European project EACN
The first Matchmaking Event of the EACN initiative was held on 1 -2 October, in Barcelona on the topic of robotics and artificial intelligence.
These events aim to connect SMEs from different European regions to share their needs and problems (previously presented in the way of project concepts), identify common points and serve as a starting point for the promotion of potential joint collaborative projects. The first of these events, focused on robotics and artificial intelligence, was organized by CIAC (Clúster de la Indústria de l'Automoció de Catalunya), with the participation of more than 20 representatives coming both from the consortium partners (ACB, CIAC, PVF, CEAGA, AC Serbia and SA&AM), and regional SMEs involved in this European project.
The first day of the event started with a visit to Erni Consulting España, to show their innovation projects in the area of collaborative robotics and artificial intelligence. Then, the group had the opportunity to attend a presentation on artificial intelligence by the Computer Vision Centre. But one of the most interesting points in the agenda was undoubtedly the organization of a workshop on project concepts. The aim of this dynamic, moderated by Pol Hortal from First Venturing, expert in corporate innovation strategies, was to work in groups to go deeper into five specific project ideas, with the presence of their leading companies and other SMEs, identifying risks, challenges as well as the possible roadmap to implement the technological solution required.
The second day of the event took place at the Nissan Brand Centre, where this OEM could talk about its collaboration with Gestamp, Snop, Faurecia, Tecnomatrix and Eurecat in terms of quality control and data exchange. Presentations about big data, blockchain and 3d printing were made. At the end of these speeches, the cluster representatives and the SMEs involved in the EACN project worked together again trying to look for synergies among the project concepts presented the day before. As a result of that, two big joint collaborative projects arose, and the companies involved in each of these groups had to define the main actions in common to be carried out.
Two other upcoming matchmaking
In the following months, two other matchmaking events will be organized:
- 4-6 february 2020 - France: matchmaking focusing on elasticity
- 4-6 march 2020 - Serbia: matchmaking focusing on process virtualisation
The EACN project
The EACN project for Joint Industrial Modernisation Investments was launched in 2018 by six partners, Pôle Véhicule du Futur being part of them. It is cofounded by the European Union Programme for the Competitiveness of SMEs COSME.
It aims at initiating and stimulating cooperation between clusters and their members, whether it is in the framework of collaborative R&D projects, of joint ventures for Industry 4.0 solutions or other opportunities to help them become more competitive. The project started on October 2018 and will last until October 2020. It plans workshops, B2B meetings, or other types of actions with the industrial SMEs of the several represented countries.
