The IT-Logistikcluster is excited to take part in the first series of the EU cluster Weeks 2018-2019, which helps promote national, regional and local cluster events, and support SME (small and medium sized enterprise) growths, industrial transformation and regional economic development. This collaboration with the European Commission is a successful example of the EU’s efforts to build strong interregional collaboration to help strengthen business environments for business owners across Europe.
The desire for innovation drives business and science. But which innovations do we need and, what drives us to keep developing new ideas? This year the annual meeting of the IT-Logistikcluster is focused on innovation. Looking at the cluster's most innovative projects and highlighting topics in the keynote address, the event will provide networking options like matchmaking, pitching, participatory sessions and web streaming for the target audience of cluster managers, cluster policy makers, investors, project coordinators, SMEs and everybody who is interested. Also, two side events will accompany the annual meeting: Innovations in 90 Minutes - Workshop: Design Thinking, Presentation of the Innovation Voucher Bavaria.
The event will be an opportunity for attendees to meet peers from the same cluster topic and to broaden your knowledge, skills and business connections on a national, regional and local level.
Partnering with the European Commission under its EU Cluster Week initiative is an opportunity to team up amongst EU countries and their regions to encourage European partnering, increase awareness on the role of clusters and their achieved results and to collect feedback on common challenges and the ways they can be addressed in the future initiatives. These EU, national and regional partnerships demonstrate the importance and success of such collaborative efforts in supporting SMEs in their expansion and growth efforts.
Events that are part of the EU Cluster Weeks are published through the ECCP channels: www.clustercollaboration.eu/event-calendar/annual-conference-it-logistics-cluster-jahrestagung-des-it
Press contact
Maria Hirschberger
Marketing IT-Logistikcluster
R-Tech GmbH
Franz-Mayer-Str. 1
93053 Regensburg
Tel.: +49 941 604889-26
E-Mail: maria.hirschberger@techbase.de
About the EU Cluster Week
The European Commission has launched the first initiative of EU Cluster Weeks 2018-2019. This campaign promotes national, regional and local cluster events taking place between 20 November 2018 and 30 April 2019 in European Union countries.
The EU Cluster Weeks aim to increase European participation at cluster events and raise awareness on the role of clusters and the results they achieve in supporting SME (small and medium sized enterprise) growth, industrial transformation and regional economic development. The campaign shall help interested stakeholders to spot and join interesting events across Europe and meet their peers.
Events that are part of the EU Cluster Weeks will be published and promoted through the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) channels.
The campaign is also a listening exercise on cluster challenges and needs for action that will feed into the debates on the next generation of regional, national and EU cluster initiatives, including Joint Cluster Initiatives under the forthcoming Single Market Programme. The input gathered throughout the events will be reported on at the European Cluster Conference that will take place in Bucharest, Romania, on 14-16 May 2019.
Background
In its renewed EU industrial policy strategy, the European Commission highlighted in 2017 its efforts ‘for facilitating a dialogue on cluster policy excellence’ and ‘to better use clusters as a strategic tool of industrial policy’. The 2017 Smart Specialisation Communication and the 2016 Start-up and Scale-up Communication also underlined the need ‘to connect clusters and ecosystems across Europe’ and the strategic role that clusters play in helping SMEs innovate and grow, and build strong interregional collaboration as part of European and global value chains.
Consequently, the Commission also foresees Joint Cluster Initiatives as a key tool for boosting industrial modernisation and strengthening business environments for SMEs under the COSME part of the forthcoming Single Market Programme proposed for 2021-2027. The EU Cluster Weeks also hope to encourage stakeholders to contribute in shaping this future initiative.
The 2016 Smart Guide to Cluster Policy advocates a modern cluster policy approach that builds upon and connects regional strength and smart specialisation priorities; creates innovation and investment opportunities through cross-sectoral collaboration; and supports the growth of ‘groups of SMEs’ in related industries – as opposed to supporting SMEs individually.
EU members also called for: ‘the further development of the European cluster policy, with the aim of linking-up and scaling-up regional clusters into cross-European world-class clusters, based on smart specialisation principles, in order to support the emergence of new value chains across Europe’ in the 2018 Council Conclusions on the EU Industrial Policy Strategy .
The idea of organising EU Cluster Weeks is an opportunity to team up with EU countries and their regions in awareness-raising efforts which are inspired by successful national cluster week events. For example; in Germany and Denmark; and national flagship cluster events in France, Romania and other countries. The lessons learned from these events were also discussed during meetings at the European Cluster Policy Forum in 2018, where most of the member countries voiced an potential interest in teaming up at an EU level.