Representatives of ICT Cluster attended the fourth European Cluster Conference which took place in Brussels on October 20-21. The aim of the conference was to discuss latest trends and challenges for modern cluster policies and to identify priority areas for a new European Cluster Strategy for Growth. The participants had the opportunity to vote on different statements related to the formulation of a dynamic European cluster policy framework.

The final text of the declaration voted during the conference is available - here
Conference coverage video - here

You can find the speakers’ presentation at the following links:
1. Challenges for a new European Cluster Strategy for Growth,Massimo Baldinato;
2. A National Perspective from France on cluster policy challenges, Alain Schmitt; 
3. A Perspective from the Basque Country on the vanguard role that cluster policies can play in regional smart specialisation strategies, Arantxa Tapia;
4. The Business Perspective: The role of clusters in supporting SMEs to access industrial value chains, Franz Josef Kirschfink;
5. Findings from the Emerging Industries report and the European Cluster Excellence Scoreboard of the European Cluster Observatory, Laurent Probst;
6. New cluster mapping and trends, model demonstrator regions and services from the European Cluster Observatory, Christian Ketels and Kincso Izsak;
7. Actions for new linkages needed - A policy roadmap for stimulating emerging industries, Lennart Svensson;
8. The role of cluster organisations in supporting emerging industries, Gerd Meier zu Köcker;
9. Upcoming Commission call for cluster facilitated projects for new industrial value chains to help SMEs innovate and grow, Kirsi Ekroth-Manssila;
10. The future role of clusters in supporting cross-sectoral actions and growth, Mr. Anders Eldrup;
11. Elements of excellent policy for fostering mature and emerging clusters and benchmarking of cluster programs, Thomas Lämmer-Gamp;
12. Changes in cluster policy and how to measure their economic impact, Emily Wise;
13. The role of clusters in smart specialisation strategies and first trends observed, Claire Nauwelaers;
14. Development needs for cluster management excellence: Results from the benchmarking and labelling of cluster organisation, Helmut Kergel;
15. Widening of training modules for cluster managers, Reza Zadeh;
16. Observations from the first steps of European Strategic Cluster Partnerships and EU cluster matchmaking events, Marc Pattinson;
17. Growth accelerators and clusters, Nicholas Coutts;
18. Coworking incubation and clusters – Connecting to creatives and start-ups, Florian Bergmann;
19. Alternative sources of financing from cross-sectoral innovation vouchers, microcredits, refundable contributions, peer-to-peer lending to crowdfunding: What help can cluster support offer?, Edgar Garcia;
20. Designing new directions for cluster policies, Madeline Smith;

On October 15^-th at Nis, Serbia 16 ICT clusters and ICT organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This is the second step of the initiative of creating a ICT clusters network in the Balkan and Black sea region.  The initiative started with a conference held in April 2014 organized by Foundation ICT Cluster and Ministry of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications within the bulgarian chairmanship of “Black Sea Economic Cooperation".
 The main objective of the network is to enhance cooperation between ICT clusters and to create more business opportunities by joining the efforts, support innovation and foster collaboration for joint research projects.

As part of the ICT Forum 2014 conference on October, 15th, 2014 will be hend USAID WORKSHOP No. 2 in Nis, Serbia.

 USAID Workshop no. 1 took place in Novi Sad at the end of May 2014. Then were initiated several topics on which can be developed a joint project proposal , which can  be submit to the EU funding calls. This workshop will be focused on reviewing a project proposal that is initiated by the Bulgarian ICT Cluster and is addressing a COSME call related to cluster collaboration.

Also part of the event will be singnig of Memorandum for understanding between: ICT Cluster Bulgaria; Bulgarian Telecommunications Cluster; NICAT; Vojvodina Cluster; ICT Cluster – Plovdiv; ICT NET; Albanian ICT Association; Cluj ICT Cluster; MASIT; Corallia; HAMAC and ODTU TEKNOKENT Yonetim AS, which is Turkish  technology park managing two clusters - defence cluster and ICT Cluster.

The events agenda you can find here: USAID Workshop No. 2 - Agenda

On 30th September and 1st October at Hilton Hotel, Sofia, will be held the International HR Conference.

 ICT Cluster is partner of the event, which will provide the participants the combination of practical advice, successful approaches, and best practices. The two-day event is designed to bring together the HR Managers of top manufacturing companies together with professional universities to present examples of successful collaboration and to strengthen and sustain this cooperation.

Key Topics include:
∙ Best Practice Examples in Human Capital Management shared by global automotive & technology leaders and experience to realize it in Bulgaria
∙ Business and Universities speak about their cooperation and the latest Human Capital trends
∙ Next EU Program period – advantages and new opportunities
∙ Practical case studies from Bulgaria and Romania & how to implement in Bulgaria the successful experience of our partners

The Delegates will have the opportunity to learn about the best HR Practices and developments in Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, and Learning & Development. The presentation of the Concept of Dual Education System will emphasize on the advantages of the collaboration between the educational programs and the business and on how to strengthen this process in Bulgaria.

The forum will feature senior-level international speakers and HR professionals awarded for their achievements and contribution to the HR domain.

The HR Conference will be a rewarding event for all delegates. They will not only experience it as a stimulating platform to explore latest trends in HR, but will also have best opportunities to exchange ideas in a highly focused Automotive and Technology environment.
 
For more information and registration details please visit:
http://automotive.bg/hr-group/hr-conference/

ИКТ Клъстер беше изпълнител на обществена поръчка към Министерство на транспорта, информационните технологии и съобщенията , за изготвяне на „Национален план за широколентова инфраструктура за достъп от следващо поколение (NGA)”.  На 25.06.2014 националният план беше гласуван и приет на заседанието на правителството.

Целият текст на плана може да откриете на линка по-долу:
„Национален план за широколентова инфраструктура за достъп от следващо поколение (NGA)”

With the support of CorkBIC and ICT Cluster in Ardino was created branch of CoderDojo – an initiative for training in programming for nonprogrammers - children at age 7-17 years.

CoderDojo is a global movement established in 2011 by James Welton and Bill Liao and supported by CorkBIC. 2 years after its establishment the  movement became a global phenomenon!

On June 14, 2014 in the School "Vasil Levski" Anton Tcholakov and Nikolay Chochev organized the first CoderDOJO meeting  in  Ardino, supported by the ICT Cluster and CorkBIC. The initiative was attended by 18 participants. During the meeting, participants created their first web pages.

 
On 10 -11 June 2014 in Ardino municipality was held the final conference and round table on entrepreneurship and the training "Virtual business: values, goods and money" within the project "Entrepreneurship without borders".

The first day of the  training was held through video conferencing between the conference room of Ardino municipality and the ICT Cluster’s office. The training was opened with a speech by Mr. Resmi Murad, Mayor of Ardino and Mr. Nedzhmi Hodzhov, Vice-mayor and project expert. During the  first day of training speakers were Mr. Nikolai Angov - co-founder of Business Booster Sofia, a successful entrepreneur and lecturer at Harvard affiliated Center for Economic Strategies and Competitiveness (CESC) and Mr. Stoyan Angelov - successful entrepreneur and member of the organization "Start It Smart". Mr. Peter Statev, Ms. Eileen Moloney and Mr. Michael O’Connor also took part in the training through conferent video between the ICT Cluster’s office and Ardino municipality. An active discussion, individual and group practical exercises and assignments were also held.

The training "Virtual business - values, goods and money" continued until 12:00 pm on June 11.

The second day of training was attended by the experts from CorkBIC, ICT Cluster and Ardino municipality.

Lecturers and students held an active discussion and practical tasks, a review of the lessons learned during the four training sessions was made and also success stories and best practices were presented.

On June 11th after the lunch break a conference roundtable on entrepreneurship took place.

The event was attended by the project experts from ICT Cluster, Ardino and  CorkBIC, Next Consult Ltd, NGOs and entrepreneurs from Kardzhali, libraries and schools in Ardino, students, representatives of MIG - Ardino, local and regional authorities, as well as 25 participants in the entrepreneurship trainings.

During the event the results of the project "Entrepreneurship without borders" were presented, participants discussed the opportunities for entrepreneurship promotion and creation of incubator supporting start-ups in Ardino municipality .

The conference was closed with awarding ceremony.

After the end of the event a press conference was held.

The partners in the project "Entrepreneurship without borders" - Foundation ICT Cluster, Ardino Municipality and CorkBIC agreed to continue the efforts and cooperation for sustainable development of entrepreneurship in the region.

ICT Cluster attended the the Kick-off meeting of the DonauMotor project. The event was held on June 5th 2014 in Sofia Bulgaria.

Dr. Truckenmüller welcomed the participants and presented the idea for optimization of the transnational value chains in Europe by setting up the Danube Region wide Automotive super-cluster DonauMotor. A managed huge internet platform which connects the manufacturing industries in the countries along the Danube river shall support the process. An overview was given about the current project status and the connected projects of IMACOS and ACB - Auto Park Bulgaria, DonauSchwaben-KMU, etc. The DonauMotor project was shortly presented with its 3 phases.

Outputs of the meeting

Project ideas:

1.Vocational training seminars
   1.1 Regional academies for trainings
2.Communication and Brokerage Platform
3.Auto Park Bulgaria
4.Innovation hub in Mechatronics
5.Dual education of engineers
   5.1 Engineers of the future
6.Value network development
7.New Generation Workplace
   7.1 Automation
   7.2 Ergonomics
   7.3 Art
8.Relocation of electronic parts manufacturing to Europe
9.Better communication to increase more business
10.Integration of Start-ups + Technology leaders
11.E-mobility
12.Set up of a supply structure for Tesla when moving manufacturing to Europe as expected.

Decisions:

1. The project management will provide a template for project ideas.

2. The project team will be requested to detail the project ideas created in the meeting plus additional ideas in those templates for a standard processing.

3. Save the date for the next meeting including the establishment of the Advisory Board – October 28-29, 2014

Roadshow for innovative SMEs in the field of transport was held on 16th May 2014 in University of Ruse “Angel Kаnchev”. The event was organized by Ruse Chamber of Commerce and Industry within a project IntraSME – action of support of innovative SMEs in the field of transport.

The event agenda was focused on:
• Opportunities and potential of the low–carbon, intelligent transport and its applications for all kind of vehicles.
• Information how SMEs to get access to EU finding for R&D, commercialization and realization of innovative products and services;
• Opportunities for networking and building partnerships between European SME and business support organizations.

The event was dedicated to all European SMEs willing to learn more about the opportunities INTRASME can offer and to network with potential partners from across Europe. During the event were presented good practices by Polish, British, Italian, Romanian and Bulgarian SMEs and business support organizations.

At the event were more than 30 participants – SMEs, business support organizations, national and regional clusters and associations, representatives of R&D organizations, universities and the regional public administration. At the agenda was given special time to participants to share experiences and make new contacts and partnerships.

During the event Krasimira Shindarova presented the ICT Cluster’s experience and expertise in the field of the intelligent transport systems.

On May 15, 2014 was held Conference for internationalization of the economy of Southeast Europe and the Black Sea region by application of the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), organized by the BCCI. This was the biggest event in the rotating chairmanship of BCCI Business Council of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

The conference was attended by representatives of commerce and industry of the CEFTA countries and the countries of the BSEC, branch organizations, entrepreneurs, members of parliament, government, academia and others.

Chairman of ICT Cluster Mr. Peter Statev presented opportunities for cooperation between ICT clusters within the area of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

Conference "Cooperation of ICT clusters in the Black Sea region for growth, prosperity and competitiveness" was held on 10 and 11 April 2014 in Grand Hotel Sofia.

The event was organized by the Foundation ICT Cluster and the Ministry of Transport and Communications in the Bulgarian Presidency of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Major Sponsors of the event were VIVACOM, Sofia Tech Park and "Bulgarian Cluster Telecommunications".

The conference was attended by representatives of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, Ministry of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, Ministry of Economy of Romania, Ministry of Economy and Energy, representatives of business and clusters of the region.
The main topic of the event was the cooperation of the ICT cluster in the region to becoming a more attractive place to invest and a better place to live. The main focus of the conference topics were related to ICT technology in intermodal transport, the development of new-generation broadband, cyber security, etc.

Participants in the event supported the idea that the cluster approach is an essential tool to be applied in the BSEC countries in order to support SMEs and competitiveness and to promote innovation in the region.

Presentations from conference are available on the following links:

I PANEL - ICT Clusters as a driving engine for competetiveness and prosperity in the region

Mr. Peter Statev - ICT Cluster

Mrs. Genoveva Christova - Representative of European Commission

Mrs. Miryana Dragomirova - MIE

Mrs. Gabriela Pirvu - METEA of Romania

II PANEL : ICT for Intelligent transport systems

Mrs. Anita Angelova - MTITC

Mr. Artun Kumurlu - E-Kent

Mr. Alexandre Girardi - MultiTel

Mr. Thomas Kronawetter - TEXXA

Mr. Vasilis Mizaras - Swarco 

III PANEL: Cyber defense, Information and network security  (Round Table / Discussion)

Georgi Dimitrov - Ernst & Young Audit OOD

IV PANEL: Broadband infrastructure - the backbone of the economy nowadays

Prof. Vladimir Poulkov - Bulgarian Cluster Telecommunications

Mrs. Janet Zaharieva - VIVACOM

Mr. Goran Poposki - ASI

Mr. Svilen Maximov - Networks

V PANEL: Black Sea ICT Cluster Network

Mr. Milan Solaja - Vojvodina ICT Cluster

Mrs. Marina Blagojevic - ICT Network

Mr. Goran Mladenovic - NiCAT

Mr. Goran Mladenovic - NiCAT (2nd presentation)

Mr. Veselin Vasilev - CASTRA

Mrs. Elitsa Panayotova - Sofia Tech Park

The fifth edition of the Balkan Venture Forum will be held on 15 - 16 May 2014 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The event aims to help 50 pre-selected entrepreneurs to develop their ideas at an international level, by linking them with foreign investors and business partners. Each entrepreneur will have the opportunity to present to the jury their ideas and business potential within 5 minutes.

The event is aiming to create successful networking, providing new opportunities.

The deadline for registration of entrepreneurs is April 20, 2014

To register please visit the event page: http://www.vibeproject.eu/BkVF

More detailed information and program of the event can be found here.

For more information:
Jitske van Os
Europe Unlimited
+32 (0) 2 644 65 92
jitske@e-unlimited.com
www.e-unlimited.com