DIHs aim to support companies (small or large, (non-)high-tech) to seize digital opportunities. DIHs help companies to compete in business or production processes, products or services through digital technologies or services. DIHs also provide access to technical and professional knowledge and access to experimentation in specific fields.
This year's gathering was attended by representatives of DIH UM (University of Maribor), DIH healthday.si, the Government Office for Digital Transformation, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS), the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, DIH AGRIFOOD, Technology Park Ljubljana, the Jožef Stefan Institute, TCS - Institute - Centre of the Slovenian Tool Cluster Celje, Development Centre Novo mesto, and the private, non-profit institution Circular change.
The expert part of the meeting, which took place in the Walnut Grove in Ljubljana, focused on the opportunities offered by the green transition for DIHs and other stakeholders. In this context, it is crucial to identify opportunities to reinterpret existing projects in the light of the green transition, to build value chains and cooperation by linking complementary areas, and in the longer term to introduce consortium-based implementation of the set objectives.
As digitalisation and the green transition are directly linked, the objectives for the future of DIHs could include strengthening communication activities to raise awareness among businesses of the benefits and opportunities of a simultaneous dual transition, and promoting DIHs as a single entry point for the digital and green transition. In this context, a thorough rethinking of the specialisation of DIHs is reasonable in order to avoid too broad a scope of activities, while at the same time clearly defining the fields of action of the different stakeholders and clearly setting objectives.
Participants agreed that a systematic and smooth transition to single entry points for the digital and green transition also requires some changes: from systemic, non-project-based funding of DIHs to the consolidation of the EDIHs that have just been set up, as well as regular international cooperation between them for a continuous exchange of experience, good practices and successful programmes.
The participants were unanimous that the future is digital and green, and collaboration is key!
Let's go digital!
