ICT Cluster is a founder and partner in the project “Boosting Digitalisation in Southwest Bulgaria (InnovationAmp)” BG16RFPR002-1.002-0002, aimed at accelerating the digital and sustainable transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and public administrations in the Southwest region of Bulgaria.

The project is funded under the programme “Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation” 2021–2027, co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Total budget: BGN 9,522,721.13
Implementation period: October 2024 – October 2027
Duration: 36 months

The project aims to accelerate the digital and sustainable transformation of SMEs, public administrations, and other organisations in the Southwest region by providing services, technologies, and expert support to enhance the competitiveness and innovation potential of businesses and the public sector.

The consortium will work primarily with companies from the manufacturing sector, automotive, mechatronics, pharmaceuticals, as well as public organisations and municipal enterprises from the municipalities of Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Pernik and Kyustendil.

Coordinator:
Association “European Digital Innovation Hub for Data Science, High-Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence” (InnovationAmp)

Partners

• Sofia Tech Park JSC
• Research and Development and Innovation Consortium (R&D&I Consortium)
• Peta-scale Supercomputer Discoverer Consortium
• Foundation “Cluster Information and Communication Technologies” (ICT Cluster)
• GATE Institute
• Technical University of Sofia
• Neveq Capital Management Ltd.
• Sofia Municipality
• Bulgarian Innovation and Technology Center - DigiTecH 4.0
• Strategic Center for Artificial Intelligence (SCAI)

Work Packages

1. Project management and coordination
2. Sustainable development of the EDIH
3. Communication and community engagement
4. Network integration and joint services
5. Support for SMEs
6. Support for the public sector

ICT Cluster leads Work Package 2, aimed at creating the conditions and building the capacity for the sustainable development of the Digital Innovation Hub.

As a partner in the project, ICT Cluster provides the following services:

• Development of assessments and strategies, including expert analysis of the digital maturity of enterprises and public organisations, as well as the preparation and monitoring of digital transformation strategies.
• Building expert capacity and skills, through the organisation of specialised trainings aimed at developing digital skills.
• Access to financing and partner networks, including consulting and support for applying to and using national and European financial instruments for digital transformation, development and deployment of innovative products and technologies. Support for building partner networks, identifying technology providers, facilitating knowledge exchange and technology transfer.

As additional services, the other InnovationAmp partners provide:

• Test Before Invest - testing and experimenting with technologies prior to investment/implementation.
• AI and HPC access - use of the Discoverer supercomputing infrastructure, big data resources and AI tools.

For more information, please contact:

Christina Todorova
Technical Programme Manager at ICT Cluster
christina_todorova@ictcluster.bg

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