EIT Manufacturing East GmbH

EIT Manufacturing East is a regional division of EIT Manufacturing, a public-private partnership co-funded by the European Union and established in 2019. It is one of nine Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). EIT Manufacturing East is active in seven countries in Central and Eastern Europe: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Working closely with EIT Manufacturing partners, network and local ecosystems, EIT Manufacturing brings together leading players from industry, academia and research from across Europe to drive innovation and build a bridge to manufacturing innovation in Central and Eastern Europe.

About EIT Manufacturing East

EIT Manufacturing East is the lead partner of the 2C FIMH project. The 2C FIMH project aims to develop recommendations for a transnational innovation strategy for the manufacturing sector and at the same time create the basis for an innovation hub in Vienna and Bratislava. Over the next two years, the project will drive pilot activities with a focus on incubation, education and collaboration and promote cross-border cooperation between policy makers, universities, companies and the start-up & maker community.

Why are we taking part?

“As project coordinator of the Twin City Hub project we promote cross-border innovation and networking in the Twin City region. Together we develop one future-oriented innovation strategy and strengthen cooperation between industry, science, start-ups and civil society civil society.” – Markus Kleinfercher, Senior Project Manager

EIT Manufacturing East @ Twin City Hub

Goals:

Development of a handbook with recommendations for a cross-border innovation strategy.

Conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to formalize the political commitment.

Establishment and operation of the TwinCity Hub in Vienna and Bratislava to ensure sustainability.

Organization of joint strategic missions for benchmarking with leading innovation regions.

Improving cross-border knowledge transfer through expert groups, workshops and fact-finding visits.

Core activities:

Workshops and expert groups: Exchange of knowledge and development of strategy recommendations.

Innovation handbook: consolidation of the results from pilot activities and expert group discussions.

Political commitment (MoU): Coordination of the most important interest groups for long-term innovation cooperation.

Future incubation and personnel development: support for start-ups and promotion of educational innovations.

Cooperation between industry and manufacturers: Strengthening cooperation between companies, start-ups and research institutions.

Strategic missions: Visit leading European innovation centers to derive best practices.

Expected results:

A structured cross-border innovation strategy for the manufacturing industry.

A sustainable operating model for the 2C FIMH.

A political framework that supports long-term cooperation.

Increased innovation capacity through knowledge exchange activities and pilot programs.

Tasks in the project

Led by EIT Manufacturing East, work package 5 aims to develop and institutionalize participatory formats for stakeholder collaboration, feedback loops and strategic exchange in the Twin City region (Vienna-Bratislava). This work package focuses on creating a participatory model and an expert-driven community structure that ensures long-term engagement and cross-border cooperation on topics such as smart specialization strategies (S3), circular economy, data exchange and future skills.

Most important goals:

Establishment of a participatory model for all partners, supported by expert groups.
Design and implementation of interactive workshop formats and digital feedback systems.
Promotion of continuous strategic reflection through thematic expert groups.

Most important activities:

Analyze best practices and identify effective formats for innovation exchange.
Development and implementation of cross-border workshops, matchmaking and strategy meetings.
Organization of recurring focus groups and expert meetings in Austria and Slovakia.
Integration of the results and feedback into a central handbook and project manual through surveys and co-creation processes.
This work package serves as a foundation for building a resilient, innovation-driven community beyond the project duration by integrating stakeholder feedback into continuous learning and strategic action.