* Outlaw.com: Customer data the most popular stolen item for departing workers
Customer data is the most likely item to be stolen from a company by departing employees and contractors, according to a survey by an IT security company. Over half of the UK workers it talked to said they would take company property on leaving a job. Read more here.  

 *  AWS Ocean Energy
AWS Ocean Energy is building an essential part of a wave energy device that will be as wide as the wingspan of a jumbo jet, with the aid of £350,000 funding from the Technology Strategy Board. Read more here. 

 * Shell Springboard Awards
Deadling for applications: 5pm, Friday 5 November
If our small business has compelling plans for a product or service which helps combat climate change, Shell Springboard is offering awards of up to £40,000 per winner. Find out more by clicking here.

 * CREATE: Business Idea Competition
Closing date for entries: Wednesday 27 October
If you have a business idea that might fly, pick up an application from from your local UHI College reception, or apply online by clicking here. There is a total prize fund of £3,500 to be shared between the winners. 

 * Procurement Survey
Fusion is looking into the possibility of setting up a Procurement Consortium with the aid of procurement consultantTon Zwartjens, and we would value your feedback about the idea. Ton has set up a very short questionnaire here that will only take a couple of minutes to complete.  We would greatly appreciate your input! Thank you.

NESTA: Venture Capital report
High growth, innovative companies are disproportionately important for economic growth in the UK, according to a new report by NESTA. Click here to read more.

HIE/MIT: Entrepreneurship Development Programme, MIT, Boston
Applications open Wednesday 1 September
HIE is sponsoring 6 places for Highlands & Islands businesses to attend the renowned Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) at MIT in Boston in January 2011. If you are seriously ambitious for your business, EDP could make all the difference to you. This is a truly exciting opportunity to acquire the knowledge, skills and contacts to transform your business, and we cannot recommend it highly enough. Click here for full details.

Update on Fusion Conference

Thursday 18 November, Inverness, with optional dinner and overnight stay Wednesday 17 November

We are pleased to announce that Neil Simco, Head of the UHI Business School project, will be leading a discussion about it at the Fusion conference.  This is your chance to hear about UHI's plans and aspirations for the school, and to contribute your ideas about how small and medium-sized businesses can get involved.  We will be making more details about the conference available over the next few weeks.

 Forget brainstorming: more effective ways to release your team's creative energy

www.newsweek.com/2010/07/12/forget-brainstorming.html

Closing date for nominations: Friday 20 August
If you know of an organisation, project or individual that has made a significant contribution to the health science sector in the Highlands & Islands, the Centre for Health Science would love to hear from you. Click here for more information. 

Closing date for entries: Friday 6 August

Entries are being invited for a range of prestigious business awards: Marine Business; Excellence in Low Carbon Energy; Excellence in People Development; Excellence in International Business; Excellence in Environmental Sustainability; and Outstanding Business Achievement.  For full details, and to enter, please click here.

 The X Prize Foundation, best known for launching the private spaceflight industry, has launched a $1.4 million oil clean-up challenge. Click here to find out more.

Bank of England Agents' Summary of Business Conditions

The July report is now available by clicking here.

If you are an existing business with aspirations to grow, Business Gateway offers a range of services to support you, including free workshops in the Highlands and Moray on subjects such as e-commerce, business finance and marketing. Click here for the full schedule of events coming up in your area.

The Highland Council is now issuing a regular procurement newsletter. To see the July edition, with information on how to sign up to get your own copy, please click here.

If you are a scientist or engineer living or working in the north of Scotland, you could have a very important role to play in inspiring the next generation to consider a future in work areas using science, technology, engineering or maths.  To find out about what is involved in being a STEM Ambassador, please click here or email Janice Wallace.

The Scottish Parliament is undertaking a review of the effectiveness of the Enterprise Agency network.  If your business has had dealings with Scottish Enterprise or Highlands & Islands Enterprise, your input would be invaluable.  You may respond direct to the Scottish Parliament or, if you prefer your comments to remain anonymous, you may do it through Fusion.  Please click here to find out more.    

 ! Congratulations to MacLean Electrical , which has opened new offices in Melbourne and Qatar. The Dingwall-based business also had a record turnover of £100m last year.

 ! Fusion's 8th Annual Conference

Thursday 18 November, The Iron Works, Inverness

We are delighted to announce that Prof Susan Deacon will be our special guest speaker at this year's Fusion Annual Conference.  With more than 25 years experience of working with people and organisations across most walks of life, Susan’s passion and experience lies in developing ideas and actions which bring about positive change. A communicator, thinker and leader, she combines a strategic approach with a keen sense of the practical, and is a firm believer in the need to win hearts and minds.  She has promised us a highly interactive and innovative opening session!  Other guests will include John Anderson of The Entrepreneurial Exchange, who will be leading one of our workshops for entrepreneurs, and, as ever, there will be plenty of opportunity for networking and social interaction too.  More details as they become available, but for now, please put this date in your diary.

 ! Many congratulations to Gordon McIntosh and Carol Langston of Inverness College UHI’s enterprise centre, CREATE.  At the Scottish Institute for Enterprise Awards Gordon, who is a CREATE Student Enterprise intern and a final year BA Business and Management student, collected the award for SIE Institutional Team of the Year 2010, whilst Carol, CREATE’s Enterprise and Innovation Manager, was named SIE Entrepreneurship Educator of the Year 2010.  The full story can be found here.

Hebrides Alpha, a social enterprise which supports individuals with alcohol and other drug addiction issues, which has been named CRNS (Community Recycling Network for Scotland) Member of the Year 2010 for its kerbside recycling activities and provision of textile banks.

MTDS, based in Achlibster in Caithness, is building a full-scale prototype of a renewable power turbine designed for slow-flowing stretches of the River Amazon in Brazil.  The trial on the Amazon will last 12 months and could open the door to major new contracts with countries including Chile, Uruguay, China, India and Russia, in turn creating significant employment opportunities.  Click here for more information.

ABSL Power Solutions, based in Thurso, has won a £4.6m contract to supply lightweight portable power chargers to the Army.  Click here for more information.

 ! Delegates requesting repeat of last week’s Going4Growth conference

Fusion’s Going4Growth event in Dumfries last week was a great hit with its 84 attendees, most of whom were from businesses, who clearly hugely appreciated Lesley Riddoch as MC and gained a great deal from keynote speaker Doddie Weir and the closing remarks by GlobalScot Ian Ritchie.  Other highlights included the workshops, with the one on  ‘New sources of project finance’ particularly heavily subscribed and successful in eliciting many innovative suggestions from participants, and the open debate on finding and choosing non-exec directors.  Delegates have been emailing us asking us to repeat the event later this year, rather than in 12 months’ time as originally planned – so watch this space for news of further Fusion events in due course