During the Third EUSDR Annual Forum in Vienna, the Working Group Clusters of Excellence of Priority Area 8 presented its progress in project development, introduced some project ideas, and discussed future steps with the audience.

The Working Group leader Dr. Sigrid Winkler started the session with a short overview on the results of six workshops for project development held by the WG on 30 April 2014 in Vienna. The WG members Dr. Till Truckenmüller from the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria and Daniel Acs, president of the Union of Slovak Clusters, gave detailed insights into the project ideas “Connecting the Manufacturing Industries of the Danube Region” and “Cluster Optimization”. Also introduced were the project ideas on the following topics: smart furniture manufacturing, Green Chemistry Belt®, gender/diversity as drivers of innovation, and creative industries.

Cornelia Muraru-Ionel from the Romanian Business Incubator INMA-ITA, then presented three more project ideas, developed by Romanian partners of the WG Clusters of Excellence: the Danube agro-industrial business cluster “Danube4AgroInd”, the establishment of a monitoring and simulation system for erosion and desertification in the Danube river basin, and a network for superior capitalization of miscanthus culture.

The speakers’ corner concluded with a vivid discussion with the audience. Many expressed their interest in joining specific projects or proposed new projects for further deliberation in the Working Group. Also important events for the cluster community in the Danube Region were announced, such as the ClusteriX Final Conference on 22 October in Vienna, which will focus on cross-cluster collaboration.

All interested parties can obtain more information on these projects by contacting Dr. Sigrid Winkler ().

Presentation: 140627_WSI_DC_Speakers_Corner.pdf

For all presentations of the Annual Forum: www.danubeforumvienna.eu/program.php