Brussels, 24/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 24 July, the European Commission appointed 12 new members of the governing board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The new members will officially take up their positions on July 31. Composed of a total of 22 members from the world of education, research and enterprise, the governing board is responsible for the overall strategy and for the selection, coordination and evaluation of the “Knowledge and Innovation Communities” (KICs), the public-private partnership innovation hubs at the heart of the EIT. The board will supervise the application of the EIT strategic innovation programme proposed by the European Commission, a programme that should promote the creation of up to 600 start-up companies as well as the training of 10,000 Masters' students and 10,000 PhDs in new curricula combining excellent science and a strong entrepreneurship component. Created in 2008 as an autonomous EU body, the main mission of the EIT is to promote the competitiveness of member states by bringing together excellent higher education institutions, research centres and businesses. (IL/transl.jl)