The TECES: SYeNERGY event created a space for discussing technological and social trends, new business models, and related sustainability and human resources challenges.

The event was also intended to promote the SMART-watch project, which deals with the introduction and monitoring of smart specialization in the regions of Central Europe.

We will become more effective in rising to the challenges of the future by creating synergies between companies, educational institutions, the state, and other stakeholders. TECES’s main mission is to facilitate networking and to create long-term partnerships and synergies in the areas of energy-efficient solutions and energy consumption. Synergies can best be created by bringing together complementary partners from different industries, sectors and value chains; this makes the support provided through partnerships such as TECES and SRIP PSiDL ever more important.

Presentation of project SMART_watch results

The activities of the international project SMART_watch were focused on the review of the implementation and monitoring of the smart specialization strategy across Europe and the review of organizations dealing with the goals of achieving the smart specialization strategy by EU regions. The project also established a network of organizations across Europe that use their services to support the implementation of smart specialization strategies in their environments and through which we will strengthen further activities in support of S3 also within the new financial perspective 2021 to 2027. If you also come from similar organizations, would like to promote your activity as a subject of a supportive environment for the implementation of S3, or support for companies or research organizations, we invite you to become part of the network by enrolling in the database. By signing up, you will have access to verified international organizations that SMART_watch project partners have personally contacted and learned about their services. In case of interest, do not contact.

The TECES: SYeNERGY event aimed at bringing together members of TECES and SRIP Smart Building and Home including Wood Chain and other stakeholders, and promoting networking, as well as presenting excellent lectures and starting points for discussion.

TECES: SYeNERGY was held for the first time this year and will become a yearly event following the positive feedback from attendees.

A lot of the credit for the success of this event goes to its excellent speakers:

• Matija Petrin, member of the management board of BSH Hišni aparati d.o.o. from Nazarje. Matija talked about the need for BSH, as the leading provider of home appliances with over 61,000 employees, to transform into a provider of digital services for the buyers of their appliances, i.e. a Hardware+ company, by reorganizing the company, and changing both methods of working and products.

• Mateja Lavrič, managing director of KOLEKTOR Ventures, d.o.o., an electrical manufacturer from Idrija with over 5,000 employees. Mateja presented the company’s experience of introducing open innovation and new forms of partnering with stakeholders, from establishing its Venture Capital fund and opening the KOLEKTOR LABS industrial accelerator, to setting up KOLEKTOR DIGITAL to provide smart factory solutions, backed by the company’s know-how.

• Miha Bobič, vice-president of business development and the product portfolio at Danfoss district energy division, DANFOSS Trata, d.o.o., a member of the DANFOSS multinational company with over 22,000 employees. Miha spoke about the company’s digital transformation in the area of district heating, the strategy for answering the question of who will buy their solutions in the future, and the need to find the best services for their buyers. The transformation has led to expanding their existing portfolio of district heating components with a new range of tools and end-to-end solutions for optimizing district heating networks.

• Mojca Markizeti, the head of sustainable development at Iskraemeco, d.d., from Kranj, which provides smart metering solutions and services. Iskraemeco employs over 1,500 people and is owned by the Egyptian company Elsewedy Electric, which has over 12,000 employees. Mojca highlighted the challenges and risks for companies arising from climate change, and the urgent need to find solutions for reducing the CO² footprint in the company’s processes, supply chains and new business models.

• Marta Kelvišar, managing director of ADRIA DOM, d.o.o., who discussed the company’s challenges and activities in the area of people development with Aleš Ugovšek, the event's moderator.