ECCP June 2023 Quarterly Newsletter |
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Dear ECCP Member,
Welcome to the ECCP June Quarterly Newsletter 2023!
As summer unfolds, so does our continued commitment to keeping you informed and engaged with all things related to the European Cluster Community. Stay tuned for updates over the summer and into autumn!
In this issue, expect insights from our recent events, community updates, success stories and recent publications.
Don't forget: becoming a Pro User of the ECCP allows you to fully utilise our resources, including the dynamic ECCP Trend Universe Tool.
Thank you for being a vital part of our community.
Best regards,
Your ECCP Team
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New ECCP Profile Registration Process
We have recently optimised the website, the profile registration process and the visualisation of profiles on the platform. The new registration process has been designed with user-friendliness in mind, making it easier for users to sign up, edit and start using the available services.
To ensure that our users have a smooth registration and editing experience, we have created a user manual as a step-by-step guide to walk you through the process. This guide will help you understand each step of the account as well as the profile registration process and make it easier for you to navigate through the platform.
Check out further details about the profiles here.
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On 15 and 16 June 2023, in cooperation with Region Skåne, Media Evolution, Sustainable Business Hub, Livsmedels-Akademin, Syd Industriellt Utvecklings Centrum, Mobile Heights, Clusters of Sweden and Packbridge, we organised a two-day workshop in Malmö, Sweden. The main event topic was “Clusters as boosters of innovation in industrial ecosystems.”
Check out:
📸 Flickr Album for all event photos.
📰 The full article with key takeaways.
📄Read the input paper for an in-depth look at Clusters as boosters of innovation in industrial ecosystems – the case of Skåne
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Check out all the action, highlights and key takeaways from our ECCP Matchmaking event in Taiwan in this article.
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Read up on all the proceedings from our few days in Morocco with the full event report.
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In conversation with matchmaking participants:
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Skirmantė Baležentienė - Cluster Manager - Photovoltaics Technology Cluster, Lithuania 🇱🇹 |
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💬 I have attended matchmaking events in Brussels during spring 2018, Vilnius in April 2022, Singapore in October 2022 and Marrakech in May 2023.
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All of them were intense, but nevertheless great as I really try to make the most out of the connections made later on.
As a result of these trips, we’ve, for example, developed quite a strong partnership with Spain’s Packaging Cluster. We have placed a proposal this spring with them being in the consortium.
From Singapore, it is still an ongoing process, as it involves long-term partnership development. One of our SMEs received a request for solar module technology development for a Singaporean company. We have 2 partnerships still under the negotiation phase for the export of Lithuanian production to the Asian market.
Marrakech by far has produced the most outcomes already. We have already had an extensive discussion on collaboration on RTD activities and set up the next steps for joint project preparation under two different programmes with Green Energy Park. From an RTD perspective, this lead was the strongest one.
The events were great because they represented a great opportunity to meet and greet bright and like-minded people working with incredibly smart technologies and applications to push their cluster organisations to success. Additionally, it was a great opportunity to explore regions from the inside, especially if you are looking for something concrete, for example writing a proposal and trying to expand your network. Through direct meetings, it is possible to explore a much wider scope of collaboration possibilities and discuss with people interested in being part of the proposal. Moreover, if the persons you are talking to will not be part of the proposal, most likely they will direct you to the one you are looking for.
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Carolina Garcés - Project Manager for Internationalisation and Innovation – Mobile Heights, Sweden 🇸🇪 |
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💬 Mobile Heights and Clusters of Sweden have had the opportunity to take part in 2 matchmaking events: the EU-Singapore Matchmaking Event 2022 and the EU–Taiwan Matchmaking Event 2023.
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These 2 matchmaking opportunities have been very relevant to our internationalisation strategy in key geo-strategic markets outside Europe.
After our visit to Singapore, we started collaboration with Business Sweden-Singapore. As a result, on 20 April 2023, Mobile Heights, Clusters of Sweden and Business Sweden organised a seminar where we presented the opportunities for Swedish companies in Singapore and Southeast Asia / the Pacific and discussed Singapore´s role in Asia and why it could be an attractive region for Swedish companies to consider.
Furthermore, 3 companies from Singapore (whom we met during the Matchmaking event) have been offered free of charge coaching hours to prepare their pitch for the Swedish market. Then, the Singaporean companies had the opportunity to pitch their product, services and solutions to Swedish tech companies. As a result of these efforts, we now have knowledge of at least 4 business opportunities that are being explored between Singaporean and Swedish companies.
We highly recommend these EU matchmaking opportunities which strengthen clusters' strategic and operational capacity to support SMEs in their internationalisation journey and help with integrating into larger and more global value chains. The events increase cluster’s knowledge about relevant markets for our regions and companies and support our mission by strengthening our global networks.
Furthermore, the cluster team can map and identify potential opportunities for SMEs who lack resources to initiate internationalisation activities.
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Gisela Sanchez - Head of European Affairs and Consulting – Finance Innovation, France 🇫🇷 |
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💬 I attended the recent Taiwan Matchmaking event and it was a great experience. The event was very well organised and the quality of business meetings was very high.
This matchmaking event was the beginning of new partnerships for Finance Innovation. For instance, after the matchmaking event in Taipei, I had the opportunity to meet Startup Terrace again at Viva Technology in Paris (whom we first connected with in Taipei), and we are now boosting our collaboration as we will be promoting their acceleration programme in Taiwan within our startup ecosystem.
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The matchmaking events are a great business opportunity for European Clusters to connect with other clusters and to accelerate business or partnerships with the local country.
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View all the information on upcoming sessions and catch up on the Cluster Talks that you missed, with full recordings, on the ECCP.
We are constantly looking for ways to improve our ECCP activities to best suit the needs of our community. As such, we kindly ask for your feedback on your experience as an EU Cluster Talks participant, so that we may tailor and improve the future Talks to best reflect your interests. Please answer this survey before 1 August 2023.
After the EU Clusters Talks on 12 July, there will be a pause over the summer until the talks restart on 6 September. We look forward to seeing you back then, and hopefully joined by some new faces!
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The Horizon Results Platform (HRP) offers visibility and matchmaking opportunities to EU R&I funding beneficiaries by enabling them to present visually engaging, information-rich and dynamic result profiles targeting specific stakeholders. To date, there are more than 2,700 Key Exploitable Results from EU-funded programmes. The well-structured platform attracts 5,000 visitors a month, including investors, industries and SMEs, as well as policymakers. Check out more info and access here.
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Green Buffers drive positive change via green tech cluster in Dalarna, Sweden |
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Green Buffers are a newly developed generation of mechanical dampers that absorb and distribute crash energy in collisions between trains. This unique and world-leading innovation will save many lives - and helped greatly by cluster-facilitated collaboration. Continue reading here.
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Guidelines for health and lifesciences clusters to enhance their support to their ecosystems |
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The Horizon Europe project INNAXE consortium, composed of 6 European clusters, has published a set of Guidelines aiming to provide health & life science clusters with a toolbox to monitor their ecosystem and their own work. Check out the guidelines.
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National Cluster Association hosted a General Assembly in Prague |
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The Czech National Cluster Association (NCA) recently hosted a General Assembly at the Technology Centre Prague. The NCA has been very active over the past year in, for example, creating a cluster map of the Czech Republic or hosting a Cluster Day in the Vysočina region. Read more about NCA and their recent activities here
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Public Consultation Launched for Evaluation of COSME Programme |
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In light of the final evaluation of the COSME Programme, the European Commission has initiated a public consultation, offering an opportunity for stakeholders and SMEs to contribute their valuable insights. Help shape the future of support programmes dedicated to the growth and development of small and medium-sized enterprises. Participate before 18 September. Access via this link.
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🚨 Many of the Euroclusters projects open calls have deadlines in the next few weeks. Time's running out! Head over to the ECCP now to take a look and not miss the brilliant opportunities they present.
Open Calls:
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The Cluster Solutions Library |
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The Cluster Solutions Library showcases good practices from across Europe where clusters have played an active role in the 14 industrial ecosystems (as indicated in the updated EU industrial strategy) and regional economies and are drivers for economic transition. The actions of these good practice examples are in line with the industrial strategy of green and digital transition and resilience building.
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Country Factsheets |
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The ECCP has developed 56 country factsheets on cluster policies and programmes across Europe and third-priority countries. The country factsheets are primarily based on desk research at the national level (mainly in the national language) and have been subject to validation by the national authorities. Check them out here - please note that you need to have created an account on the ECCP and be logged in order to access the country factsheets.
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The EDPB Data Protection Guide for Small Business |
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The European Data Protection Board has developed a “Data Protection Guide for small business”. It aims to provide practical information to SMEs about GDPR compliance in accessible and easily understandable language. The Guide will cover various aspects of GDPR, from data protection basics to respecting individuals' rights and measures to secure personal data. Access the guide and more information here.
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Policy Toolkit |
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The Policy Toolkit provides a searchable database of policy initiatives from 53 countries to support clusters in fostering the twin transitions and building resilience. New examples were integrated in December 2022. At the moment, the Policy Toolkit consists of 248 examples from more than 60 countries (EU, COSME, Horizon Europe and third countries). Check out the Policy Toolkit items here.
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Become a Pro User and access the ECCP Trend Universe here!
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In-Move by Railgrup promotes a successful pilot demonstration of rail freight transport, reducing CO2 emissions by 92% |
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In-Move by Railgrup promoted a successful pilot demonstration of rail freight transport: More than 11,000 bottles of cava were transported with a 92% saving in CO2 emissions, taking less time and with a 3% increase in cargo capacity compared to road transport. Read more.
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Success case of synergies among Railgrup partners: 3M, DIAB, Eximport, Talgo and EURECAT involved |
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Another brilliant example of cluster collaboration among In-Move by Railgrup partners: A new product in the manufacturing process whose feedstock is from Diab & 3M, which EXIMPORT is manufacturing, for the end customer TALGO, whilst all tests have been carried out at the EURECAT Technological Centre. Read more.
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Our support for Ukraine continues into the summer months. To find out more about what we are doing, and what you can do, check out the EU Clusters Support Ukraine page on the ECCP.
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© 2023 — European Union. All rights reserved. © European Union, 2023. The information and views set out in this email are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of EISMEA or of the Commission. Neither EISMEA, nor the Commission can guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this document. Neither EISMEA, nor the Commission or any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may be made of the information contained therein. The ECCP is the European Commission platform for cluster collaboration, operated by a dedicated consortium of IMP³ROVE, Prognos AG, VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH, European Clusters Alliance, InPULSE Partners SRL, AgriFood Lithuania, EURADA, LOW and iO. This email was developed by this consortium.
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