The INFAB HUB at the 3rd national EDIH meeting in Gijón
INFAB HUB, the cross-border Industrial Digital Innovation Hub of Galicia and Portugal, participated in the third national meeting of European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH) in Gijón on 15 and 16 October.
The meeting took place at the Gijón Science and Technology Park in the AS5-HUB facilities and was attended by representatives of the 25 national EDIHs. There they were able to strengthen the cooperation network, exchange experiences of collaboration with national and international companies and establish general guidelines to address challenges such as digital transformation and the rise of advanced technologies.
First day
It began with a welcome by the AsDIH hub. This was followed by a brief but intense group networking session among all the participating EDIHs. After the group dynamics, there was an exchange of 5 good practices, 3 of demand activation and 2 of ecosystems, from the most successful hubs and also the promotion of 10 events organised by different EDIHs. To close the day, the participants were able to enjoy Asturian gastronomy and continue with the creation of networks between hubs in an espicha.
Second day
The second day began with the welcome and presentation of the day, in which Jaime Fernández, head of the Area of New Knowledge, Transfer and Innovation of the SEUKENS Agency, took the opportunity to highlight the importance of the ‘one-stop shop’ services for industrial SMEs. Subsequently, the representative of the European Commission, Helena Rodríguez PO DG Connect, provided the European vision of the present and future of the EDIHs network by videoconference. Within this presentation, the milestones achieved so far by the national EDIHs were discussed, as well as the timetable that lies ahead to achieve the proposed results and the new call for EDIHs that will be launched soon. Next, Yolanda Alcalá, Deputy Director General of Entrepreneurship and SMEs MINTUR gave her national vision of the EDIHs. Victoria Sánchez, Director of the Department of the EOI (School of Industrial Organisation) also took part and reported on the current status of the PADIH programme (Support Programme for Digital Innovation Hubs), an initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism that aims to improve the competitiveness of SMEs through advice on the implementation of digital technologies.
During the second part of the last day , 3 success stories were presented on the attraction and loyalty of companies, technological services in the industrial and health fields and collaboration with other EDIHs. In the closing ceremony, Iván Aitor Lucs del Amo, Director General of Innovation, Research and Digital Transformation of the Department of Science, Business, Training and Employment of the Principality of Asturias encouraged the Spanish EDIHs to continue contributing the respective capabilities of each of the ecosystems to R&D&I. To conclude the day, a visit was made to the facilities of CTIC (Fundación Centro Tecnológico de la Información y la Comunicación), in which the general director of this centre, Pablo Coca, showed the facilities and stressed the importance of seeking instruments that favour cooperation between centres. He also stressed the need to identify joint projects to work in multidisciplinary teams to promote a digital ecosystem.
With this, the objectives of this meeting were met, such as fostering contacts between EDIHs or advancing in the coordination and unification of criteria for the provision of services to SMEs. The next working meeting of the Spanish EDIH network will be held in Galicia, where work will continue to place Spanish SMEs at the forefront of the European digital vanguard.