During the event INTERNATIONALISATION OF SMES IN THE AGE OF DIGITALISATION - JOINT EVENT OF THE PROJECT UPGRADESME AND THE PRIORITY AREA 8 OF THE EU STRATEGY OF THE DANUBE REGION, Danube S3 Cluster was presented by Mihajlo Nagy, representing the project partner EKO-SUSTAV (Croatia), as one of the international example for SME development.

The event, which took place in Stuttgart, Germany, on March 19th, was attended by four Danube S3 Cluster project partners. Two of them were involved in the organization (Steinbeis - Germany and PBN - Hungary), the other co-organizer being Priority Area 8 of the EUSDR, where also Thematic Pool 1: Innovative ecosystem for SMEs belongs (and Danube S3 Cluster project is part). The EKO-SUSTAV representative took part on the panel discussion Pitch and Panel showcase – where Danube S3 Cluster project was introduced as one of the international example for SME development. Also, one representative of Lead Partner of Danube S3 Cluster, South Muntenia Regional Development Agency (Romania), took part at the event, as project partner in UpGradeSME project.

SMEs, R&D Stakeholders and Public Authorities from 12 EU-countries widely discussed the internationalisation of SMEs in the age of digitalization. SMEs from 5 EU countries presented their success stories regards the internationalization and policy actors from 6 different EU countries tried to identify the best solutions regards supporting companies in their internationalization processes. 

The joint event of the UpGradeSME project, financed under INTERREG EUROPE  and the Area 8 of the EU Strategy of the Danube Region (EUSDR) aimed tackling classical and recent challenges and possibilities of internationalization processes. The event gave SMEs from Europe's core regions as well as from the Danube region the opportunity to exchange experiences on internationalisation strategies and address their challenges directly to the representatives from politics and administration present. The aim was to define reasonable actions for companies and discuss policy directions on how SMEs can perform business successfully and stay competitive in the course of digitalisation.