INDUSTRY INNOVATION CLUSTER
Industry Innovation Cluster is a group of highly engaged and proactive corporates established and operating in Slovakia those projects explore innovative technologies and services to improve transportation options, customer experiences, manufacturing processes and any other smart mobility related topic. The challenge to initiate innovation beyond established processes, industries and even corporate borders can be better overcome with the support of a devoted team inside a dedicated Innovation or R&D Center. The Cluster’s joint initiative aims to share innovative ideas, create joint teams and co-finance innovation-related projects, sharing the results at the end.
SLOVAKIA – BEYOND MANUFACTURING
Here in Slovakia, growing local knowhow, producer and supplier networks, and an educated automotive industry work force requires the development of specific innovations so besides manufacturing, industrial R&D and innovation can be locally generated – mobile economy is the next level.
UTILIZATION OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Building partnerships is what it takes to effectively utilize opportunities in the R&D budgets of corporates and EU funds, so everyone brings his or her own strengths and learns from others. Not every company has all the capabilities available to successfully manage innovation projects – but a cluster can always create a complete mosaic of skills and capacities.
ONLY TRUSTED PARTNERS DELIVER SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION
These days real innovation comes from sharing and collaborating – and only a cluster can build up the trust required for such complex challenges as copyrights, patents and ownership.
CROSS-POLLINATION – THE ONLY WAY INDUSTRIES CO-CREATE
Multidisciplinary, cross-industry knowledge is what creates new ideas. So companies in more sectors need to get together. New business models for mobility crossing borders between traditional markets. Smart Manufacturing and Smart Cities are closely related tops not to be excluded from the scope of Cluster activities.
THE SCOPE OF ACTIVITIES
- Improve Slovak industrial competitiveness
- Foster cooperation in sharing innovative ideas and know-how in the R&D sector
- Foster cooperation between the academic and business sectors
- Developing new financial instruments from public and private sources
- Foster an innovation ecosystem in the Slovak Republic
- Identify possible R&D cooperation opportunities among members and universitie
- Share management of larger innovation projects with advising and coaching opportunities
- Perform a broad range of activities in the area of funding from EU grants and othertypes of financing
- Create and share useful know-how among members of the IIC
INNOVATION THEMES AND TOPICS
Intelligent sensors
New sensors and measurement principles for cars, trains and buses
Multi-mode mobility concepts
New business models, mobility ideas in the shared economy
AI, predictive analytics
Industrial use of the Internet of Things, predictive maintenance
Customer engagement, product innovation, security
Security solutions, new products and services
Production processes for new products
Combining existing innovations into new process ideas and models
OUR OPERATING MODEL
I. GOVERNANCE
- Association of member companies
- Single stable leadership team selected by each Cluster member
- Joint decision-making on R&D projects
II. FUNDING MECHANISMS
- EU funding
- Direct investment by members
- Many EU funded grants/programs require consortiums
III. SERVICES
- Managing large innovation projects, reporting and steering
- Advising and managing fi nances and investment
- Legal support
- Coaching and mentoring, accelerating existing innovation ideas
- Encouraging live business pilots and implementation
- Cooperating with universities
- Housing a combined project team
- and more
OUR AIMS
Creation of a platform for achieving mutual goals in innovation
Sharing innovative ideas, creating joint teams
Creation of new jobs in the research and development (R&D)
Co-financing innovation
Sharing knowledge about the innovative ecosystem
Participation in setting up new financing models for future oriented projects
Exchange of experts
Faster, more effective and affordable innovation
OPERATING PLATFORMS
Design thinking
A collaborative process that carefully examines user needs, considers many options, uses rapid prototypes to refine selected directions based on new ideas.
Agility
An iterative, incremental process for developing any product and managing any work where solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing and cross-functional teams focusing on delivering the highest business value in the shortest time.
Co-creation
Systematically developing networks of individuals, stakeholders, and enterprises to create value together through engagement platforms.
Open innovation
“Opening up” the innovation funnel to move past traditional development inputs like internal development and outputs like the current market.
Co-investment
Resources and funds invested according to pre-agreed rules and principles. Ownership of each project’s results, which the cluster is going to manage, have to be clear before any joint initiative starts.
CLUSTER INITIATORS
MARTINA LE GALL MALÁKOVÁ
Industry Innovation Cluster,
President, French-Slovak Chamber of Commerce
The French-Slovak Chamber of Commerce provides opportunities to construct and build up a functioning, eff ective cluster of leading companies that supports real innovation.
PATRIK HORNÝ
Deputy CEO, ZSSK
To create and sustain new concepts and complex innovations, large companies have to combine forces and build a stable mechanism for managing joint research and development projects.
PETER ŠVEC
Manager
Industry Innovation Cluster gathers companies with an appetite for innovation and change, whose goal is to push Slovakia towards greater competitiveness. Innovate solutions developed and applied in Slovakia then have a chance to succeed, within our groups as well as in other countries.
SUPPORTED BY
MEMBERS
