BACKGROUND.Global competition has generated the need among all the enterprises, especially SMEs, to adjust their strategies for survival.As a result of T4 actions, the interviewed stakeholders complained of lack of skills and knowledge to allow companies have a dedicated person to facilitate the transfer of modern technologies, products and services so as to accelerate the development for survival on the market in the fight with big companies.It has so emerged that the proposed occupation, the Transnational Technology Transfer Manager, is mandatory for the development strategy. TTTM must possess, apart form the professional technical abilities, competences which should enable European harmonization (leadership, economic and legislative knowledge, ability to mediate between social groups with different cultures etc). OBJECTIVES.The general objective of T4 was to increase and upgrade skills and competences of European SMEs in the field of transnational technology transfer and accelerate public and private stakeholder organizations in increasing their responsiveness to SMEs skills needs. T4 aimed at 1)minding the gap between SMEs and transnational technology innovation processes;2)establishing a permanent, transparent, recognition oriented, evolving&multi-actor training mechanism which will allow to respond to the needs of SME's;3)increasing institutional capacity and awareness of responsible actors of industrial, technological and training policies about the role of transnational technology transfer for SMEs and extend cooperation between SMEs, Research, Service Providers and VET&Training System actors.TARGET GROUPS included:SMEs:managers,technical and administrative staff,consultants;Cluster Organizations:technical staff,consultants;R&D Centre / Universities:researchers,technical staff;Technology Parks and Business Development Centres: technical staff,consultants;Economic Development Bodies:policy officers,management,technical staff;VET and Higher Education:trainers, researchers, technical staff, administrative staff, learners.The directly involved target groups members was 650 units, but due to multiple information in various media channels, we consider that the number can be 1000.ACTIVITIES.In order to achieve the planned objectives, T4 has been structured so as to obtain the four IOs which were implemented by 7 complementary partners combining training, technology, outreach to SMEs and policy anchoring capacities.The 8 Work-packages were:WP1-Project Management;WP2-Quality Management;WP3-Evaluation and Risk Management;WP4-Dissemination and Exploitation;WP5-inding the GAP: SMEs& TTT (M2-M6) created a knowledge base about current successful practices which combined technology transfer&training methods to support these processes and further strengthen them; WP6-Mapping skills needs&Develop Competence Profile(M6-M11) which focused on mapping the competences of the TTTM; WP7(M11-M24) focused on producing the curriculum and in the development and testing of the TTTM Training Program;WP8(M20-M26) delivered 2 sets of final guidelines, one for policy levels and the second one for VET system & Innovation system actors and a template of Memorandum of Understanding in order to set up of a TTT Training Cooperation Network.RESULTS. Main project results can be summarized as follows:1)SMEs increased awareness level about technology transfer processes at transnational level;2)Training&Service Providers increased knowledge about how to simplify technology transfer processes;3)available training (including competence profile, training course structure, content and self-enrollment E-learning platform);4)increased capacity of the educational/training/service side to respond to educational/training needs with a more close to market and understandable language;5)participation of the governance level&VET System actors to the information and awareness raising initiatives;6)increased knowledge about how developed training can be transformed & readapted according to technological trends and SMEs needs(and how formal VET training course can be anchored to more situational learning settings based on SMEs daily operations);7)achieving of a good collaboration between partners;8)harmonization of know-how transfer between them and familiarity with cultural specifics of involved countries.The impact of our short-term activities was to raise awareness of the need to develop such a business within companies, creating a win-win collaboration. In a long terms perspective the project aims at creating a winning cooperation mechanism between training&educational system and European SMEs which will contribute to adopt transnational technology transfer as a means to accelerate growth and development.A major benefit consisted in observing the enthusiasm and satisfaction of the contacted stakeholders in finding the solution to solve the problem they had been struggling with for a long time, namely surviving on a market dominated by the big companies.

"The process of globalization has encouraged Multinational companies to spread their branches and offices all over the world. Globalization has inevitably kindled keen competition in the operations of all business. This competition has generated a need among all the enterprises, and especially SMEs, to adjust their strategies for their survival.Technology and the transfer of discoveries and knowledge to SMEs is a recognized milestone in building and sustaining a robust and innovative European economy but the professional requirements and the skills needed to work across countries, institutions, regulations and sectors to facilitate this process are as diverse as the cultures they represent.OBJECTIVES The general objective of Transnational Technology Transfer Entrprise Agent project was to increase and upgrade skills and competences of European SMEs in the field of transnational technology transfer and accelerate public and private stakeholder organizations in increasing their responsiveness to SMEs skills needs. Specifically TTTEA aimed at 1) minding the gap between SMEs and transnational technology innovation processes; 2) establish a permanent, transparent, recognition oriented, evolving & multi-actor training mechanism which will allow to respond to the needs of SME's 3) increase institutional capacity and awareness of responsible actors of industrial, technological and training policies about the role of transnational technology transfer for SMEs and extend cooperation between SMEs, Research, Service Providers and VET& Training System actors.TARGET GROUPS The target groups of the project include: SMEs: Managers, Technical and administrative staff, consultants; Cluster Organizations: technical staff, consultants; R&D Centres (including Universities and their Technology Transfer Offices): researchers, technical staff; Technology Parks and Business Development Centres: technical staff, consultants; Economic Development Bodies (Regional Development Agencies, Governance levels designing policies): policy officers, management, technical staff; VET and Higher Education: trainers, researchers, technical staff, administrative staff, learners. ACTIVITIES In order to achieve the planned objectives, the project has been structured around 8 Work-packages and 4 Intellectual Outputs which has been implemented by the project partners combining training, technology, outreach to SMEs and policy anchoring capacities: WP1 - Project Management; WP2 - Quality Management; WP3 - Evaluation and Risk Management; WP4 - Dissemination and Exploitation; WP5 - Minding the GAP: SMEs & Transnational Technology Transfer, aimed at creating a knowledge base about current successful practices which combine technology transfer & training methods to support these processes and further strengthen them; WP6 - Mapping skills needs & Develop Competence Profile of the ""Ideal TTE Agent"" which focuses on mapping the competences of the TTTE Agent; WP7 focused on producing the curriculum and in the development and testing of the TTTEA Training Program; WP8 delivered 2 sets of final guidelines, one for policy levels and the second one for VET system & Innovation system actors and to set up of a Transnational Technology Transfer Training Cooperation Network"". RESULTS The main project result with a long terms perspective consists in creating a winning coperation mechanism between training & educational system and European SMEs, starting from the network of partners and stakeholders, contributing to adopt transnational technology transfer as a means to accelerate growth and development. Shot term project results may be summarized as follows: 1) SMEs increased awareness level about technology transfer processes at transnational level; 2) Training & Service Providers increased knowledge about how to simplify technology transfer processes; 3) available training (including competence profile, training course structure and content); 4) increased capacity of the educational / training / service side to respond to educational / training needs with a more close to market and understandable language; 5) effective participation of the governance level & VET System actors to the information and awareness raising initiatives; 6) increased knowledge about how developed training can be transformed & readapted according to technological trends and SMEs needs (and how formal VET training course can be anchored to more situational learning settings based on SMEs daily operations).The Transnational Technology Transfer Entrprise Agent is a person specifically trained to manage the processes of technology transfer and could be a key figure in European to make SMEs more competitive on the market.The ideal Transnational Technology Transfer Entrprise Agent needs to integrate the traditional competences of a technology manager with competences related to the management of transnational processes."

The CITADELS project aims to contribute towards transforming the 7 widening countries represented in the Project into CITADELS of human-centric Industry 5.0 development. The Project brings together a consortium of 10 partners from 9 countries, including 4 large academic institutions that are highly influential within their innovation ecosystems, 3 exemplary DeepTech companies, and 1 science and technology park, where academia meets industry to make innovations happen and grow into the business. Additionally, CITADELS is supported by the 2 EU-leading partners to bring know-how in cross-sectoral collaboration, to ensure stakeholder engagement and pan-European impact (EIT Manufacturing), and to introduce a sustainable, responsible research and innovation approach (K&I). CITADELS combines the excellence of DeepTech talents and social scientists to comply with EC’s “ERA industrial technologies roadmap on human-centric research and innovation for the manufacturing sector” to ensure sustainable DeepTech careers and the progress of DeepTech. The CITADELS project seizes the opportunity presented by recent investments in advanced public R&I infrastructure and the growing demand for DeepTech expertise across Europe to combat the brain drain in widening countries. By aligning academic research excellence with industry needs, CITADELS focuses on talent circulation (20 research talents and 20 R&I support talents will be involved as a whole), creating attractive career pathways in DeepTech and building the capacity of local ecosystems to adopt cutting-edge technologies. This project will support translating research into high-value industrial applications and position widening countries as competitive players in the global DeepTech landscape. Ultimately, CITADELS will boost regional economic resilience and foster social cohesion by modernizing local industries and creating high-value jobs, driving long-term economic growth and resilience in widening countries.

DIH^2 is a network of 26 DIHs, with a target to reach over 170 DIHs. The sole aim of the network is to spark incremental (cut 50% cost of advance robotics solutions, double the growth of robotics market) and disruptive (maximum productivity & optimum agility) innovations in over 300,000 Manufacturing SMEs and Mid-Caps. It will support SMEs in their Agile Production challenge (50% increase in productivity) and unleash their digitalization potential by enabling robot solutions that are more cost effective at lower lot sizes. DIH^2 relies on: • A Common Open Platform Reference Architecture for Agile Production (COPRA-AP) -based on Industrial Data Space Reference Architecture Model and FIWARE technologies- to serve the needs of SMEs by means of a continuously growing set of Robotic-based Open Standard Enablers (ROSE-AP). • A marketplace as one-stop-shop for SMEs to access essential services for digital transformation including business modelling, technical support, access to skills and finance. • 2 competitive Open Calls to launch an ambitious Technology Transfer Program with 260 Agility Audits, 26 cross-border Technology Transfer Experiments and 26 ROSE-AP, leveraging over 26M€ of public & private funding in advance robotics solutions for Agile Production. • Members deeply rooted in their regional Smart Specialization Strategy (bringing €5M additional funding on top of EU funds), ensuring ‘working distance’ services for every SME in Europe - whichever the sector, wherever the location, whatever the size. • A Corporate Sponsorship Program from equipment and automation suppliers committed with the network to get access to wider market and latest research in robotics. DIH^2 will transform this network into a self-sustainable non-profit association with members all over Europe. DIH^2 will demonstrate that public funded research can help SMEs & Mid-Caps achieve digital excellence and global competitiveness through adopting advanced robotics solutions in Agile Production.

The project’s objective is the establishment of four cross-border operating “Scaleup Labs”. The Scaleup Labs are based on the ”living lab” concept and support qualifying scaleups in achieving “Proof of Scalability”. This proof is achieved when scaleups comply with all requirements of general technological, market, organizational and investor readiness, their innovation is adapted to specific customer need and successful scaleup-corporate relationship is established. “Scaleup4Europe”: five partners, four ecosystems: • Berchtesgadener Land Wirtschaftsservice, Germany, a regional economic development agency - project lead. • UnternehmerTUM Germany, a leading startup hub of the Technical University of Munich. • Pioneers, Austria, one of the largest start-up and investor networks across Europe. • Pomurski tehnoloski park, Slovenia, a deep tech support ecosystem and member of pan-European Digitial Innovation Hub network Agile Manufacturing and Robotics. • Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Serbia, the association of all enterprises, including startups in Serbia. The project partners propose to set up a Scaleup Lab in each ecosystem for a specific industry vertical. The Scaleup Labs will provide deep tech start-ups with a structured open innovation approach in which they can achieve cross-border market success, through first successful collaborations with corporate customers, investors and/or public institutions. The Scaleup Labs will bring together corporates with needs for innovation, scaleups with matching solutions, experts from research and the European network of specialized Digital Innovation Hubs and other existing services such as the Startup Europe one-stop-shop. The Scaleup Labs will detect innovators and develop programmes for startups ready to provide their solutions to new markets. This includes acceleration tools such as Scaleup Camps as well as Investor and Business Matching Tools to adapt innovations to specific enterprise demand.