Key actors of the Danubian innovation ecosystem meet in Mostar
In the first week of June, over 70 people attended the final conference of the RTIT>> Interreg Danube Region project, which was titled Know-how Communities for Accelerated RTI Transfer in the Danube Region. Among the participants were project partners, representatives of business support organizations, SMEs, universities, research organization and technology companies from across the region.
The conference marks the end of a two-and-a-half-year project focused on strengthening the innovation capacities of SMEs in the field of materials and material technologies. Throughout the project, partners developed and tested various models of collaboration between businesses and academia aimed at facilitating the commercialization and mitigating the associated risks.
The project results were presented by Anđela Nikčević from the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center Tehnopolis. She highlighted that the project brought together 13 partners from eight countries, who have learned valuable lessons in the development of more effective innovation systems. Among the most important findings were the need for a shared understanding between academia and businesses, the importance of agile testing and adaptation instead of lengthy planning processes, engaging companies through practical and tailored formats, and the necessity of transnational cooperation in the innovation process.
Particular interest was generated by the keynote presentation of Olav Carlsen from the German agency SPRIN-D, who presented their approach to supporting breakthrough innovations and facilitating technology transfer. Speaking about innovations that sometimes take decades of development to reach their full potential, he emphasized the importance of a long-term perspective and the creation of an environment that gives innovators the freedom to develop their ideas. He also referred to the German model, in which the government does not influence decisions regarding innovation development, leaving this key role to market forces.
As far as the Western Balkans are concerned, Carlsen stressed the importance of dismissing the perception of being limited by small domestic markets, encouraging organizations and entrepreneurs to think more boldly and on a global scale. He claims the region already possesses the knowledge, research potential and motivation necessary to create successful innovations.
The conference concluded with a panel discussion bringing together representatives of various institutions from five countries. The panelists stressed that innovation ecosystems across Europe differ in the level of development, organizational structure and institutional culture, yet businesses often face similar challenges. Participants discussed the complexity of innovation systems, the role of intermediary organizations as well as the importance of creating more accessible and understandable innovation ecosystems for SMEs.
Yet again, the conference underlined the importance of international cooperation, exchange of experience and the joint development of solutions to facilitate technology transfer and, in turn, strengthen the innovation potential of the entire region.
The project is co-financed by the European Union through the Interreg Danube Region program.