How to Invigorate the Cross-border Region with Innovation Spirit

The lecture describes the concept of the lighthouse project TRAILS – Traveling Innovation Labs and Services, which is being funded through the EU cooperation programme INTERREG Poland-Saxony between 2014 and 2020, and presents its first results. TRAILS brings mobile innovation labs directly to schools and enterprises that are located in the German-Polish cross-border region. There, they are stationed for one week respectively. During this week, pupils get in touch with entrepreneurship, create their own project ideas and test new technologies in the innovation labs. Members of SME train methods for the development of new products and services as well as for the optimisation of processes. The aim is to offer formats such as business modelling, makerspaces or hackathons along with all the necessary facilities, technologies and workshop programmes on-site of structurally weak areas, and to raise awareness for topics such as the digital transformation as well as new business and marketing models.

Speakers:

Justyna Lasak ― Head of Innovation & Competitiveness Unit in the Department of Regional Development, Marshal’s Office of Lower Silesia

Tomasz Wiśniewski ― Consultant in collaboration with SMEs and institutions of the business environment, consulting, technology transfer and innovative entrepreneurship

Prof Dr Jörg Rainer Noennig ― Professor for Digital City Science at the CityScienceLab at Hafencity Universität Hamburg and director of the WISSENSARCHITEKTUR Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture at TU Dresden

Dr Peter Schmiedgen ― Head of Research and Unit Leader for Innovation & Entrepreneurship of the WISSENSARCHITEKTUR Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture at TU Dresden