Strengthening the Danube Innovation Ecosystem: Two-Day Workshop in Ulm, Germany
On 8 July 2024, around 200 representatives from business, academia and politics in the Danube countries gathered in Ulm for the event “The Danube Region at the Turn of Times – Economic Cooperation and Hydrogen Supply Chains along the Danube”. The event was organized by the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg, IHK Ulm, and Donaubüro Ulm/Neu-Ulm.
In this context, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum as coordinator of the EUSDR PA 8 Working Group Innovation and Technology Transfer and the EcoDaLLi project within the EU Mission Ocean and Waters prepared a two-day workshop with strong support of PA8. Its aim has been to find synergies and thereby increase the competitiveness of SMEs and the Danube Innovation Ecosystem as a whole.
Day 1: Building a Common Vision
On the first day, Robert Gohla, Head of Department at Steinbeis Europa Zentrum, welcomed around 50 participants to the workshop. The event began with insightful presentations on EUSDR PA8 by their coordinators Carmen Hawkins and Nirvana Kapitan Butković, on the Working Group Innovation and Technology Transfer and the Danube Transfer Centre Network by Miljana Cosic (Steinbeis Europa Zentrum) as well as on the EU Mission Ocean and Waters and its Danube & Black Sea Lighthouse by Dr. Nadja Schlichenmaier (Steinbeis Europa Zentrum). These informative inputs laid the foundation for the subsequent activities.
In an interactive working session, participants jointly developed a vision for a strong Danube Innovation Ecosystem by identifying common values, challenges and goals as well as by defining resulting actions and priorities. The vision created includes establishing a network, leveraging the assets of the Danube Region, mobilizing stakeholders, promoting knowledge exchange and fostering the innovation of SMEs to address societal challenges as well as to increase the competitiveness of SMEs in the Danube Region.
Day 2: Developing a Roadmap
The second day began with an informative keynote by Youssef Zaiter, Ph.D., ACTeon environment, emphasizing the growing importance of private actors such as SMEs in the Danube Region’s innovation landscape, as well as in view of ecological aspects. This was followed by a roundtable showcasing concrete innovations piloted in the Danube Region, with presentations from projects such as DANUBE4all, DaWetRest, Restore4Life, and EcoAdvance. The respecting discussions underscored the need to bridge ecology and economy in both science and practice.
Based on this input, participants subsequently have gone through a design sprint. After analyzing the state and the needs of the Danube Innovation Ecosystem, they developed concrete ideas for its improvement. Guided through the classification of all ideas based on feasibility and impact and the creation of an implementation plan a joint roadmap towards a successful Danube Innovation Ecosystem has been realized.
The workshop as part of the larger event “The Danube Region at the Turn of Times” provided an important opportunity for participants to discuss prospects to strengthen the Danube Innovation Ecosystem and contribute to the future competitiveness of SMEs across the Danube Region.
