Wallachia eHub, the epicenter of innovation and digital transformation in Eastern Europe and the Danube macro-regionThe InnopRo international summit of the digital innovation center Wallachia eHub, an annual event that has become a tradition

Between November 16-17, 2023, the InnopRo international summit – Innovation Pathways Romania, towards Twin Transition. The Role of the European Digital Innovation Hub – WEH, event organized by the digital innovation center Wallachia eHub was held in Sinaia.

The session was opened by Mr. Vlad Oprea, the mayor of the city of Sinaia, with the presentation of the city’s digital development strategy until 2040. The international audience highly appreciated the experience of the city of Sinaia, considering it a national and international benchmark.

Representatives of digital innovation centers from Italy – Umbria Digital Data – Enzo Faloci, Portugal – EDIH Attract – Ricardo Nelson, Bulgaria – Health & Life Sciences Cluster – Kristina Eskenazi and Dimitar Dimitrov, as well as the Oltenia DIH digital innovation center were physically present. which identifies with Wallachia as a historical region, represented by Valentin Mitrică. The digital innovation centers of Germany – EDIH-SH, through Marcus Westphal and Portugal – Produtech DIH, through Manuela Azevedo, also participated online.

The present digital centers with which Wallachia eHub has good cooperation relations presented their technological offers and the services they can provide at the international level and agreed to raise the cooperation to a higher level by developing two digital corridors that have as core is precisely the essence of the InnopRo concept, the development of new industrial paths (pathways) through the green and digital transition. The two digital and green corridors have as their background cooperation and smart specialization at the level of macro-regions. The first, Danube Green Digital Corridor, has the vision and mission to accelerate the green and digital transition in the Danube macro-region, and the second, Go Global Initiative, aims to develop cooperation based on the advanced technologies of digital innovation centers in the four European macro-regions (Danube, Baltic Sea, Adriatic and Mediterranean – Atlantic area) for their worldwide promotion through collaborations with other digital centers outside the EU.

The participants of the summit had the privilege to watch the presentations made by the director of the eastern region – EIT Digital (European Institute of Innovation and Technology), Mr. Tuan Trinth, who presented the latest advances in technology and their impact on various industries, Mr. Kryštof Rygl, director of CzechTrade Romania who raised the audience with the latest trends in the development of smart communities, Mr. Mihai Sfințescu, member of the jury for the EIC Accelerator within the Horizon Europe program, as well as Mrs. Alina Luchian, Academic & Education Territory Lead at SAS, who presented some case studies in the field of Business Analytics and Mrs. Oana Năstasă, Business Developer & Account Manager, French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Romania (CCIFER) who presented the Chamber’s experience in assessing digital maturity on a significant sample of companies from all over the country.

It was an intense program of meetings, presentations, matchmaking sessions, integrated test before invest solutions and pitching in which topics were discussed starting from dual-character technologies – military and civil – and the possibilities of accessing the European defense fund by SMEs, where Mr. Niculae Iancu, the president of I2DS2, stimulated the business environment to implement a more flexible business model, open to military applications, up to the implementation of digital technologies in the agri-food sector – Bucharest Promo Robots or of programs to help farmers generate additional income streams, improve soil quality and access better financing through the Carbon Program implemented by eAgronom.

Innovative companies and start-ups, as well as those offering test-before-invest services, had the opportunity to present their business idea or technological offer in a pitch session. Thus, Heveco Engineering, the region’s leader in GIS solutions, urban planning, engineering and the innovative field of Digital Twin technology, together with Integrisoft Solutions and Beia, presented an integrated solution for local public authorities. Technical solutions were presented in the construction field by members of the TEC cluster and the Rasub Construct company, in the cybersecurity field by the Omega Trust company, in the solar energy field by the CERMAND cluster.

A widely debated field was that of energy and intelligent communities, where the presence of numerous companies and professional associations was noted, represented by Corneliu Samoilă, director of Vinci Energies Romania Development, Călin Radu Vilt, scientific advisor of the National Committee of the World Energy Council , member of the Smart Grid Policy Council, Silvia Vlăsceanu, executive director at HENRO, George Crețu, expert in sustainable technology integration at Unbox Management Solutions and Tamas Tegzes from Fugro Nederland.

„From the discussions we had with those present both from Romania and abroad, we could see that the participants of this event are extremely satisfied with the opportunity to get to know the services of our center as well as the participating companies and organizations and to have parallel sessions of matchmaking. The sectoral approach, as well as the international interest, left a positive mark on this summit, which thus becomes an important regional and international benchmark for digital transformation. We regret that important public institutions, invited in advance to participate and included in the program, did not honor us with the present” said Costin Lianu, Wallachia eHub coordinator.

„Wallachia eHub became through this event a digital center integrated in the global market – digital market place – and we are convinced that the networking activity is channelled towards the development of digital corridors, partnerships and the development of research and investment projects. The fact that the event was organized together with Enterprise Europe Network – EEN – being integrated in other Horizon Europe projects – Agroecology-TRANSECT and OrganicTarget4EU – and in the European defence fund denotes the ability of our center to develop and capitalize on European synergies. On the national level, we are extremely happy that the Oltenia Digital Innovation Hub will cooperate closely with us for the digitization of both regions”, said Irina Gabriela Rădulescu, Wallachia eHub executive board member.