Evgeni I. Evgeniev, PhD’s Post

As we step into 2025, Helsinki-Uusimaa Region stands at a unique intersection of global shifts, EU priorities, and local innovation. One of our tasks as regional developers is to connect dots and align policies to build resilience and foster sustainable growth for our region.    This raises some big questions: ❓ How do global trends influence our future? ❓ How can we ensure they work in favour of our regional ambitions? In our new Beyond Helsinki-Uusimaa blog series our Senior Adviser Christine Chang takes a closer look into the megatrends, initiatives, partnerships, and frameworks shaping the future of Helsinki-Uusimaa Region.   Read more: https://lnkd.in/dSvdUxRG

Switzerland has once again been ranked the most innovative country in Europe, according to the European Commission's 2024 European Innovation Scoreboard. Switzerland thrived thanks to factors such as its research systems, human resources, firm investments, and intellectual assets. Learn more about the report: https://bit.ly/4cAN6BO #innovation #Switzerland

Strengthening Innovation and Collaboration for EU Candidate Countries A productive meeting was held with Mr. Bulent Ozcan, Director General for Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation at Türkiye's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate for EU Affairs, and Mr. Ozgur CIVI, Board Member of MİA Teknoloji—a pioneering Unicorn startup companys with offices in Ankara, New York, and Rabat. The discussions centered on enhancing Turkish participation in direct and centralized EU funding programs, including Horizon Europe and Erasmus+, with a focus on R&D+I projects and strategies to increase the involvement of Turkish entities. The event also featured a presentation of the strategic vision and plans for 2025–2026 by ACRID Network and EMKICE KIC, highlighting their shared commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration. With 18 dedicated teams across 10 countries, including six in Türkiye, and established offices in Brussels and Malmö, the organizations are preparing for further expansion to Geneva and Trieste. Special recognition was given to MİA Teknoloji and Gazi University at #GolbasiTeknoPark for hosting the event and organizing expert-led presentations that showcased impactful contributions to innovation and collaboration. The meeting underscored the collective goal of improving the Innovation Scoreboard Index and strengthening partnerships to support EU Candidate Countries. Ilija Vuchkov Bulent Ozcan Ozgur CIVI MİA Teknoloji Renato Toffanin, Costas Androulakis, Dr. (h.c.) Lidia Esther Aviles , Kemal ÇELİK, Murat YILMAZ Selay Yüksel Dilara Öz Jara Pascual #EUfunding #EU_CandidateCountries #EU_Turkiye #UnicornCompany #MIAteknoloji #ACRIDnetwork #EmkiceKIC #GaziUniversity #GaziTeknoPark #HorizonEurope #ErasmusPlus

Innovative Greece - What's the actual level of innovation in the country? by The Greek Analyst 👇 Why it matters.👇 Greece has quietly evolved into a growing hub of innovation. While still a "moderate innovator" according to the European Innovation Scoreboard, Greece has made a 35% leap in innovation performance since 2016. With R&D expenditures doubling in the last 15 years, and 73% of companies now classified as innovative, the country is catching up to EU counterparts. Investors should keep an eye on the flourishing regional innovation clusters in Athens, Crete, and Thessaloniki. Greece isn’t just surviving—it’s innovating its way to the top. Read the full article on EUVC Insights! 🔽 https://buff.ly/3B5mL0x #venturecapital #startupfunding #Europe #EUVCInsights

🌟 Italy’s Innovation Landscape: Strengths and Opportunities for Growth 🌟 Italy has made significant strides in innovation, particularly within its vibrant SME sector. According to the #EuropeanInnovationScoreboard2024, Italian #SMEs excel in innovation activities, standing at an impressive 151.3% of the EU average. Public-private co-publications are also notably high, reflecting the strong collaboration between Italy’s public research system and the private sector. However, the report also highlights areas where Italy needs to improve, especially in terms of investments. Firm investments are at 69.8% of the EU average, and finance and support are at 64.9%. Despite a remarkable 39.1% increase in government support for business R&D since 2017, private investments in R&D have not still seen a significant boost. To bridge this gap and further enhance Italy’s innovation and competitiveness, leveraging European co-funding instruments like #HorizonEurope is crucial. These programs can provide the necessary financial support and foster European collaborations that drive technological advancements and economic growth. #RINA supports companies in building on their strengths and addressing their weaknesses by embracing opportunities for co-funding and collaboration. Together, we can propel Italy’s innovation ecosystem to new heights! 🚀🇮🇹 #Innovation #Italy #Investments #HorizonEurope #SMEs #ResearchAndDevelopment #Collaboration #EconomicGrowth #GrowWithRINA https://lnkd.in/dCxqNpz8

Let’s talk about the project CREACTIVE that brings together a unique platform of partners from the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) sector and other key industrial ecosystems. This initiative aims to accelerate the adoption of processes and technologies for a greener and more digital economy. 🌿💻   The consortium, consisting of three innovative partners, offers complementary innovation and digital services, bolstered by an official external service provider selected by Friend CCI. Together, they cover the entire spectrum of SMEs’ twin transition needs, ensuring they are well-equipped for the future. 🤝🌐 🔗 What does CREACTIVE aim to achieve? Connect: Linking EU Cultural and Creative Industries SMEs with deep tech innovative companies and key sectors like digital, electronics, health, aerospace, and defence. Transform: Facilitating the adoption of digital solutions and innovative components in business models, accelerating the digital transition. Internationalize: Providing SMEs with market access and opportunities in Asia through internationalization and specialized training services. The project takes a cross-sectoral approach, enhancing the uptake of digital solutions and driving forward the digital transformation of SMEs in the CCI sector. With strong foundations in existing European cooperation projects such as Eurocluster activities and EDIH, and leveraging subsidiaries in Romania (GAC Group) and Japan (external service provider), CREACTIVE is poised to propel European SMEs to new heights. 🚀🌟   FRIEND CCI is co-financed by the SMP program of the #EuropeanUnion. Project implemented by: Venetian Cluster, ITALCAM Italian-German Chamber of Commerce, France Clusters, OpenHub Galati, Cluster IDiA   European Commission, DG GROW, European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP) European Clusters Alliance   #Friendcci #euroclusters #eccp #CreativeCulturalIndustries #CulturalInnovation #CCI

Good news indeed!   For the 14th year in a row, Switzerland is the world's most innovative economy! 🥇 Featuring 133 economies, the Global Innovation Index by the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO consists of roughly 80 indicators aiming to capture the multidimensional facets of innovation.   We look forward to continue our successful cooperation with Denmark, ranking also among the top ten most innovative countries! 💡   Read more about the Global Innovation Index here👇 https://lnkd.in/g-J3KKGa   #Swisstech #GlobalInnovationIndex #Innovation #Switzerland #Denmark

European Union Innovation Performance on the Rise! 📈 The European Innovation Scoreboard (#EIS) 2024 edition reveals a 10 % improvement in the EU's innovation performance since 2017, with a growth of 0.5 % from 2023 to 2024. 📍 Key insights: ◾ 15 Member States improved, 11 declined, and Croatia remained stable ◾ Denmark is the most innovative, followed by Sweden ◾ Europe Leader is Switzerland EU Strengths: ◾ SME innovations and environment-related tech ◾ Strong research systems and digitalization Challenges: ◾ Intellectual assets and SME collaboration ◾ Business sector R&D spending More information 👉 https://lnkd.in/dS6xtDxj  #EIS2024 #EUInnovation #Research

🥇🇧🇪 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺 = 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 🔎🇪🇺 The latest 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 for 2024 is out! This report provides annually a comparative assessment of research and innovation performance of EU Member States, neighbouring European countries and selected third countries. 📈 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺’𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳-𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗱 and now leads the group of Strong innovators. Our performance is at 123.6% of the EU average, thus making Belgium the sixth most innovative Member state! 💯 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝘂𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻: - Public-private co-publications - Innovative SMEs collaborating with others - International scientific co-publications 🔧 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟳, 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻: - Innovation expenditures per person employed - Resource productivity - SMEs introducing business process innovations 👏 These achievements reflect Belgium’s strong policy of support for public and private R&I, as well as the dynamism and excellence of our research institutions and companies. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗥&𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 for driving our country's success!   Service public de Wallonie | Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles | Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI) | Wallonia Export & Investment Agency | EU Science, Research and Innovation Wal-Tech | Université de Liège | UCLouvain - Université catholique de Louvain | UMONS | Université libre de Bruxelles | Université de Namur | UCLouvain Saint-Louis Bruxelles | F.R.S. - FNRS | Réseau LiEU | SynHERA | Académie de recherche et d'enseignement supérieur - ARES Pôle MecaTech | BioWin - The Health Cluster of Wallonia | Wagralim | Skywin | GreenWin | LOGISTICS IN WALLONIA Wallonie-Bruxelles International - Research and Innovation | Loïc Lefevre | Paul Hyvernat | Anaëlle Demarche

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