Participation of NCC-Bulgaria in the Seminar “Establishing Business Relations Between SMEs and Academia,” Organized by EuroCC2, November 7, 2024

Participation of NCC-Bulgaria in the Seminar “Establishing Business Relations Between SMEs and Academia,” Organized by EuroCC2, November 7, 2024

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During the seminar “Establishing Business Relations Between SMEs and Academia,” held on November 7, 2024, three National Competence Centers (NCCs) — Bulgaria, Norway, and Montenegro — delivered presentations on fostering business relationships between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and academic institutions. The goal of the seminar was to share the experiences and achievements of the three participating centers with other NCCs and to spark a discussion on the challenges and benefits of such collaboration.

The presentation by NCC-Bulgaria was delivered by Prof. E. Atanasov (IICT-BAS). It covered five key areas: (1) context regarding collaboration with industry; (2) challenges and benefits of such collaboration; (3) strategies for promoting cooperation; (4) implementation of training programs and (5) best practices from specific collaborations.

The cooperation between SMEs and academia is built on the foundation of Bulgaria’s advanced high-performance computing infrastructure and the expertise of specialists working in the established centers for excellence and competence in the ICT field. Another important factor is the growing number of start-ups and ICT development centers in Bulgaria created by major multinational companies.

However, establishing business relations between SMEs and academia presents several challenges, such as:

  • SMEs often lack substantial capital, making grant schemes an attractive option for support;
  • There is a significant gap between the knowledge acquired during university education and the skills and expertise required in the industry.

These issues can be addressed by focusing on specific sectors such as manufacturing logistics, regional structures, clusters, digital innovation hubs, and chambers of commerce. Identifying key topics of interest for collaboration and partnerships with scholars across disciplines, and leveraging their networks and research areas, also plays a critical role. Training was highlighted as a necessary step to overcome these challenges. Effective collaboration can result in promoting the services of NCCs to the market by supporting SMEs and academia in preparing their service proposals.

Prof. E. Atanasov emphasized the lessons learned by NCC-Bulgaria from its collaborations with SMEs and academia, primarily involving technical challenges and the lack of or limited experience in HPC/HPDA/AI domains.