiencing symptoms of endometrial cancer, as it metastasized, untreated, from her womb to other parts of her body.

It was clear something serious was wrong, and Viktoria Skripal urged her to seek medical help.

But Mrs. Skripal refused to see a doctor, she said, “until Sergei Viktorovich came home.”

Mr. Skripal was trying to get out of prison early and submitted a detailed appeal to a military court.

In his trial, he had confessed to passing classified information to a British intelligence officer. But in his appeal, according to court papers, he said he had mistaken the officer for a businessman who “simply made him an offer to come work for his firm abroad after his retirement from diplomatic service.”

The appeals court did not buy it.

While the Skripals waited, their son, Sasha, was slipping into a deep hole. Much of his life had been built around his father’s G.R.U. contacts: His wife, Natalya, was the daughter of another colonel who lived in the same complex. His job had come through the G.R.U. network. After his father’s betrayal became public, it all slipped away from him.

Sasha abruptly quit his job, Mr. Ivanov said. His father-in-law told Moskovsky Komsomolets, a Russian newspaper, that Sasha was drinking heavily and that he recommended his daughter divorce him. Sasha was treated for kidney disease and died in 2017 at the age of 43.

A Trade Is Proposed

The Federal Security Service, the successor to the Soviet-era K.G.B., in Moscow. Mr. Putin once ran the agency.

Dialing the number of his Russian counterpart from his office in Langley, Va., Leon Panetta, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was not feeling optimistic.

Mr. Panetta had once met Mikhail Fradkov, the head of Russia’s foreign intelligence service. They had dined together in Washington, and as the meal was wrapping up Mr. Panetta asked his companion what he thought was Russia’s biggest intelligence failure. America’s, he volunteered, was the case for invading Iraq.

Mr. Fradkov paused for a long time, then responded simply, “Penkovsky.”

Mr. Panetta was taken aback; the answer spoke volumes about the way the Russian system viewed moles. Oleg Penkovsky was a colonel in the G.R.U. who had spied for the C.I.A. and British intelligence during the 1950s and 1960s, providing information that guided the Kennedy administration during the Cuban missile crisis. He was apprehended by Soviet authorities and, it is believed, shot.

Now it was the summer of 2010, and Mr. Panetta was on the phone with Mr. Fradkov, hoping to set in motion a deal that would free another G.R.U. mole. Days earlier, the F.B.I. had executed Operation Ghost Stories, arresting 10 Russian sleeper agents, who had been operating in the United States for nearly a decade.

“These people are yours,” Mr. Panetta said he told Mr. Fradkov.

“I said, ‘Look, we’re going to prosecute them; it could be very embarrassing for you,’” Mr. Panetta recalled saying in an interview. “You’ve got three or four people who we want, and I propose that we make a trade.”

Normally, Mr. Panetta said, such an offer would have been met with denials and obfuscation. But it was the summer of 2010, and the two Cold War adversaries were enjoying a brief thaw.

Military cadets in Red Square in Moscow last month.

Mr. Putin had stepped away from the presidency, installing a faithful deputy, Dmitri A. Medvedev. It was a scheme that allowed Mr. Putin, who became prime minister, to hold onto power without violating constitutional term limits, but also a test of cooperation with the West. Mr. Medvedev had built a rapport with Barack Obama during a trip to Washington, meeting for cheeseburgers at a hole-in-the-wall diner called Ray’s Hell Burger.

After the phone call with Mr. Panetta, the Russians agreed to a swap. Mr. Panetta gave Russia four names, including Mr. Skripal’s.

“I think it was our Russia people at the C.I.A. who came up with his name,” Mr. Panetta said. “And he was added to the list.”

On a hot July day, guards at Correctional Colony No. 5 in the Russian Republic of Mordovia came to Mr. Skripal’s cell and told him to gather his things. He was taken to Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, where he met briefly with his family before being loaded onto a small Yak plane belonging to Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations. With him were three other former prisoners. All were silent for the three-hour flight to Vienna.

The mood was much different aboard the United States government-chartered Vision Airlines 737 sent to retrieve the four men. After takeoff federal agents popped champagne bottles and poured whiskey to toast the men’s freedom, according to someone present on the flight. One former K.G.B. major gave a boisterous speech. They were free.

‘Have to Hide Their Whole Lives’

Mr. Putin with Dmitri A. Medvedev.

He was displeased by Russia’s thaw with the United States during Mr. Medvedev’s presidency.

One man, however, was stewing.

“A person gives over his whole life for his homeland and then some bastard comes along and betrays such people,” Mr. Putin, practically snarling, said when asked to comment about the swap on live television.

“How will he be able to look into the eyes of his children, the pig.

Whatever they got in exchange for it, those 30 pieces of silver they were given, they will choke on them.

Believe me.”

Even if they didn’t die, he added, they would suffer.

“They will have to hide their whole lives,” Mr. Putin said.

“With no ability to speak with other people, with their loved ones.”

Then he stiffened his back, squared his shoulders and spoke straight to the camera.

“You know,” he concluded, “a person who chooses this fate will regret it a thousand times.”

Did he know the names of the traitors who had betrayed their comrades, a journalist had asked him shortly after the swap.

“Of course,” Mr. Putin said.

Would he punish them? Wrong question, Mr. Putin replied mysteriously.

“This can’t be decided at a press conference,” he said.

“They live by their own rules, and these rules are well known by everyone in the intelligence services.”

Mr. Putin was becoming impatient with Mr. Medvedev’s cooperation with Mr. Obama.

In 2011, he erupted over the French-led bombing campaign in Libya, blaming Mr. Medvedev for yielding to American pressure and failing to use Russia’s veto power at the United Nations Security Council to stop it.

His livid criticism of that campaign, which he likened to a “medieval call to a crusade,” presaged what happened next: He took back power in 2012, and set about undoing every element of Mr. Medvedev’s little thaw.

But Mr. Skripal and the other traitors, delivered into the hands of Western intelligence agencies, had already scattered.

Lonely in Exile

Surveillance footage of Mr. Skripal in a convenience store the month before he was poisoned in Salisbury, England.

It was hard to miss Mr. Skripal in Salisbury. Matthew Dean, the head of Salisbury’s City Council, recalled spotting him one day in the Railway Social Club, a modest establishment with electronic poker machines and framed prints of racehorses.

Mr. Dean is a pub owner, familiar with Salisbury’s categories of drinkers. This one did not belong.

“It was a Sunday afternoon, and he was drinking neat vodka,” Mr. Dean recalled.

“He was extremely loud, and he was wearing a white track suit.

I remember saying, ‘Good God, who is this person?’

And they told me he was their only Russian customer.”

Mr. Skripal tiptoed around the question of his past, at least at the beginning.

In an English-as-a-second-language class at Wiltshire College, he introduced himself as the head of a construction company, recently arrived from Spain. Ivan Bombarov, a Bulgarian cabdriver who had friends in the same class, said they all smirked about his cover story.

“We in Bulgaria, we see a lot of mafia guys,” he said.

“We was like, ‘Yeah, whatever.’”

Mr. Skripal’s solitude deepened after Lydumila died of cancer in 2012, two years and three months after the swap.

In 2017, Sasha died, collapsing on a weekend trip to St. Petersburg.

His last family member, Yulia, was back in Moscow with her boyfriend.

Last year, he struck up a conversation with a Russian émigré couple at a grocery store in London, and startled them by entreating them — perfect strangers — to come visit him in Salisbury.

As he described the deaths of his wife and son, his eyes filled with tears, said the businessman, Valery Morozov.

“He missed Russia,” said Ross Cassidy, a burly former submariner who became one of his closest friends.

Lisa Carey, another neighbor, observed the Russian on his daily rounds, walking to the Bargain Stop in his tracksuit to buy scratch tickets.

“He used to boast about being a spy, and we would all laugh at him,” she said. “We thought he was mental.”

He did have secrets, though. Mr. Skripal traveled regularly on classified assignments organized by MI6, offering briefings on the G.R.U. to European and American intelligence services.

Such assignments may be devised as a way to keep a former spy busy, said Nigel West, a British intelligence historian.

It is not unusual, he said, for defectors to feel bored and underappreciated, something he called “post-usefulness syndrome.”

“Case officers are very aware of it,” Mr. West said.

“When the time comes, and they say ‘Don’t call me, I’ll call you,’ you may well say, ‘I’ve got something very interesting to do.’

That’s what tends to happen. Their status has been slightly exaggerated and enhanced, and they start swallowing their own bathwater.”

Contacts with fellow intelligence officers took him back to the old days.

He made repeated visits to consult with the CNI, the spy service in Spain.

He traveled to Estonia and the Czech Republic, among other places.

“Basically they were meetings of people from the same field who used to sit on opposite sides,” said a European intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to characterize Mr. Skripal’s 2012 visit to Prague.

“They had lunch together. It lasted for hours. It was great fun.”

The British government, which helped arrange Mr. Skripal’s assignments, has said nothing about them, and British espionage experts shrug them off as unremarkable lectures.

But it remains unclear what information Mr. Skripal was passing on.

And Russian officials may have been more judgmental than their British colleagues suspected, said Aleksei A. Venediktov, editor in chief of the Moscow radio station Ekho Moskvy, which has reported extensively on the case.

“When you’re over there, you do not work against us, that’s the rule,” Mr. Venediktov said.

“It’s not written anywhere, but it’s known.

You were pardoned for your past and in the future, live on your pension, grow flowers, calm and quiet.

These are the conditions.

You do not use your military skills against Russia, against the Soviet Union.

What did Skripal do?

It’s confirmed, he violated that rule.”

Two Trips From Moscow

Yulia Skripal had something important to do in England.

Yulia Skripal in May, after recovering from the poisoning.

She had sold her father’s old apartment, together with the old furniture and the double-headed eagle, the symbol of Russia, that he hung on the wall.

She bought herself a small place in western Moscow.

But recently she had cleared out to make way for workers to start renovations.

The key change was a tiny room that Yulia wanted redecorated, so it could be used as a nursery, according to Diana Petik, whom Ms. Skripal hired to oversee the renovations.

Yulia, she said, was planning to marry her long-term boyfriend and become a mother.

But there was one thing she felt she had to do first.

Mr. Skripal could not safely travel to Russia for the wedding, so she wanted to at least have his blessing.

This was her intention, Ms. Petik said, when she buckled herself into a seat on an Aeroflot flight bound for London on March 3.

A day earlier, according to British authorities, two Russian intelligence officers arrived in London aboard a different Aeroflot flight.

They were inconspicuous, dressed like Russian provincials in parkas and tennis shoes.

In one of their bags was a specially made bottle, disguised as a vial of Nina Ricci’s Premier Jour perfume, loaded with a military grade nerve agent.

A bottle disguised as a vial of Nina Ricci’s Premier Jour perfume, loaded with a military grade nerve agent. CreditLondon Metropolitan Police

As Yulia Skripal went through customs at Heathrow Airport and waited for her luggage, the two men, according to British investigators, were already in Salisbury, carrying out surveillance ahead of the attack.

The next afternoon, shortly after 4 p.m., a woman named Freya Church was leaving her job, at a gym called Snap Fitness, when she came across two figures slumped on a bench in the picturesque center of Salisbury.

The woman was leaning against the man.

The man was gazing up at the sky, as if he saw something there, making strange, jerky movements with his hands, she told the BBC.

By that time the two men were boarding a train at Salisbury station, the first leg of their escape back to Moscow.

News of the crime would begin to ripple outward, through the intelligence services of a dozen countries, through the United Nations Security Council and the global body tasked with banning the use of chemical weapons.

For the agencies that oversee the army of spies that remained behind after the Cold War, it would throw into question every understood rule of engagement.

But for now, it was a finished job.

A middle-aged G.R.U. officer facing an uncertain future had betrayed his tribe.

In accordance with rules well known by everyone in Russia’s intelligence services, two assassins came to England and took care of a little fish.

…………………..evil sumbitches…………w


text:
This is a special edition of Smart Open Lisboa: to build a new city life after the lockdown caused by Covid-19.

Smart Open Lisboa (SOL) is a startup program focused on the integration of innovative solutions meant to upgrade the citizens’ life.

While the world is facing a major challenge caused by the pandemic virus Covid-19, cities and its citizens wake up for a new reality. SOL Tomorrow is a fully remote program to deliver fast solutions for specific social and economic challenges that the city of Lisbon, its citizens, and companies have to deal with throughout the months after COVID-19 lockdown. The program aims to quickly implement solutions in the city.

who we are looking for

Startups with product market-fit

Startups with solutions ready to implement

Startups with relevant traction

We are looking for solutions ready to be implemented in the city that focus on the emergency areas of social isolation, mental health, and unemployment, as well as in the recovery areas of tourism, economy and ongoing resilience.

  • Economic & Tourism Recovery

    Click for details

  • New Work Paradigm

    Click for details

  • Remote Work & Learning

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  • City Resilience & Trust Building

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  • Social Emergency & Unemployment

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In order to start implementing new solutions in the city with the promptness needed, SOL Tomorrow’s applications will be evaluated in two waves. We will start evaluating a first batch of applications, selecting 15 to 20 startups that will take part in the online pitch. These startups will move quickly to the Implementation Phase. A second batch of applications will be evaluated afterwards, following the same course.

It all starts with your online application. We will assess your fit with the program, how your solution addresses the program challenges, how it delivers value and what value is delivered, how flexible is the business model, and how SOL Tomorrow can implement the solution.

Wave 1: 2 June – 2 July
Wave 2: 3 July – 2 September

Your online application will be evaluated, and a batch of 15 to 20 startups per wave will be selected for each Online Pitch event.

Note: if selected, you will only be able to participate in one Online Pitch event and Collaboration Design Sprint. Those will correspond to your application wave (e.g. first wave applicants attend the first Online Pitch and the first Collaboration Design Sprint)

This is a first quick interaction with the partners where you will Pitch your solution and answer any additional questions from the partners’ jury members. For each Online Pitch, 8 to 12 startups will be invited to move forward to the Collaboration Design Sprint.

Batch 1: 14 July
Batch 2: 10 September

This is a 2-day online collaboration Bootcamp, where you’ll be matched with the relevant partners to discuss collaboration opportunities in 1-on-1 sessions, and design your solution implementation plan. At the end of these two days, the startups that will move forward to the solution implementation phase will be selected.

Batch 1: 21-22 July
Batch 2: 7-8 October

This is the time of action and certainly the highlight of the program. During this phase, the selected teams will work closely with the relevant partners to implement their solution and the collaboration plan that they’ve designed. Beta-i will support and follow-up on the progress on these implementation projects.

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If you have any question regarding SOL tomorrow, please contact us.