With the support of the EU program "Digital Europe", a nationwide network of digital innovation centers, called European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIH), is to be established in the European Union. Saxony successfully applied to become a European Digital Innovation Hub. The European Digital Innovation Hub Saxony bundles the competencies of four Saxon institutions. Members of the consortium are the Smart Infrastructure Hub Leipzig, the Smart Systems Hub Dresden, simul⁺InnovationHub of the State Ministry for Regional Development and, as coordinator, InfAI - Institute for Applied Informatics. For the next three years, the EU will fund the project with about 2.3 million euros.
European Digital Innovation Hub To test before invest
The ongoing digital transformation is rapidly changing the working and production environments of companies. A new study by Bitkom shows that only one in four companies cooperates with a startup. High investment costs, time shortage, lack of contacts, insufficient qualification of employees are examples of barriers that account for the reservation of many SMEs towards new technologies. Thus, there is a need for SME-tailored information and industry-specific lighthouse projects. EDIH Saxony will primarily support small and medium-sized enterprises, startups and public administration in the implementation of digital technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data or 5G connectivity. Under the motto "first test, then invest", SMEs and public sector organizations in particular will be supported in making their business/production processes, products or services more competitive.
In the video, the consortium partners explain the function of a European Digital Innovation Hub.
Digital readiness checks for companies
Together with regional partners, the consortium members will soon be offering many new innovation services. For example, a digital check to determine the level of digital maturity will be made available in the future. Another service offered by EDIH Saxony will be simplified access to research and technology infrastructure, giving companies the opportunity to test products or services. Smart Infrastructure Hub Leipzig coordinator Dr. Eric Weber comments: "With the European Digital Innovation Hub Saxony, we are promoting networking, collaboration and knowledge transfer between SMEs, the public sector and other relevant stakeholders. Saxony can thus benefit even more from expertise from all over Europe and, at the same time, this will make Saxony's innovative strength visible in Europe."
Overview of the activities of the European Digital Innovation Hub Saxony
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