The members of the  EUSDR PA 8 Digital Danube Working Group met on 8 July 2024 in Ulm to discuss the status of joint activities, the current challenges of digitalisation in the Danube region and future activities. Current support offers for the development of digital business models in the Danube region were discussed. The focus is increasingly on circular economy business models. The INTERREG project DECIDE is breaking new and innovative ground in which 16 project partners from 10 countries in the Danube region are further developing existing modeling tools and combining them into a globally unique toolbox for SMEs and regional developers. Current challenges include the concrete use of AI technologies in SMEs, the development of chatbots and digital assistants, cybersecurity and the dissemination of digital skills. Against this background, joint activities are to be developed. The project partners come from the EU countries Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and from Moldova, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Working Group is coordinated by Dr. Claus Hoffmann, Zentrum für Digitalisierung Landkreis Böblingen, Phone: +49 7031 3048102, E-Mail: 

Further information:https://competitiveness.danube-region.eu/working-groups/wg-digital-danube/

Claus Hoffmann presented the the INTERREG project DECIDE – Digital Services for the Circular Economy – a Toolbox for Regional Developers & SME at the Joint Steering Group Meeting of PA 7 Knowledge Society and PA 8 Competitiveness of enterprises of the Danube Region Strategy in Ulm. The project was awarded a Danube Strategy Flagship Project Certificate.

Within PA 8, there is a second Working Group in the field of digitalisation, the Working Group Artificial Intelligence, coordinated by Balázs Barta, Pannon Business Network, Phone: +36 94 505 003, Email: ​