A delegation of European business leaders and business
support providers arrived in Newcastle recently to see and hear about the latest
innovation happening in the North East and to discuss a three-year
European-wide innovation project in which the North East is a test-bed region.
The delegation were all members of the Open
Innovation 2.0 Lab (OI2.0LAB) working group and as part of their two-day
visit, attended VentureFest,
a cross-sector
event that gives regional businesses the chance to network with leading North
East companies as well as local start-ups.
The OI2.0LAB is an exciting three-year Horizon 2020 project.
It enables entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across Europe
to tackle business and social challenges through open innovation collaborations
that span beyond their organisational and national borders. It helps SMEs to
innovate by providing access to expertise and helping to establish partnerships
across European countries.
The OI2.0LAB working group met to review the pilot
activities which have been taking place in the two test-bed regions of the
North East in the UK and Stuttgart in Germany over the last year they also
discussed ways of sharing the project’s ground-breaking work internationally.
One of the group, Alison Machin, Innovation Manager for the
Innovation SuperNetwork said: “This visit was about showcasing the pioneering
work that is happening in the North East and highlighting that the region is
open to international working, international markets and working with partners
from across the world.”
Following the meeting, the group moved onto Venturefest
where they had the opportunity to meet over 800 start-ups, local businesses and
leading regional companies.
Another member of the delegation, Patrick Ferran –
Co-President and Chief Sales Officer of Belgian company Ninesigma, gave a
keynote presentation at the event, sharing his thoughts on open innovation and
how it can help business growth.
The group included 15 members in total, representing 10
organisations from eight European countries. These included Q-plan International
and Ethniko Kentro Erevnas Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis from Greece, Steinbeis Innovation
and Wirtschaftsfoerderung Region Stuttgart Gmbh from Germany, Tech Tour Global
from Bulgaria, Europe Unlimited SA and Ninesigma from Belgium, Intrasoft International
from Luxembourg, and RTC North and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership
from the UK.
