NEWS ARCHIVE
STARTUP THE FUTURE

The biggest obstacle for SMEs is to find and get to know the right partner for their projects. Allianz Industrie 4.0 Baden-Württemberg and VDMA make it possible for the two groups to come together with the event STARTUP THE FUTURE.
Come and join! The participation is free.
Blue Invest in the Mediterranean 2019

A match-making event that brings together innovators and the financial community to sustainably develop the Blue Economy of the Mediterranean Sea basin, while protecting its marine resources.
The OECD projects that the global maritime economy will grow at twice the rate of the mainstream economy by 2030. The potential of the Blue Economy for sustainable growth and job creation around the Mediterranean Sea basin can play a significant role in stabilizing the region, whilst safeguarding its unique natural and cultural capital.
How do we realize this potential? How can technology, innovation and creativity come together with finance?
Come and find it out at Blue Invest in the Mediterranean 2019!
Adriatic Wood Days
Join the Adriatic Wood Days 2018 in Dubrovnik and participate at several international conferences in the field of forestry, wood processing, energy from wood, furniture production and creative industries!
The 4th edition of the Adriatic Wood Days (www.adriatic-wd.com) will be held in Dubrovnik at the beginning of December (3-4.12.2018).
During two days, this central sectoral conference in the Mediterranean will host a numerous sectoral experts, important policy makers and other relevant stakeholders from business, academia, media, etc, which will discuss topics related to:
hotel interiors furnishing and product design · greater use of wood in construction · managing forests on islands · timber trade and wood products marketing · future of biomass and RES: position of pellets and cogeneration in RED II directive · organizing the sector through clusters and associations · importance of quality and certification…
International Conference 'Knowledge and Smart Cities'
The International Conference Knowledge § Smart Cities – Integrated Planning & Policy Regulations will be held in Sofia on November 26th, 2018 and will be under the auspices of Sofia Municipality and in partnership with Cluster Sofia Knowledge City, EIP-SCC, Sofia Development Association, Sofia Municipality, Sofia Investment Agency and Sofia Tech Park.
The conference will bring together about 200 participants, representatives of the leading Bulgarian and international companies, clusters, universities, research and scientific institutions, NGOs, investors and others knowledge economy and smart cities development stakeholders. The event is organized under the project „Establishment of organizational capacity and development strategy of Cluster Sofia Knowledge City“, with the financial support of OP “Innovations and Competitiveness“ 2014-2020, co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.
Find more information about the event and how to register here.
Joint Romanian – Hungarian International Cluster Conference 2018, 20-22. November
Participate in the three-day joint international cluster conference in Oradea, Romania and Debrecen, Hungary, organized by the Romanian Cluster Association and the Hungarian Ministry of Finance. The conference is on the 20-22. November 2018.
The first edition of the conference aims to improve the Central European cluster development practices in the light of the cluster policy recommendations of the European cluster best practices. The event will serve as a great opportunity for knowledge exchange among national and regional authorities, policy makers and cluster practitioners. Furthermore the conference aims to provide platform for the cluster managers to share their experiences among each other and for matchmaking.
Find more information here.
EU-Western Balkans Cluster Policy Learning and Matchmaking Event in Zagreb
Following the establishment of long-term partnerships of the European Commission with the Western Balkans, PwC organises in close collaboration with the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, on behalf of the European Commission, an EU-Western Balkans Cluster Policy Learning and Matchmaking Event on November 22 and November 23 in Zagreb, Croatia.
Application Process will be open until the 14th of September 2018.
The EU-Western Balkans cluster policy and matchmaking event is set up to support clusters as networking support organisations especially for SMEs, in their mission to open up new markets, to collaborate on cross-sectorial level and provide first relevant contacts to their members. The event represents a unique opportunity for European and Western Balkan clusters to explore common areas of interest for cooperation and build complementarities in terms of sectoral, value chain and market focus.
Find more details on the event and application criteria here.
Find the application form at: http://survey.pwc.lu/efm/itw/answer/s/qbwa6sl7ka/k/LK07qqu.
For any questions, please address the organisers at PwC, WesternBalkans-Clusters@lu.pwc.com
Call for Project Outlines: Clusters and Ecosystems As Drivers of Nordic Smart Mobility and Connectivity
A call for proposals specifically targeting Nordic clusters, business networks and ecosystems to establish Nordic innovation projects in the field of Nordic Smart Mobility and Connectivity.
Deadline: 20 November 2018 at 15.00 CET
Budget: NOK 200 000
Applications: The application portal will open ultimo October 2018.
Nordic Innovation invites Nordic clusters, business networks and ecosystems to participate in our Clusters and Ecosystems As Drivers of Nordic Smart Mobility and Connectivity call for project outlines.
The purpose of this call is to foster the establishment of Nordic innovation projects, new Nordic partnerships, value chains or business models in the field of Nordic Smart Mobility and Connectivity. Through this initiative, Nordic Innovation sets out to promote sustainable growth, innovation, entrepreneurship and global competitiveness of Nordic companies. By promoting Nordic smart mobility and connectivity solutions, Nordic Innovation aims to speed up the transition to a more sustainable and connected mobile future, where quality of life is a cross-cutting aspiration.
Nordic Innovation will provide funding of NOK 200 000 to up to 10 early-stage Nordic projects related to smart mobility and connectivity, with the aim of developing the most promising initiatives to next stage large scale Nordic Innovation projects.
Nordic Innovation will host a workshop at BLOXHUB in Copenhagen on 1 November 2018, which will be a matchmaking opportunity for applicants to this call.
Please find more information on the call here. The full call text, eligibility and evaluation criteria are also available here.
Published on 11/10/2018 by Nordic Innovation. http://nordicinnovation.org/en-GB/projects/2319/nordic-smart-mobility-and-connectivity/call-for-project-outlines-clusters-and-ecosystems-as-drivers-of-nordic-smart-mobility-and-connectivity/
PERMIDES is finalized
PERMIDES was running from Sept 2016 – Aug 2018 and is now finalized
After two successful years the project PERMIDES is coming to an end at the end of August. Find out more about all the projects and achievements – Download the PERMIDES brochure
Also, take a look into their interactive Project Database.
Stay in contact
The consortium partners are involved in EU project applications, invite interested parties to get in contact and are always open to consider cooperation.
Interested in building on your PERMIDES project?
Find funding opportunities to support your projects in the SME Support Mechanisms Overview PERMIDES put together for you. To maximize the impact of PERMIDES and to build on the successful projects and the dynamic cross-sectoral SME network established, the PERMIDES consortium compiled relevant funding and support opportunities for SMEs available at the European, national or regional level in Germany, Norway and Austria.
EU-Korea Cluster Matchmaking Event
The European Cluster Coooperation Platform organises a Cluster Matchmaking Event within the context of the European Utility Week on 6-8 November 2018 with a delegation from Korea to the EU, as well as opportunities for Intra-European matchmaking. The aim is as such to allow cluster organisations for information exchange and networking opportunities with counterparts from Korea and in parallel to present a platform for exchange among European cluster organisations.
More information can be found here.
21st TCI Global Conference
The TCI Network’s 21st Global Conference 2018 will be held in Toronto, Canada on 16-18 October 2018 focusing on the theme of „Collaborating to Compete: Clusters in Action”
Hosted by The Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity, the conference will focus on cluster leadership, governance and evaluation, as well as designing innovation networks for knowledge exchange, with the goal of furthering economic growth and development.
More information can be found here.
WIRE 2018
The 9th edition of the WIRE conference will look into three smart choices for regional ecosystems of innovation: Science & Research, Entrepreneurship and Connectivity have not only been the key drivers behind Tyrolean success but can become powerful game-changers for many regions across Europe.
The Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE), financed under the Horizon 2020 SEWP-work programme, is a co-operation with the European Commission that brings together regional, national and European innovation experts and stakeholders, including public organisations, policymakers, research communities and enterprises. The conference will be organised during the first week of the Austrian EU Council Presidency, and in vicinity to the proposals for the next generation of EU instruments.
The programme and information about the venue can be found here.
PERMIDES Final Conference 2018 - Empowering Personalized Medicine through Digital Solutions
Digital technologies and new business models based on them offer manifold novel medical services with new forms of improved access to a wider range of population. PERMIDES is an EU funded project supporting more than 45 innovation projects in this area. This conference showcases the most successful projects and brings together the involved experts and innovation drivers. The PERMIDES Final Conference 2018 takes place on June 12, 2018, Utrecht, The Netherlands, Van der Valk Hotel.
Join the event and be part the digital value chain of precision medicine. Share your insights! Free of charge, but registration is required at: https://precisionmedicineforum.com/benelux-2018/permides-2018-register/
The programme and information about the venue can be found here.
Second European Industry Day 22-23 February 2018, Brussels (Belgium)
The event will update stakeholders on the Commission’s strategic approach to industrial policy and actions to further develop industrial competitiveness in Europe.
It will also serve as a forum where stakeholders contributing to European industrial competitiveness can showcase their activities, learn from each other, discuss cross-cutting issues and develop joint visions for the future. Stakeholders will come from a variety of industrial sectors, finance, research and innovation, public government and administration.
European Industry Day 2018 builds on the constructive dialogue that was initiated during the first Industry Day in on 28 February 2017. This successful event presented how industrial competitiveness has been mainstreamed into key EU initiatives and launched the debate on a future-oriented EU agenda on economic modernisation.
More information will be published here.
Co-creating inspiring future cluster initiatives at the GROW your REGIOn conference
The second edition of the GROW your REGIOn conference was held in Valencia, Spain, from 8 to 9 November 2017. 315 stakeholders from 25 countries shared their experiences and ideas about future actions for ‚Boosting smart interregional collaboration through clusters‘.
The main conference takeaways:
• interregional collaboration through clusters is a key tool for supporting innovation, industrial modernisation and the scaling up of SMEs
• the right partners – policy-makers, SME intermediaries and industry – need to be involved
• dedicated support, new initiatives and sustainable partnerships are needed to advance collaboration in specialised themes
Tamara Högler (CyberForum e.V.) as coordinator of PERMIDES, particpated and networked at one of the pre-event workshops, focusing on COSME cluster excellence and Horizon2020 INNOSUP cluster value chain.
Read more about it.
Adriatic Wood Days 2017
4-5 December, Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Adriatic Wood Days is the main sector event in the southeast Europe and Mediterranean Countries and attracts sectoral experts, important policy makers and other relevant stakeholders from business, academia, media, etc..
It includes 4 conferences and 3 workshops discuss topics related to: hotel interiors furnishing and product design · greater use of wood in construction · managing forests on islands · timber trade and wood products marketing · future of biomass and RES: position of pellets and cogeneration in RED II directive · organizing the sector through clusters and associations · importance of quality and certification.
In addition to these topics, an important part of the programme will be related to EU projects and funding. The Croatian Wood Cluster is going to represent the Interreg Danube project „FORESDA„, with aim at supporting the transformationa and strengthen the competitiveness of traditional forest-based industries in the Danube region.
Welcome in the network to Innovation Technology Cluster - Slovenia
Innovation Technology Cluster (ITC) is a non-profit organization located in Technology park Murska Sobota, North-eastern part of Slovenia, bordering to Austria, Hungary and Croatia. In 2017 Cluster was formed to foster cross-sectoral innovation based upon novel technologies and ICT, while bringing together SMEs and other institutions from different sectors and turn them into being ‘’Smart’’.
The Cluster focuses its effort in setting up foundation that allows knowledge actors and industry players (especially SMEs) to detect, create and exchange new technologies and best practices, which will allow them to create new services and products, and thus generate new value chains. Furthermore, ITC cluster strives to set up and implement strategies and action plans to achieve stable growth of cross-sectoral innovation at national and international level.
As a member of Technology Park, ITC strives to establish an international ”Eco System” of companies and institutions which will be able to challenge the global competitiveness in the area of Sustainable development. Learn more and collaborate at: http://itc-cluster.com/
Opening up to an era of SOCIAL INNOVATION Conference
27-28 November 2017, Lisbon (Portugal)
The conference aims to boost social innovation in Europe because social innovation is a good, cost-effective way to advance inclusive and wealth-creating public policies, by developing a new narrative and giving this new narrative the means to take root, grow, blossom and bear fruit.
Who: The event seeks to bring together world-class scientists in the area of social innovation, innovators, social entrepreneurs, civil society representatives, national and regional policy makers, municipal and city level actors, social innovation funders, philanthropists, venture capitalists, business angels, students, and politicians.
How: The conference will be structured in the following manner:
• Taking stock of social innovation achievements
• Identifying potential future opportunities brought by social innovation not only in terms of societal well-being, but also of growth, jobs, and business development for Europe
• Reviewing new trends in social innovation
• Examining the possible role of social innovation in the next generation of public policies
• Exploring funding instruments
Learn more and register here.
6th edition of the Romanian National Cluster Conference
The event enjoys the presence of eminent representatives of European organizations, national and international clusters, research institutes, universities and companies, renowned experts.The Interreg project FORESDA coordinated by CyberForum e.V. will be presented at the event!Join us at: http://www.interreg-danube.eu/news-and-events/project-news/1159
Find partners across the smart city value chain @Smart City Expo World Congress 2017
14-16 November 2017, Barcelona (Spain)
In the context of the Smart City Expo World Congress 2017, to be held in Barcelona on November 14-16, ACCIÓ is organising a working session with European clusters in order to explore collaboration areas and find partners across the smart city value chain.
Target audience:
European clusters working on the smart city sector
What to expect:
The working session will allow attendees to:
Gather insight on the “H2020 INNOSUP-01: Cluster facilitated projects for new industrial value chains” call for proposals and on successful cluster experiences.
Analyse some of the main challenges on smart cities through experts, cities and cluster experiences.
Generate ideas and build consortiums for the H2020 INNOSUP-01 Call for proposals in order to tackle these challenges.
Grab last chance at https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/event-calendar/clusters-smart-cities
U.S. Cluster Mapping defines U.S traded clusters and local clusters
Despite their importance, the cluster organisations in the U.S. are not as institutionalised as in the EU. Nevertheless, there are numerous clusters that are represented by a formal cluster organisation and tend to be supported by local Economic Development Agencies (EDA’s), whereas some others are part of public and/or private organisations (e.g. Federal Agencies, Industry Associations, etc.) that aim to promote competitiveness and innovation in the sector.The U.S. Cluster Mapping provides over 50 million open data records on industry clusters and regional business environments in the U.S. to promote economic growth and national competitiveness. It is an initiative led by Harvard Business School’s Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Economic Development Administration.
Check out the result at: http://www.clustermapping.us/
GROW your REGIOn conference set for 8-9 November 2017:
Lessons will be drawn on how smart specialisation strategies were used and how clusters have supported growth in Europe’s regions.
How to boost smart interregional collaboration through clusters and foster value chain linkages that bring benefits to regions and cities across Europe?
‚GROW your REGIOn‘ is an opportunity to:
- share your smart specialisation and cluster experience and practices
- exchange ideas about future actions for smart interregional collaboration
- learn about novel ways of supporting innovation and accelerating industrial modernisation and SME growth
The conference will use an innovative approach, where the audience will be invited to actively contribute, collaborate and co-create, following the first edition from 2015 in Brussels.
Pre-registration for this conference is open now! Please visit this page regularly for updates.
View the agenda for more details
Side events:
- Digital transformation matchmaking event organised by WATIFY
- Steering committee of lead regions of the thematic smart specialisation platform for industrial modernisation (upon invitation only)
- European cluster excellence projects meeting (upon invitation only)
- INNOSUP-1 coordination meeting (upon invitation only)
International Cluster Conference in Budapest
The Hungarian Ministry for National Economy is pleased to announce to organize the Clusters in Europe IV. –international conference inBudapest, Hungary on 30 November – 1 December 2017.The fourth edition of the conference will serve as a great opportunity for national and regional authorities, policy makers and cluster practitioners to exchange experiences and best practices on clustering policies and for matchmaking. The organizers expect around 200 participants from all over Europe to take part in the event.
The conference offers keynote lectures and parallel sessions focusing on the following topics:
• From the very first steps to 2017 – Why we started?
• The treasures of future networks – role of human factor
• Cluster and SME perspective after 2020 especially in V4 countries;
• From cluster to cluster cooperation to real business interaction;
• Role of clusters in S3 and I 4.0
• The “SHE” factor
Karlsruhe is a digital lighthouse
With the new initiative karlsruhe.digital, the city of Karlsruhe wants to expand its position as a top location for digitization in Germany and Europe.Karlsruhe is a cradle of digitalization, where the first German e-mail was received in 1984. Today Karlsruhe is the most important IT cluster in Europe, a leading region for digital change. Here about 10,000 young people study computer science; alone 25 research institutes deal with IT and digitization topics and have developed into genuine research market leaders, with a radiance far beyond the national borders.
Karlsruhe is a motor of digitalization, in Baden-Württemberg, in Germany, in Europe and beyond, and the state of Baden-Württemberg is supporting the transfer of the model in as many municipalities as possible within the region.
During one of his visits in Karlsruhe, the Deputy Prime Minister and Digitization Minister Thomas Strobl said: „This spirit, which has developed in Karlsruhe from research on start-ups to networks of successful companies, must be carried into the country. We need a joint effort here – Karlsruhe is an absolute lighthouse!“
Learn more about the initiative here.
Save the date: TCI Conference 2017
The TCI Network’s 20th Anniversary Global Conference 2017 will be held in Bogota, Colombia on 7-9 November 2017 on the theme of „The future of clusters through cross-country & cross-region collaboration“.
Hosted by TCI member Bogota Chamber of Commerce, the conference will focus on collaboration and complementarity alliances between developed and developing countries for better policies, better business, and better management practices. Identifying cluster emerging trends.
Registration is open now: http://www.tci2017.org/Registration
Next PERMIDES Digital Health Forum at BIO-Europe
Next application round for IT and biopharma SMEs has started: until October 10, 2017 interested companies can apply for PERMIDES vouchers. It is important that the applicants fall under the definition of the EU for small and medium-sized enterprises and want to develop an innovative IT solution for problems in the biopharmaceutical value chain.
To apply for funding, visit: http://permides.eu
PERMIDES: First Innovation Voucher Applications have been awarded for Financial Funding
Next Application Deadline October 10th 2017
Two months after the start of the first round of applications, it becomes apparent that the project which is funded by the European Union in the Horizon 2020 program is of great interest to both the biopharma and the IT sector. With the first cut-off date in mid-May, a total of 46 applicationswith an overall volume of more than € 2.5 mio have been submitted for innovation projects, each project involving a biopharmaceutical SME and at least one IT SME. 22 of these 46 applications have been awarded for funding with an overall funding amount of more than € 1.25 mio (funded innovation projects). In this first application round, project proposals were submitted for e.g. the development of intelligently networked sensors for special therapies, innovative interfaces for medical wearables, as well as novel computer-based methods for cancer research.
Next application round for IT and biopharma SMEs has started: until October 10, 2017 interested companies can apply for PERMIDES vouchers. It is important that the applicants fall under the definition of the EU for small and medium-sized enterprises and want to develop an innovative IT solution for problems in the biopharmaceutical value chain.
To apply for funding, visit: http://permides.eu
URBAN INNO: first activities towards implementing participative urban environments in Central Europe

With the aim to implement participative urban environments where the innovation performance will substantially improve, first URBAN INNO pilot activities have involved actively citizens in Karlsruhe (Germany) and Trento (Italy).
The URBAN INNO Karlsruhe Pilot deals with the topic ‘eBikes & Energy’ and the Karlsruhe Pilot Team was actively present at the FahrradFestival (Bicycle Festival) in Karlsruhe. At this event, the Karlsruhe Pilot Team started with testing a a crowd sourcing approach, which aims to ‘customize’ an existing GIS software in order to use the functionalities for citizens participation related to energy issues of eBikes and to provide it to citizens for testing purposes.
The URBAN INNO Trento Pilot deals with the topic of ‘Innovative Government‘, in particular, how to engage citizens in the development of an innovative government process/service, by testing participatory methods which ensure the direct involvement of the citizens in the Trento urban area. Citizens have been already involved twice. The „young citizens“ group gathered together with the goal to design a feasible project for the „better neighborhood“. On the other side ideas were collected within a co-design laboratory with civil organisation to better usage of empty spaces in the neighborhood.
More about URBAN INNO Project: http://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/URBAN-INNO.html
5th Cluster Matchmaking Conference
Please find out more at:https://www.b2match.eu/cluster-matchmaking-2017
FORESDA Project presented at the 14th Wood Technology Conference
June 5-6th, Opatija, Croatia
FORESDA (Interreg Danube) project was presented at the 14th Wood-Technology Conference by Ms. Tamara Högler – Head of Innovations and International Affairs at CyberForum e.V, as lead partner of the project. The conference took place on the 5th and 6th of June, in Opatija, Croatia and is the traditional annual gathering of wood‐processing industry in Croatia and southeast Europe.
The presentation of excellent export results, continuous development of new products, as well as the successful participation in different national and the EU funding schemes over the past 15 years, ensured the presence of over 350 industry representatives and a number of important political and institutional stakeholders.
Read more about the event at: http://www.interreg-danube.eu/news-and-events/project-news/794
Dynamic PERMIDES Matchmaking Event in Heidelberg (Germany)
Thirty-three European SMEs gathered in Heidelberg’s Technologiepark (Germany) on July 12th 2017, for a compact and highly efficient PERMIDES Matchmaking Lunch. Biopharma, bioinformatics and IT companies from 12 European countries gave 1-min pitches introducing their company, core expertise and needs to attract the right partners for the 1:1-matchmaking part following the presentations. The participants had a busy matchmaking agenda, and many of them continued their discussions for more than 1 hour after the end of the meeting. All in all, the event featured a total of 66 pre-booked matchmaking meetings complemented by active networking and discussions among the participants.
Kai Gräber, PERMIDES Project Manager for the Ci3 Cluster added: “It was very motivating to hear that the participants highly appreciated the unique partnering and funding opportunities PERMIDES offers, and we welcomed their suggestions for the next phase of the project. The success of the event is also due to the excellent collaboration with the local partners EIT Health Germany, Technologiepark Heidelberg, Heidelberg Startup Partners, the BioRN cluster as well as SAP’s Innowerft.”
Upcoming Digital Healt Forum in Innsbruck (Austria – October 2nd 2017) and within the BIO-Europe Conference in Berlin (Germany – November 8th 2017).
Join the PERMIDES platform to connect with partnering SMEs and prepare your Next Apllication(deadline October 10th 2017)!
PERMIDES: successful first application round - Apply now for the second call

Eight partners including six leading biopharma and IT clusters from Germany, Austria and Norway are cooperating on the PERMIDES project with a view to supporting the digitalization of the biopharma sector. PERMIDES has a total budget of EUR 4.8 million and is scheduled to run until 31 August 2018. Further applications for innovation projects can be submitted with immediate effect. The next deadline for applications is 31 August 2017. These deadlines do not apply to applications for consultancy or travel vouchers which can be submitted at any time.
To apply for funding, visit: http://permides.eu
PERMIDES is funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union under Grant Agreement Number 691546.
EU Taiwan Cluster Matchmaking

This call for expression of interest is launched to identify a European delegation composed of representatives of cluster organisations from technology fields in support of the following areas:
• 5G (5th Generation Wireless Systems)
• Circular Economy
• Smart Industry
If you want to participate, follow the instructions at https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/news/eu-taiwan-cluster-matchmaking-event-2017
Bled E-Conference 2017
With fresh ideas and complementary themes the conference wants to establish a creative environment for researchers, government, industry/business representatives and technology providers and an attractive meeting point for discussing new R&D and project ideas, also in the spirit of new Horizon 2020.
Find more about it here!
PERMIDES: EU funding for Personalized Medicine
The voucher funding scheme of PERMIDES is aimed at SMEs from the biopharmaceutical sector developing novel personalized medicine products and solutions (e.g. biotech/medtech companies, diagnostics companies, CROs, biobank companies, bioinformatic companies). Only biopharma SMEs, together with IT SMEs, according to the EU definition and established in one of the EU Member States or Associated Countries can submit the proposals for funding provided by PERMIDES. To be eligible for funding, project teams need to consist of one biopharma SME as main applicant/beneficiary and at least one IT SME as service provider. Potential project team partners can be found e.g. via the PERMIDES platform offering the need-vs-expertise-based matchmaking of companies from the biopharmaceutical and IT sector. Biopharma SMEs can avail benefits from this call for obtaining vouchers up to a maximum of € 60,000. IT SMEs can collaborate with various biopharma SMEs in multiple projects, and are not affected by € 60,000 limit. Please note that biopharma SMEs are the beneficiaries of the innovation projects and the costs involved in providing the services by IT SMEs will be funded and paid to IT SMEs by PERMIDES.
Interested biopharma and IT SMEs can apply now:
With the semantic matchmaking platform the biopharmaceutical SME and the ICT partner can jointly tackle an innovation barrier in the value chain using innovation vouchers valued up to60,000 €. Descriptions of the vouchers can be found here: http://www.clustercollaboration.eu/profile-articles/funding-biopharma-smes-60keu
URBAN INNO at MobileGov World Summit
May 7-9, 2017, Brighton, UK
The mobileGov World Summit 2017 took place May 7-9, 2017 in Brighton (UK) and aimed at gathering mobile Government ICT professionals from all over the world. Representatives of Mobile Industry, Public Sector, NGOs, and Academia joined this event to discuss and share achievements and challenges of mobile government of the last decade. High level public sector delegations from best performing countries, including Korea, UAE, India and Colombia, just to name a few, shared their experiences and lessons learned in utilizing mobile technologies in public sector. Topics addressed were amongst others information security, challenges and opportunities of the Internet of Things systems and development of artificial intelligence for mobile government solutions. Tamara Högler presented Urban Inno as an example for the importance of citizens´ involvement in innovation processes with focus on Smart Cities.
PERMIDES: First Innovation Voucher Applications have been awarded for Financial Funding
Next Application Deadline October 10th 2017
Two months after the start of the first round of applications, it becomes apparent that the project which is funded by the European Union in the Horizon 2020 program is of great interest to both the biopharma and the IT sector. With the first cut-off date in mid-May, a total of 46 applicationswith an overall volume of more than € 2.5 mio have been submitted for innovation projects, each project involving a biopharmaceutical SME and at least one IT SME. 22 of these 46 applications have been awarded for funding with an overall funding amount of more than € 1.25 mio (funded innovation projects). In this first application round, project proposals were submitted for e.g. the development of intelligently networked sensors for special therapies, innovative interfaces for medical wearables, as well as novel computer-based methods for cancer research.
Next application round for IT and biopharma SMEs has started: until October 10, 2017 interested companies can apply for PERMIDES vouchers. It is important that the applicants fall under the definition of the EU for small and medium-sized enterprises and want to develop an innovative IT solution for problems in the biopharmaceutical value chain.
To apply for funding, visit: http://permides.eu
EU tender: Cluster go international

The present call for proposals is targeting actions for two phases, divided in three Strands. Applicant consortia can submit proposals for one Strand only and applicant organisations can be part of maximum one consortium per Phase.
Please find out more at: https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/cos-cluster-2014-3-03-cluster-go-international
Open Innovation 2.0 Conference
The fifth edition of the Open Innovation 2.0 Conference conference was held in the picturesque city of Cluj-Napoca in the heart of the Romanian Transylvania region (13th -14th June 2017). The city has developed as a strong IT and innovation ecosystem with 11 Universities and several innovation and technology parks.
ICT Spring Europe

ICT Spring is a Global Tech Conference hosting an array of International Professionals. This two-day yearly event is held in Luxembourg City, at the heart of Europe, and offers the participants a unique opportunity to deepen their Digital Knowledge, capture the Value of the fast-growing FinTech Industry, and explore the impact of Space Technologies on Terrestrial Businesses, through exhibitions and demonstrations of the latest Tech Trends and Innovations. ICT Spring is also the perfect place to network with peers and future business partners.
For more information: www.ictspring.com
Futur en Seine 2017

As the largest free and open meeting on innovation in Europe, Futur en Seine is the only event that combines business meetings, pitches, demo show, prospective conferences, kids activities, mind-blowing experiences and parties.
During 4 days at the very heart of Paris, Futur en Seine mixes up major digital players, the crème de la crème of youth entrepreneurship and game-changers, creative developers. With more than 30 000 participants each year, the festival celebrates innovation of all kind with energy and ideas coming from around the world.
For further information please visit: www.futur-en-seine.paris/
German Federal Cluster Week

For the first time, a nationwide cluster week will be organized on the initiative of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing in the period from 20-28 April, 2017. The Federal Minister for Education and Research Johanna Wanka and the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel have taken over the patronage. The federal states will actively participate in the implementation.
The Cluster Week aims to present the diversity and strength of the German cluster landscape. Regional cluster activities are presented under one umbrella. The Cluster Week will be opened with the annual conference of the „go-cluster“-programme on 20 April, 2017 at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Berlin.
Find more about it here!
Tamara Högler certified as ESCA Cluster Expert
Cluster benchmarking interviews are conducted by specifically trained ESCA benchmarking experts. After theoretic and practical training the experts have basic background knowledge on the ECEI methodology and are able to conduct the benchmarking interviews and to discuss the results with the benchmarked cluster organisation.
Each expert has been working with cluster organisations for several years and has a thorough knowledge about management systems and approaches.
Find out more about the ESCA experts at www.cluster-analysis.org/
Succesfull Foresda Kick-Off Meeting

The project FORESDA – Forest based cross-sectoral value chains fostering innovation and competitiveness in the Danube Region – was officially launched 6-7th of March 2017 in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
The official kick-off meeting took place on Tuesday, 7th of March, at the Slovenian Forestry Institute. The event was dedicated to a broad audience, and approached a series of interesting topics. The meeting started with the welcome speeches of Mr. Igor Milavec, director of CCIS – Wood Processing and Furniture Association, Mr. Miha Humar, dean of UL Biotechnical Faculty, Mr. Primož Simončič, director of Slovenian Forestry Institute.
Mrs. Tamara Högler – Head of Innovation and International Affairs at CyberForum e.V, lead partner presented the FORESDA project, offering the audience an insight into the activities planned and the main outputs of FORESDA, mainly increasing innovation potential of the traditional wood sector.
Pictures about the event are available in the ‚Gallery‘ menu of our webpage, on our facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/foresda/ and twitter: https://twitter.com/foresda_eu_dtp
ESCA awards Silver Label to Cluj IT Cluster

Cluster Development Handbook launched
Launched at The Competitiveness Institute’s (TCI Network) 2016 Global Conference in Eindhoven, Netherlands, the Handbook provides practical guidance for experienced cluster practitioners, those new to cluster development and for policy agencies.
The author, Ifor Ffowcs-Williams, is a Founder and Past President of the TCI Network and CEO, Cluster Navigators Ltd, New Zealand. This reference book is based on Ifor’s two decades of hands-on experience with hundreds of clusters.
Find out details here!
++European Cluster Conference 2016++ Clusters 4.0 - Shaping Smart Industries
This year’s conference will focus on Cluster 4.0 – Shaping Smart Industries and include high-level plenary speeches, panel discussions and interactive sessions where participants will have the chance to share their experiences and challenges.
Tamara Högler, Head of Innovations and International Affairs at CyberForum e.V. and coordinator of the Business Roaming Agreement, was invited to the conference to share the experience within the H2020 InnoSup Project „PERMIDES“ in the session „Cluster facilitating new cross-sectoral value chains/Service innovation and the creative economy“.
Register now – places are limited!
++ 1-day HORIZON 2020 Proposal Development Workshop ++ Vienna (Austria), 24th November 2016
Actual project managers and coordinators will moderate practical workshops, sharing their experiences with successful and unsuccessful proposals, addressing all aspects of developing competitive proposals under Horizon 2020.
Learn more here!
++V4mula - Final Conference++ Society - ICT- Economy - Industry 4.0
Smart Solutions for Socially Relevant Innovations in Visegrad Four Regions
Surfing the digital waves opens new opportunities and also accelerate positive effects to the society and economy. How can create businesses a real value from this new age of the Internet? Does it mean brand new products and services by using smart solutions? What kind of new business models are generated by Industry 4.0? Is being always connected a big challenge for the customers? How can citizens improve their performance in digitalised world?
The Society – ICT – Economy – Industry 4.0 international conference tried to give answers for these questions.
For more information: innoskart.eu/en/v4mula
++Meet us @19th TCI Global Conference++ Global Changes: Challenges for innovation clusters
The TCI Network is the leading global network of main organisations and practitioners with deep expertise in clusters and competitiveness, and reaches out to 9,000 practitioners from development agencies, government departments, cluster organizations, academic institutions, companies and multilateral organizations in over 110 countries.
Tamara Högler, Head of Innovations and International Affairs at CyberForum e.V. and coordinator of the Business Roaming Agreement, presented „Clusters as Drivers for Innovation in Smart Cities – A Best Practice”, including the recently started URBAN INNO Project.
4th Cluster Matchmaking Conference: Internationalisation the Strategic Way
What to expect: Excellent matchmaking opportunities with Europe’s leading cluster organisations; Lot’s of networking opportunities; a thrilling interactive program and a vibrant atmosphere.
Focus
- Meet clusters (and SME networks) from all over Europe;
- Scout for cluster partners for joint development projects;
- Gain knowledge about international clusters, their areas of specialisation and strategy;
- Discover new opportunities for cross cluster collaboration;
- Present, discuss and develop new project ideas with other clusters.
For more information: www.b2match.eu/cluster-matchmaking-2016
European-Asian cluster matchmaking event for ICT-clusters
An ICT-focused cluster matchmaking event took place during the European Innovation Week in Taipei (Taiwan) from the 30th of May to the 1st of June of 2016. The Cluster Matchmaking Event coincided with the COMPUTEX Fair.
Learn more about the event at: www.clustercollaboration.eu/event-calendar/european-asian-cluster-matchmaking-event-opportunity-ict-clusters
Transylvanian Cluster Conference
TCI Network is one of the supporting organizations of the Transylvanian Cluster Conference held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, on 23-24 June and organized by the Northern Tranylvanian Clusters Consortium. The event focused on the importance of open innovation within clusters.
The International Conference of Clusters from Northern Transylvania is an annual event that resulted from the necessity of creating joint innovative projects, with a major impact on the community, but also on the industries that the member entities are a part of. The conference reunited more than 250 participants from Romania and abroad, and they had the occasion to discuss or to initiate new projects, within the matchmaking sessions, the objective being for the event to end with at least 5 practical initiatives.
The event is an initiative of the Consortium of Clusters from Northern Transylvania, and it reunites more than 260 entities from the business environment, research and development, and public authorities. The companies represented by these clusters have more than 18.000 employees and a cumulated turnover of more than 1,3 billion Euros.
Conference sub-themes:
- IT&C and Creative industries
- Energy efficiency
- Agrobusiness
- Innovation in the furniture industry
- New materials and technology
For more information: http://transylvanianclusters.ro/
UPSIDE Final Conference: High Capacity Digital Societies - Make it Happen
The workshop and conference was organised by CyberForum. Besides some very interesting presentations related to project results „external speakers“ were invited on topics like „The role of clusters in innovation“).
The UPSIDE Final Conference took place in the framework of the Bled eConference entitled „Digital Economy“. This conference included also an Internet of Things conference named „Living Bits & Things“ (June 20th) and the Final Conference of the Be Wiser project “Clusters and Cybersecurity – Be Wiser outlines Europe’s Cybersecurity Challenges” (June 22nd).
Smart Regions Conference - Brussels 1-2 June

Regions across the European Union have developed their national or regional innovation strategies for smart specialisation. They provide a strategic framework for the innovation-driven economic transformation of European regions and set out the main priorities for investments. They address emerging opportunities and market developments in order to build a competitive advantage by developing and matching research and innovation strengths to business needs. European Structural Investment Funds are the main financing source.
This High-Level Event will highlight the key role of regions in developing new growth dynamics for Europe, based on bottom-up entrepreneurship and innovation. It will mark the mobilisation of this potential for transformation in priority areas, e.g. energy transition, digital growth, circular economy, agro-food or industrial modernisation. Smart specialisation strategies can leverage numerous new growth opportunities for all regions, when aligning their business driven smart specialisation investments in new European value chains. The High-Level Event will accelerate the set-up of effective partnerships for co-investing across regions that commit to their smart specialisation priorities. It will show a way forward in using the synergies between the different public and private funding mechanism to support such investment dynamics.
You’ll find further information unter the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/conferences/smart-regions/
Start of Interreg Central Europe project URBAN inno

You’ll find further information under the following link: http://www.interreg-central.eu/Content.Node/URBAN-INNO.html
Matchmaking at EUREKA Innovation Week
Stockholm, Sweden – April 27, 2016
Visit Stockholm and take the opportunity to meet potential partners for collaboration, broaden your global network and identify new innovations to your organization!
The EUREKA Innovation Week 2016 in Stockholm is expected to attract business actors from many parts of the world, representing areas such as ICT, New Materials, Energy, Smart Cities and Transport and Life Sciences.
It is a joint event between VINNOVA (the Swedish Innovation Agency), the EUREKA NPCs and Enterprise Europe Network.
The Matchmaking takes place on Wednesday April 27th, between 11:00 and 16:00, and is arranged by Enterprise Europe Network.
Participants sit down in pre-arranged one-on-one meetings for discussing project set-ups and collaborations.
More information: https://www.b2match.eu/eurekainnovation2016