YES! EUSDR
26.06.2019, Bucharest: Youth – Entrepreneurship – Science. YES! EUSDR. Steinbeis Romania organised this official side event to Annual Forum of EU Strategy for Danube Region.
For details, please go to our Event website.
MSCA Presidency Conference 2019
04.–05.06.2019, Bucharest: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions to foster Scientific Excellence
Organized under the auspices of Romanian Presidency for EU Council, MSCA 2019 Presidency Conference in Bucharest has reunited more than 200 participants, national or EU experts representing universities, research institutes or private sector, from more than 30 countries. The topics discussed at this meeting aimed to extend participation and share excellence in the future framework “Horizon Europe” Program, career development and researcher mobility, including both the academic and non-academic sector, optimizing synergies between the European Research Area and the European Space of Education. Different awards were offered for various categories showing the richness of MSCA projects: “Scientific Careers for Policy Making”, “Sharing excellence”, “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”.
Steinbeis played a very active role during these conference as director of Steinbeis Romania, Jurgen Raizner was speaker at session “Inter-sectoral mobility – MSCA as a tool for launching and fostering collaborations”. The main topics were: exploiting complementary R&I competences of the organizations to synergise and implement the R&I projects; human capital in the European R&I system – counteracting innovation divide, entrepreneurial culture and business skills; opportunities for SMEs/industry, researchers and employers, working conditions. Presentation held pointed out Steinbeis experience in entrepreneurship in research field though concrete actions like European Early Innovators Program or ifempower. Moreover, components from Steinbeis model were explained as a solution not only to inter-sectoral mobility but to entrepreneurship in research in general. Thus, in the framework of transfer from knowledge source (university) to end user (economy), key characteristics of the succesful Steinbeis model were forwarded to public:
- Innovation potential from Steinbeis Transfer Centers (STC) as driving force for economic growth
- Economic problem solutions increase experiences and competences of the STC
- Economic problems very often generate new research activities at universities
- Customer initiate project start
Entrepreneurial thinking is a competence what researchers need to develop. Innovative Training Networks seem the be the easiest and most attractive MSCA tool to approach or to deepen the collaboration with private sector. Thus, for economic growth we need:
“A new generation of creative, entrepreneurial and innovative early-stage researchers, able to face current and future challenges and to convert knowledge and ideas into products and services for economic and social benefit“ (MSCA, Innovative Training Networks)
Start-up BW Summit 2019
Steinbeis enterprises from Romania and Ukraine were exhibitors at Baden-Württemberg’s major event on start-ups, organized by the Ministry of Economics, Labor and Housing Baden-Württemberg.
Event resulted in a great networking opportunity to present STM’s newest services for enterprises and other actors working on innovation. The 25.000 m² hall of Landesmesse opened for 350 start-ups from Baden-Württemberg and international partner regions, 400 B2B partners from large corporations and SMEs, VCs, Business Angels – and 5,000 participants!
Jürgen Raizner and Ana Turcan took the chance to visit most of the exhibitors in order to get update with the latest innovative start-ups and their solutions. For two ongoing European projects, European Early Innovators Program and ifempower, new connections are established as relevant stakeholders were among the exhibitors. State Secretary Katrin Schütz visited Steinbeis stand and got acquainted with the competence group of Steinbeis Centers in Bucharest, Stuttgart, Uzhgorod and Vienna.
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann and the Minister of Economic Affairs, Dr. Ing. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut, were enthusiastic about the high level of response received by the second, even more international, summit of the state campaign. The minister announced to establish the Start-up BW Summit as the central event in Baden-Württemberg’s start-up scene. In bilateral discussion with Jürgen Raizner, Minister Hoffmeister-Kraut thanked him for his commitment in promoting female entrepreneurship (ifempower).
Steinbeis Transfer Management S.r.l. in Romania participated at the event as support organisation for start-ups. Priority is given on knowledge based businesses. In most cases those are established in cooperation with technology transfer centers (Steinbeis Network Romania), hosted by universities. STM also designs and implements projects to foster the establishment of start-ups, e.g. the European Early Innovators Initiative (project of Danube Strategic Project Fund) or ifempower (Erasmus+).
Ukrainian Steinbeis Transfer Management Ltd. is established as a technology transfer center in partnership with University Uzhgorod. Students of this well known and highly recognized Ukrainian university develop promising projects with high potential to become succesful start-ups. Three examples: Compositions of essential oils with wide range of antimicrobial activity | Remote monitoring system with elements of augmented reality for fireworkers | Autonomous Injection Module Device. Steinbeis supports those young scientists.
Both Steinbeis enterprises, the Romanian as well as the Ukrainian, received strong attention from participating start-ups who look for suppliers. Discussed topics, among others: software development in Ukraine, manufacturing prototypes in Romania.
Digital Danube
12.12.2018, Bucharest: Opening Session of 2-day-event “Digital Danube”. Participants are welcommed by Vice Prime Minister Gratiela Gavrilescu (Minister of Environment), Alexandru Petrescu (Minister of Communications and Information Society) and Jürgen Raizner, representing German Steinbeis Centers.
Romania holds presidency of EUSDR. This is both a great opportunity and responsibility when taking into account that EUSDR is in process of renewal. The Action Plan is almost obsolete. Structures of Priority Areas, Steering Groups and Working Groups are in discussion. A sort of leadership is required while the bottom-up approach in designing the strategy remains valid. Jürgen Raizner pointed out such challenges in his opening speech. He also referred to cross-sectoral projects, such as European Early Innovators Progam and ifempower. Both projects are to be understood as models for further actions to promote knowledge based entrepreneurship in Danube Region. It is agreed to deepen collaboration.
We thank Cristian Ilie for an excellent moderation of the event.
Second day of the event as dedicated to discuss projects for a Digital Danube. Among those projects: “Attractive Danube”, an ongoing Danube Transnational Program for improving capacities for enhancing territorial attractiveness of the Danube Region. Sabina Leopa, Urbsofia, presented a helpful output: Territorial Attractiveness Atlas of the Danube Region what will be followed by a monitoring platform. A strategic project of the Ministry: “One team – on stream” for creating a research and knowledge base, connecting rivers Danube and Rhine. This project is promoted by STM and presented to members of Steering Group PA 7 (Knowledge Society).
Early Innovators PPP Meeting Uzhgorod
Uzhgorod, October 16th: Second Private-Public-Partnership event was focused on Biology, Medicine, Engineering and Artificial Intelligence. Event was held in the premises of Uzhhorod National University – the biggest higher educational and research institution in Transcarpathian Region, Ukraine
The concept of this event was to link research with industry, by stimulating a target-oriented interaction among stakeholders and decision-makers from various regions. Funding opportunities coming from both public and private programs were presented to young entrepreneurs from Ukraine. Purpose of this event was to make young scientists aware of the existence of funding programs and analyze how best practice from Western regions can be adapted to current situation in Eastern Danube region. Foreign participants of the conference met with young entrepreneurs and scientists from Ukraine, who presented their startup projects. The discussions on further cooperation was held between EEII project partners and invited institutions.
EEII – the European Early Innovators Innitiative – is a project of Danube Strategic Project Fund with STM as lead partner.
Welcome remarks were made by Prof. Ihor Studeniak – Vice-Rector of Uzhhorod National University, who encouraged young researchers to explore the opportunities, which exist in Danube Region and are designed to support market-oriented research. Prof, Studeniak assured that Uzhhorod National University as a strategic project partner will continue to support the implementation of EEII. He also pointed out that the University is ready to become project partner in future European Early Innovators Program.
Next speaker, Mr. Jurgen Raizner – director of Steinbeis Romania – described Steinbeis business model in general and explained activities, which are performed in Danube Region. His presentation of EEII indicated benefits for invited stakeholders.
Mr. Mike Nagorkin, organizer of the EEII event in Ukraine, presented the results of the executed research on support infrastructure for young scientists. Mr. Nagorkin has also described the start-up competitions, conferences, innovation parks and funding programmes existing in Ukraine.
Project Partner Common Regions, represented by Mrs. Karolina Fortunenko, spoke about the start-up infrastructure in Slovakia. Ukrainian young entrepreneurs were encouraged to participate in the start-up competitions of Slovakia and use the facilities which exist in Slovakia – in just a few kilometer distance.
AREA Science Park was presented by Mrs. Sara Zanchiello by video conference. She spoke about the support, which will be provided to the young entrepreneurs from Ukraine, who has submitted their start-up ideas to the EEII project consortium.
Students and researchers from Ukraine presented five projects ideas:
- Composition of essential oils with wide range of antimicrobial activity;
- Artificial reality tourist guide;
- Autonomous Injection Module Device;
- Radiological monitoring test;
- Remote monitoring system with elements of augmented reality
High potential is identified and 3 of the presented projects are pre-selected by Jürgen Raizner for further evaluation.