BRUSSELS, 18 October 2016 - High-tech digital clusters are springing up all over the world, but the made-in-Europe approach does more than just write consumer apps or run online marketplaces: It makes industry happen.
A new report by Science|Business, a Brussels-based media company focused on innovation, highlights an important trend in the way Europe is developing digital and wireless clusters. Cities like Stockholm in healthcare, Rotterdam in shipping and Munich in manufacturing have put extra effort into digital innovations tailored to serve local industries and sectors.
The report, commissioned by Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., profiles 10 tech hubs across the EU that illustrate this trend. The history of each is unique, from deliberate government initiative in the Côte d’Azur or Tallinn, to powerful private-sector demand in Munich or Rotterdam.
“This approach to digital clusters – embedding into a particular industrial sector rather than building economy-spanning mega-clusters – is a new and very European development,” said Richard L. Hudson, Editor-in-Chief of Science|Business. The report draws on data from the regions themselves, as well as from the World Economic Forum and Invest Europe, among other sources. “We have been studying European tech clusters for 12 years, and for us the news is that these specialised strategies are starting to pay off.”
Tibor Navracsics, EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, said the results reflect such EU initiatives as its “smart specialisation” strategy, efforts to modernise universities and support clusters. “Innovation doesn’t happen by accident. It takes smart and skilled people, good industry-university cooperation, strong financing and policy support – and a place for it all to come together,” he writes in a preface to the report.
Ms. Chen Lifang, Huawei’s Corporate Senior Vice President and Director of the Board, said the conclusions show how “information and communication technologies have become deeply integrated into our society. No longer simply an industry vertical itself, ICT has become an enabler of digital transformation across all sectors of the economy.”
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The report, “Ten Tech Hubs”, is available here. Science|Business is a Brussels-based media company focused on EU research and innovation, and manages a network of 48 universities, companies and organisations intent on improving the climate for innovation in Europe.
Contact:
Richard L. Hudson,
Editor-in-Chief, Science|Business
+322-304-7577 or +32-496-520305
[email protected]
Huawei is helping build an open ICT ecosystem in Europe, creating value together with European partners. Partnerships with academia and universities across Europe are a vital part of this effort. The company has built a large network of European R&D facilities and is actively involved in many of the clusters presented in the report.
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