AG1 WORKSHOP SUMMARY REPORT “Start-ups and technology ...€¦ · Paris Kokorotsikos, Incubation systems founder, i4G Incubator, Thessaloniki Natanail Stefanov, Chairman, BESCO

AG1 WORKSHOP SUMMARY REPORT

“Start-ups and technology transfer in innovation ecosystems in South-East Europe

and the Alpine Region”

15-16 November 2018, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

Workshop key messages and content

The workshop “Start-ups and technology transfer in innovation ecosystems in South-East Europe and the

Alpine Region” aimed at providing policy makers and innovation practitioners with knowledge, training and

practical insights in setting up successful start-ups, spin-offs and technology transfer platforms with tailored

support programs, which can strengthen regional and/or national innovation ecosystems.

In particular, the greatest part of the workshop was dedicated to review and analyze the various models of

“acceleration”, bringing onstage a pipeline of successful projects from the Western Balkans to the Alpine

Macro-Region. These presentations stimulated the debate upon the role played by business support services

and governmental entities, which are key actors in the development of an effective and efficient innovation

ecosystem.

Within this framework, the event highlighted the fact that universities should be conceived as proof-of-

concept labs for innovative products and services, and they must be able to provide technical support and

mentorship, valorizing local strengths and guiding start-ups in their access to market. In parallel,

technological parks are expected to provide sound accelerator programs, in order to match well-established

companies with novices, and offering project management support.

Networking was discussed as one of the main bottlenecks, since it is often preventing start-ups from scaling

up and crossing the threshold of research centers. Hence, the creation of an effective innovation ecosystem

starts with the development of strategic relationships and linkages. In light of this, existing innovation

platforms, such as the Platform of Knowledge (PoK), the Eye@RIS3, the Open Innovation Platform of

Lombardy region, and Start:up Slovenia, represent very useful tools to gather all relevant key agents of

innovation and to capitalize on existing R&I resources and infrastructures.

It must be recognized that start-up ecosystems are value-adding tools for regional and national economies,

since they can leave room for stronger cooperation among the quadruple helix stakeholders (business,

government, academia and community). Nonetheless, Smart Specialization should be targeted through

place-based policy approaches, which should be aligned with regional and national strategies, in order to

build up a competitive advantage for R&I priorities.

Finally, panelists addressed the current need to assist innovation-driven companies in the creation and

evaluation of IP (Intellectual Property) based knowledge, as the foundation of a technology transfer activity,

in Public Research Organizations and Small and Medium Enterprises alike. This represents an important issue

to address in order to strengthen the interplay with the industry sector and attract industrial customers.

The Organization Board

The workshop was jointly organized by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) in

collaboration with Technology Park Ljubljana, the Slovenian Ministry of education, science and sport – AG1

EUSALP, the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KTT Consortia, and Slovenian public research institutes.

The JRC promotes the exchange of innovation-related best practices, knowledge, tools and methods among

innovation practitioners and policy and decision makers from South-East Europe including the Western

Balkans. The JRC, and in particular its Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Unit, are in possession

of operational and technical expertise in the domains of Technology and Knowledge Transfer. The JRC also

hosts the Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3) platform intended to support the development, through an

Entrepreneurial Discovery Process of bottom-up innovation strategies. This workshop intends to support the

operationalisation of S3 strategies by making expertise and best practices available to practitioners that can

initiate change and restructuring programmes on the ground.

EUSALP AG1 focuses on the development of an effective innovation ecosystem in the Alpine Region. It aims

to bring together the existing potentials of the Alpine Region to better exploit synergies in the strategic

sectors of the area and overcome challenges as regards innovation. Through the ALPGOV project financed

by the Alpine Space Programme with the ERDF, AG1 is promoting dialogue events with R&I stakeholders in

the Alpine Region. The Ministry of education, science and sport is an active member of the EUSALP AG 1. The

Ministry of foreign affairs acts in vests of the national coordinator of all Macro Regions.

SI TTO consortium KTT is a representative body of 8 biggest Slovene Public Research organizations (PROs),

covering more than 90% of research personnel and activities in Slovenia. KTT has been established in 2017

with the main goal to coherently improve commercialization activities of member PROs and their

communication, marketing, sales capacity, activities and exploitation results in relation with national

economy, and also world-wide, through institutional sharing of experience, enabled flow of information

within the KTT and internationally in the field of Knowledge and Technology Transfer. KTT is led by Jožef

Stefan Institute with active support of its members University of Ljubljana, University of Maribor, National

Institute of Chemistry, National Institute of Biology, University of Primorska, Agricultural Institute and Faculty

of Information Studies Novo mesto.

The target audience

The audience of the workshop was mainly represented by

• policy makers in the innovation support, science, research and technological development domains

• managing authorities and institutions directly involved in the design, operation and promotion of

innovation areas and ecosystems

• national and regional agencies and bodies managing investment funds for innovation

• science and technology parks and incubators

• technology transfer practitioners

• start-ups and SMEs

• practitioners from both the supply and demand sides

• financial intermediaries

• venture capital and corporate venture funds

• start-up support organizations and associations.

The detailed agenda with titles of the presentations and relative speakers can be found in the Annex

below.

15-16 November 2018Ljubljana (Slovenia)

START-UPS AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERIN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE AND THE ALPINE REGION

Partners:

Organisers:

Partners:

Organisers:



Partners:

Organisers:

START-UPS AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE AND THE ALPINE REGION

Thursday 15 November 2018Overview

Co-chairs:Giancarlo Caratti, Head of Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer Unit, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Simona Knežević Vernon, Head of the Entrepreneurship Department, Technology Park Ljubljana, Ltd.

08:30 - 09:15

09:15 - 10:00

10:00 - 11:30

11:30 - 12:00

12:00 - 13:15

13:15 - 14:15

14:15 - 15:30

15:30 - 15:50

15:50 - 17:15

17:15 - 17:30

20:00 - 22:00

Registration & welcome coffee

Welcome addresses

Trends in the development of Start-up Ecosystems

Coffee break

Start-ups ecosystems as a value adding tool for regional and national economies

Midday break

Round Table: how to build a successful start-up community? The various models

Coffee break

Supporting start-ups: value-adding services and programmes

Wrap-up session and conclusions from Day 1

Networking dinner

WELCOME ADDRESSES

Thursday 15 November

From 9:15 to 10:00

Moderator: Tomaž Boh, Directorate of Science, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Slovenia

Matej Cerar, Deputy General Manager, Technology Park Ljubljana

Tjaša Ficko, Deputy Mayor, City of Ljubljana

Tomaž Boh, Directorate of Science, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Slovenia

Marko Hren, Senior Consultant, Smart Specialisation Coordination Division, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Slovenia

Saša Lazović, Assistant Minister in charge of technological development, technology transfer and innovation system, Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Serbia

Anna Giorgi, Leader of Action Group 1 (EUSALP), Lombardy Region



Partners:

Organisers:

TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF START-UP ECOSYSTEMS


From 10:00 to 11:30

Moderator: Martin Mössler, Managing Director Science Park Graz | ESA BIC Austria General Manager

Setting the scene

Painting the background: presentation of a joint position paper "Startup Innovation Ecosystems in Southern Europe"Eva Baltar, Policy Officer, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission & Andrea Basso, Chief Technology Officer, MITO Technology

Hi Tech Park Ecosystem from vision to reality David Shemesh, Chief Technology Officer, Innovation Basecamp, Israel

Introductions and Round Table Discussion

Helge Neumann, Consultant to the CEO, WISTA MANAGEMENT GmbH - Berlin Adlershof, IASP Full Member

Jure Vrhovnik, Initiative Startup Slovenia, extended into Startup Alpe Adria Ecosystem, Venture Factory – University Incubator, University of Maribor

Gordana Danilović Grkovic, Acting Director, Belgrade Science Technology Park

Angelo Gatto, Senior Expert, Finlombarda s.p.a. (Open Innovation team leader)

Anja Zorko, Head of Centre for Creativity, Museum of Architecture and Design Ljubljana

This session will consider the nature of start-up ecosystems and their growth and present some successful examples



Partners:

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START-UP ECOSYSTEMS AS A VALUE ADDING TOOL FOR REGIONAL AND NATIONAL ECONOMIES


From 12:00 to 13:15

Moderator: Ales Gnamus, Project Officer, EU Thematic S3 Platforms, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Simona Hočevar, Specialist for Financial Instruments and Smart Specialisation Strategy, Smart Specialisation Coordination Division, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Slovenia

Alexander Paine, Associate Director Advice for Small Businesses, SME Finance and Development Group, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Clement Brenot, Project Manager, South East Europe Division, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Borut Ložar, Policy Officer – SME policy, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission

Dana Mocanu, Executive Director, Magurele Science Park, Bucharest

This session will address the question of why start-up ecosystems are important and what impact they bring



Partners:

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ROUND TABLE: HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL START-UP COMMUNITY? THE VARIOUS MODELS


From 14:15 to 15:30

Moderator: Dragan Soljan, Advisor, Western Balkan Enterprise Development & Innovation Facility (WB EDIF), European Investment Bank

Jernej Pintar, Senior Entrepreneurship Developer, Technology Park Ljubljana and Accelerator (Interreg Danube project)

Fabio Pianesi, Head of External Collaboration, EIT Digital, European Institute of Innovation & Technology

Mike Cherrett, Director European Affairs, EIT Climate-KIC

Paris Kokorotsikos, Incubation systems founder, i4G Incubator, Thessaloniki

Natanail Stefanov, Chairman, BESCO - The Bulgarian Startup Association and Vice Chairman, Sofia Tech Park

This session will address the question of how to create start-up communities and synergistically embed them in local ecosystems



Partners:

Organisers:

SUPPORTING START-UPS: VALUE-ADDING SERVICES AND PROGRAMMES


From 15:50 to 17:15

Moderator: Patrick McCutcheon, Senior Expert, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission

One and One is Eleven Martin Krch, Projects & Cooperation, Lakeside Science & Technology Park, Klagenfurt: One and One is Eleven

Innovation Factory and ARGOFabrizio Rovatti, Managing Director, Innovation Factory, AREA Science Park, Trieste

EU Action: Improve the Innovative Ecosystem and boost start-up creation in Albania Irina Kausch, GIZ-ProSEED Programme Director and Ina Murthi, Programme Manager for Market Development, Embassy of Sweden, Tirana

Fis Malësori, Chief Executive Officer, VentureUP - University of Prishtina Entrepreneurship & Innovation Centre

Vedran Šimunović, Chief Executive Officer, INTERA Technology Park, Mostar

This session will combine introductory presentations or speeches with an interactive round table discussion on the topic



Partners:

Organisers:

START-UPS AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER IN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE AND THE ALPINE REGION

Friday 16 November 2018Overview

Co-chairs:Giancarlo Caratti, Head of Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer Unit, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Irena Hreljac, Head of TTO office, National Institute of Chemistry

08:30 - 09:00

09:00 - 10:15

10:15 - 11:30

11:30 - 11:50

11:50 - 13:10

13:10 - 14:00

14:00 - 15:00

15:00 - 15:15

15:15 - 16:15

16:15 - 17:45

17:45 - 18:00

Registration & welcome coffee

Round Table Discussion: Building the investment/project pipeline: Making attractive propositions for fundraising

Interplay with Industry. How to attract industrial customers?

Coffee break

Start-up challenges: Innovation, Growth and Internationalisation

Midday break

Towards ESOF 2020 Trieste: Building up a network of innovators in South-East Europe

Coffee break

Successful spin-out stories. Different models

The power of networks

Closing remarks



Partners:

Organisers:

Moderator: Aleš Pustovrh, Partner, ABC First Growth Venture Capital Fund


Efficient marketing of technologies – channels, methods and tools, first contact establishmentChristoph Adametz, Deputy manager, Research & Technology House, TU Graz

Patenting of computer made inventions David Kuttenkeuler, Patent Attorney, Boehmert & Boehmert

Jurij Giacomelli, Investment manager of Meta Ingenium, a part of Meta Group and local partner of ESIL (Early-Stage Investing Launchpad for Slovenia, a project of Business Angels Europe)

Eladio Crego, Advisor of Fundación Barrié-Science Seed Fund and of Fundación Barrié-Ignicia Programme

Maddalena Furlan, Open Lab Office Manager | Innovation and Complex Systems Department, AREA Science Park

ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: BUILDING THE INVESTMENT/PROJECT PIPELINE: MAKING ATTRACTIVE PROPOSITIONS FOR FUNDRAISINGFriday 16 November

From 09:00 to 10:15



Partners:

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INTERPLAY WITH INDUSTRY. HOW TO ATTRACT INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS?

Friday 16 November

From 10:15 to 11:30

Moderator: Eva Baltar, Policy Officer, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Keynote

Infobip – From Croatian Startup To Global CompanyRoberto Kutić, COO, InfoBip, Croatia


Jon Wulff Petersen, Director & Senior Consultant, tto.eu – a part of Plougmann Vingtoft

Mariya Konstantinova, Innovation Manager, Agrana AG, Austria

Tom Stephenson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Cranfield University, United Kingdom

George Angelov, Chair of Department of Microelectronics, Technical University of Sofia; Chairman of the Managing Board, Cluster of Microelectronics and Industrial Electronics Systems (μ-Cluster)



Partners:

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START-UP CHALLENGES: INNOVATION, GROWTH AND INTERNATIONALISATION

Friday 16 November

From 11:50 to 13:10

Moderator: Elena Andonova, Project Officer, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Špela Stres, Head of Center for Technology Transfer and Innovation, Jožef Stefan Institute

Radmil Polenakovikj, Director, Business Start-up Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje & President, National Centre for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning

Barbara Diehl, Director of Transfer and Innovation (incoming) - Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres

Maite Ibern, IP and Technology Transfer Manager, Autonomous University of Barcelona

Marco Mazzaglia, PoK-Platform of Knowledge Technical Staff – EUSALP AG1



Partners:

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TOWARDS ESOF 2020 TRIESTE: BUILDING UP A NETWORK OF INNOVATORS IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE

Friday 16 November

From 14:00 to 15:00

Moderator: Giancarlo Caratti, Head of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Unit, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

ESOF2020 Trieste: Fostering Networks in South-East Europe Stefano Fantoni, Champion ESOF2020 Trieste

Initiatives and Events towards ESOF2020 Trieste Bruno Della Vedova, Local Programme Coordinator ESOF2020 Trieste

From Genomics to Applications: a Successful History of Technology Transfer Michele Morgante, Scientific Director of the Institute of Applied Genomics, Udine

High Performance Computing from the Cloud to the Edge Roberto Siagri, President & CEO of Eurotech Spa, Amaro, Udine



Partners:

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Moderator: Moderator: Jernej Pintar, Senior Entrepreneurship Developer, Technology Park Ljubljana and Accelerator (Interreg Danube project)

Umberto Bondi, AG1 EUSALP member - Swiss, Senior Project Manager and Coach at CP Start-Up, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Scale(up)Alps - Interreg Alpine Space project

Andrea Basso, Chief Technology Officer, MITO Technology

Pierre Padilla, Founder, N-Able

Presentation of Slovenian Spin-out and start-up examples

SUCCESSFUL SPIN-OUT STORIES. DIFFERENT MODELS

Friday 16 November

From 15:15 to 16:15



Partners:

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THE POWER OF NETWORKS

Friday 16 November

From 16:15 to 17:45

Moderator: Tomaž Boh, Directorate of Science, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Slovenia

Levin Pal, IPR Group Head and Senior Technology Manager, Center for Technology Transfer and Innovation at the Jožef Stefan Institute,

Aleš Gnamuš, Project Officer, EU Thematic S3 Platforms, Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, European Commission

Rudi Pajntar, SRIP Factories of the future and Alenka Rožaj Bervar, SRIP Health

Francesco Guerra, Associate Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, RE-search ALPS, INEA CEF-TELECOM Project



Partners:

Organisers:

Documents

AG1 WORKSHOP SUMMARY REPORT “Start-ups and technology ...€¦ · Paris Kokorotsikos, Incubation systems founder, i4G Incubator, Thessaloniki Natanail Stefanov, Chairman, BESCO