Wolfsburg think tank receives support from the EU’s “Digital Europe” program.
The decision has been made: The European Commission has finally approved funding for the ASTRID Innovation Hub as a “European Digital Innovation Hub”. In its role as a European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH), the Wolfsburg-based think tank will in future have access to European project proposals and, as a contact point, will provide even more intensive support for the introduction of digital technologies, particularly for SMEs, startups and public administration in Wolfsburg and the region of northern Germany. In the coming weeks and months, around 20 European Digital Innovation Hubs (and around 130 throughout Europe) will begin their work in Germany.
On the way to establishing a digital innovation network in Northern Germany, Stadtwerke Wolfsburg AG, WOBCOM GmbH and FIWARE Foundation have reached another milestone with their successful participation in the national selection as a “European Digital Innovation Hub. Under the umbrella of the ASTRID iHUB, which was founded in 2021, regional and European partners will work together even more intensively in the future on solutions for current challenges in the digitization of the public sector.
The overarching goal of the northern German innovation network is to facilitate the development of new smart applications in the areas of Smart City, Industry 4.0, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and edge computing on an open-source basis. Specifically, this involves technologies based on the Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, 5G connectivity, smart mobility, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
As a new EDIH, it also aims to promote digital education and competence building for small and medium-sized enterprises, startups and public administration in northern Germany, as well as their access to financing for digitization projects. For this purpose, the numerous experts of the ASTRID iHUB provide a variety of digitization competencies, testing and experimentation spaces to enable the digital transformation of the economy and the public sector.
In the coming weeks, a large number of discussions will take place with regional and European representatives from administration, industry and science. The goal is to bundle the diverse competencies, experiences and technologies and to develop the first concrete project plans.
“Today the European Commission announced the formal recognition of ASTRID as European Digital Innovation Hub: this is also a very good news for the further development of the FIWARE iHUB Community.
Innovation hubs are going to be in cities the innovation focal point for industries and stakeholders of that Region. FIWARE FOUNDATION believes that transparency and openness, key pillars of ASTRID, are needed to create trust, but are also needed to create a dialogue. I congratulate the ASTRID iHUB and wish everyone involved full success.”Stefano De Panfilis, COO, FIWARE Foundation
“By providing our high-performance, digital infrastructure for the European partner network, we are bringing global innovations directly to Wolfsburg and the region of northern Germany. At the same time, we are promoting the development of digital structures in other regions in Europe as well.”
Anatoli Seliwanow, Head of Operations, WOBCOM GmbH
“Successful digitization is only possible in dialog with partners. We are delighted that our status as a European Digital Innovation Hub will now provide us with direct access to European experts as well as excellent infrastructure and services. This is another important step for us to develop concrete answers to current challenges of the digital transformation.”
Dalibor Dreznjak, Head of Corporate Development & Communications, Stadtwerke Wolfsburg AG
“We are happy that after the submission in February 2022, our application has now been approved and we will soon be able to start as a European Digital Innovation Hub. Collaboration and networking at the European level will create tangible added value for northern Germany – from services of general interest to more efficient processes in companies and sustainable improvements in living conditions in cities.”
Giovanni Coppa, coordinator of the ASTRID iHub
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