BioRegio STERN Management is a partner in the new EU development project S3martMed, which launched at the start of October 2018 and will run for two years. A total of five cluster regions from France (Lyonbiopole, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), Belgium (Biowin, Wallonia), Poland (GAPR-Medsilesia, Upper Silesia), Italy (BioPmed, Piemont) and Germany (BioRegio STERN, Baden-Württemberg) are collaborating to encourage investment in the medtech sector.

The five cluster partners in the new S3martMed project are active members of the S3 Smart Specialisation Platform, set up by the European Commission to identify regional strengths in various sectors – such as medical technology – and foster cooperation between different European regions. S3martMed aims to initiate partnerships between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and technology centres so as to promote sustainable growth and targeted investments.

The project offers webinars and brokerage events, for example, as a way of enabling SMEs, technology centres and cluster partners to make new network contacts and set up collaborations. To manage the project-related activities more effectively, two advisory groups are to be formed. One group – consisting of members of the regional authorities (Working Group of Regional Authorities, WGRA) – will be providing support for the five cluster partners in setting out a strategic roadmap, including at the political level. The second group (Investment Advisory Group) will identify potential financing and funding options for collaborations within the S3martMed project.

“As soon as interregional collaborations have been initiated in S3martMed, they are to be supported as they develop and grow. We’re therefore working with regional authorities to establish investment and financing scenarios,” explains project manager Dr. Margot Jehle from BioRegio STERN Management GmbH.

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The content of this part of the S3martMed project, represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.