Recap: Strengthening technology infrastructures for advanced technologies workshop
On 31 May, the European Commission delivered a workshop on Strengthening technology infrastructures for advanced technologies, introducing the Advanced Technologies for Industry (ATI) project.
The workshop was part of a series of eight policy seminars organised within the ATI project and commissioned by the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) and the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA).
The ATI project provides systematic monitoring of technological trends, as well as reliable, up-to-date data on advanced technologies, with the aim of supporting the implementation of policies and initiatives, and overall promoting competitive European industry.
In addition, the workshop presented the mapping of ATI technology centres. This is a tool that identifies relevant technology centres that can help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to transition from laboratory to market, enabling them to develop and produce new ATI-based products.
The policy seminar delivered insights from previous workshops focused on value chain-based networks, and developing cross-border networks of ATI technology in the field of Internet of things (IoT) precision farming, low carbon industrial processes, and smart health.
A panel discussion on key recommendations was also held. The panel included:
- Balazs Barta, PBN, Managing Director, Advanced Management;
- David Holden, CEA, Cooperative Programmes Manager;
- Lula Rosso, VTT, EU Affairs Manager;
- Esther Hurtos, Eurecat, Programme Manager.
As part of the workshop, a session was allocated for the panel to discuss two sets of recommendations, which were presented to participants. These were:
- Recommendations for actions to improve SMEs’ access to ATI Technology Centres;
- Recommendations to improve or create cross-border networks of ATI Technology Centres.
In their discussions, the panellists addressed the challenges for each set of recommendations, as well as possible solutions for overcoming these issues. The report from the workshop groups these ideas by topic, including those related to services, barriers to SMEs, collaboration, broader policy discussion, and future steps.
Learn more about the workshop and download the report here.
