Twelve partners from the Danube region provide support, business contacts, experience, entrepreneurship training, and premises to all innovators with promising ideas in the DA-SPACE project, Interreg Danube Transnational Programme.

DA-SPACE aims to improve entrepreneurial competences of young innovators while fostering the innovation capacities of SMEs in the environment of open innovation laboratories. Before the end of the year seven such laboratories were opened in seven Danube region countries to support local and international stakeholders, young talents, universities, SMEs, R&D facilities, and policy makers in the innovation process leading from an idea generation to the access to relevant investors and market.

The DA-SPACE open innovation laboratories promote cross-disciplinary and transnational cooperation among different stakeholders, generate new solutions and nurture entrepreneurial skills of all the actors involved. The seekers – public administration, universities, and companies - define a challenge that is addressed by the solvers - young talents. Through co-creation method, young talents develop new solutions and business ideas within the lab. The exchange among these actors within the DA-SPACE labs is profitable for all sides. Young talents have a chance to work on real business cases and are able to test and prototype their ideas in safe environment while acquiring entrepreneurial skills. The seekers test co-creation and open innovation methods and benefit from the collaboration with young innovators.

Following the call for expression of interest of young innovators, all project partners kicked off the operation of the open innovation labs. They offer modern space with cutting-edge equipment and co-creation environment. The young innovators work on their projects under the supervision of mentors, industrial experts and specialists in specific fields.

The results from the pilot phase will serve to define a transnational strategy to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in the Danube region that will be defined in specific regional action plans.

For more information about the local lab activities, please visit the DA-SPACE webpage.