EXXTRA projektet

Project partners

ARUS, Turkey, more information here

BTS Rail Saxony, Germany, more information here

CenSec, Denmark, more information on this webiste

DITECFER, Italy, more information here

i-Trans, France, more information here

MAFEX, Spain, more information here

RailGrup, Spain, more information here

 

EXXTRA European Strategic Cluster Partnership for Excellence (ESCP-4X)
Our road to real «world-class clusters» and «Joint Cluster Initiative»

See more about the project here: http://exxtraproject.eu/

Follow EXXTRA on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13844027/

Follow EXXTRA on Twitter https://twitter.com/Exxtra_EU

Background

The EXXTRA project has the aim is to accompany the professionalisation of clusters’ competences and services towards the creation and consolidation of world-class clusters. EXXTRA (“EXcellence EXchange and Teaming-up between Industry clusters and ecosystems”) is one of the first “ESCP-4X” funded under the programme COSME of the European Union.

Purpose/vision

The project partners shall act as creators of opportunities, accelerators of change and intermediaries between SMEs and all possible innovation actors and providers of knowledge and support necessary to untap SMEs growth in terms of innovation, Internationalization, process modernization, organization and workplace innovation, long lasting integration into global value chains. Clusters have to be for their SMEs not just service providers rather partners for growth.

Expected results

– All partners to achieve a higher degree of Exellence as the ESCA Cluster Exellence Label at the next level.
– Development of a joint Strategy as European Partnership to move from “opportunity – driven” collaboration approach to a “fully strategic” collaboration approach.

 

 

 

 

Cluster Xchange

Within the EXXTRA project, there’s a possibility to make a sort of “ERASMUS”, called “ClusterXchange”.

It is about the possibility to make an exchange (lasting from 3 days to 30 days) with another European organisation that can be another SME or a University or a research centre or an incubator or an accelerator or a Digital Innovation Hub member of a European cluster, or even with another European cluster itself (i.e.g a railway cluster from another European country you are interested in as a market).

Who this may be interesting for:

• SMEs
• Universities/Research Centres
• Incubators/Accelerators
• Digital Innovation Hubs

The only requirement is, that the interested stakeholder is a member of CenSec or another one of the involved clusters.

 

What are the benefits by participating: 

– If you make the exchange as “Visiting Organisation” (this means you making the request to ‘spend some time’ with another European organisation to move forward on an innovation / to acquire know-how on a technology of your interest-need / to develop a project / to find a business partner, etc. etc.):

• you acquire for free know-how of your interest/need from organisations having the necessary competences
• you widen your European network, and perhaps find a project or business partner
• you acquire promotion for free, since you will benefit from communication and dissemination at national and European level.

– If you make the exchange as “Host Organisation” (this means you giving the availability to host a “Visiting Organisation” that can choose you to give answer to its know-how or market needs => in this case you will define priorly what type of organisation you are available to host, for what type of activities and for what lenght of time):

• you can acquire market information on the country where the Visiting Organisation is based
• you can exchange know-how / do technological transfer
• you widen your European network, and perhaps find a project or business partner
• you acquire promotion for free, since you will benefit from communication and dissemination at national and European level.

How the exchange works:

The project was conceived for “physical exchanges” (with you going to another country and receiving for this a flat reimbursement from us up to 1.100 € according to the cost of living in the selected country; or with you hosting an organisation from another country – in this case you don’t receive any reimbursement) but – of course – due to COVID-19 we had to revise this and the EU gives the possibility to start doing also “virtual exchanges” (in this case, not having to incur in travel/hotel costs, you won’t receive any reimbursement; however you will still have the possibility to then make also a “physical” exchange – with reimbursement – once pandemics were over).

The exchange program is open now and until January 2022.

Presentation: You can find more information on the ClusterXchange in a presentation from a webinar held in November 2020 by DITECFER here

Webinar: It is also possible to watch the recorded webinar by signing up here (and you will be granted access to the webinar): https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/8860472038094213132

Register: Finally, you can register for the ClusterXchange here: https://clusterxchange.clustercollaboration.eu/

 

In case you have further questions regarding this opportunity, please contact Poul-Erik Hansen at poul-erik@censec.dk