Industry digitalization experience was shared by eight countries in Berlin.
On 18-19 November 2019 the seminar „Industry digitalization – the Baltic Sea Region experience“ was organised in the Embassy of Estonia in Berlin, Germany, by DIGINNO project which is co-funded by EU Interreg BSR program. The event was jointly organised by the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunication (ITL) and Aalborg University Copenhagen in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy.
The aim of the policy seminar was to share views and experience across the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) regarding approaches and policy initiatives within the digitalization of industrial SMEs (Industry 4.0). How can we learn from the different approaches? What can we do together to mobilise a digital mindset and awareness?
The event included short presentations of national Industry 4.0 approaches and experience with digital awareness-raising among SMEs, including a „Business Need Assessment“ that has identified BSR challenges based on a survey among manufacturing SMEs on their expected uptake of new technologies.
DIGINNO partners and invited guests from the policy and business field discussed what the BSR can do together to develop and implement transnational solutions to promote ICT uptake among SMEs, including joint policy initiatives. It was suggested that projects like DIGINNO can serve as a kind of industry digitalization “BSR training camp for competitors” learning from each other to become collectively more competitive in international markets. Also, the added value of scaling up national initiatives to BSR level and aligning views on what is needed from EU industrial policies was among the proposals for joint action.
Study visits for DIGINNO partners were organised to three showrooms in Berlin: Performance Center Digital Networking, McKinsey Experience Studio, and Forum Digital Technologies Showroom.
Further information: Doris Põld, ITL, doris.pold@itl.ee; Torben Aaberg, AAU, toraa@cmi.aau.dk