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Intro: INTERREG Project Made in Danube

Enhancing SME competitiveness and collaboration activities in the field of bio-economy in the Danube Region

Published on 03-07-2017 09:47:49 by AGRIFORVALOR

The rising population and associated demand for renewable biological resources make bio-economy a key element for smart and green growth in Europe.

However, the Danube region is still lagging behind in its uptake which makes the innovation capabilities of the region's SMEs in the field of bio-economy a major territorial challenge. Therefore collaboration between research organisations (RTO) and companies is crucial.

The project Made in Danube, coordinated by Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ), will improve the conditions for this collaboration by developing open innovation tools which will match the needs of companies with the expertise of research organisations. By integrating three existing regional initiatives:

• Smart and innovative precision farming (Nitra, Slovakia)
• Competence Center in Wood Sector (Vukovar, Croatia)
• Biofuel (Novi Sad, Serbia)

Made in Danube will further implement the developed tools and build 15 sustainable bioeconomy-based innovation partnerships involving 40 companies at Danube level. This way the project will not only contribute to the competitiveness of SMEs in the South-Eastern Danube region but also generate significant change for the entire region by supporting regional Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3).

The consortium encompasses 15 partners, among them AGRIFORVALOR partner  Bay Zoltán Nonprofit Ltd. for Applied Research, and 3 associated strategic partners 

Project duration: 01/2017 – 06/2019

Countries involved: Germany, Croatia, Romania, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova

The project is co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA).

Further information:

http://www.interreg-danube.eu/approved-projects/made-in-danube