Driving Innovation: The Role of Living Labs in Supporting SMEs through Test-Before-Invest Strategies
TIME
14:00 – 15:15
TRACKS
TRACK 4: Living Labs for Business and Emerging Technology
ORGANISER
Chris Moscardi and Marta Martorell (i2Cat)
Target Audience
Companies and entrepreneurs;Living Lab representatives and practitioners ;
Type of Session
Topic Debate
DESCRIPTION
Multi-stakeholder Living Labs are central to the test-before-invest strategy, providing innovators with controlled environments to develop and refine their products and services, reduce risks and create new value chains within traditional business sectors. This session will present real-life examples from Catalonia that illustrate how Living Labs support SMEs and drive systemic change. We’ll explore the synergies between digital innovation centres, industrial clusters and Living Labs, highlighting their collaborative benefits for SMEs.
We’ll also emphasise the importance of citizen-centred knowledge valorisation within this framework to ensure that solutions meet real needs and gain societal acceptance. The session will also discuss the role of testbeds, sandboxes and Living Labs as regulatory learning tools, fostering innovation while ensuring compliance.
We’ll share experiences from previous initiatives and working groups to take forward the concepts discussed. In summary, collaboration between digital innovation hubs, clusters and Living Labs drives innovation, supports SMEs in the digital age and connects them to key funding opportunities.
Agenda
- 14:00 – 14:15 Welcome – Fernando Vilariño & Marta Martorell
- 14:15 – 14:30 Clusters and Living Labs: a natural match – Maria Alacid
- 14:30 – 14:45 Presentation of Industrial Living Labs Experiences and Best practices – Max Petrov & Maria Alacid
- 14:45 – 15:00 European Digital Innovation Hubs and TEFs, new scenarios for Living Lab development, sectoral transformation and funding opportunities – Teodor Pop & Alexandru Roja
- 15:00 – 15:10 Q&A
- 15:10 – 15:15 Conclusion
SPEAKER BIOS
Marta Martorell Camps
Director of the Digital Social Technologies Research Area, i2CAT Foundation
Marta Martorell Camps
Director of the Digital Social Technologies Research Area, i2CAT FoundationMarta Martorell Camps is a leading figure in participatory process innovation at local, regional and national levels. She is the director of the Digital Social Technologies Research Area of the i2CAT Foundation, which works on research lines such as the impact of digital technologies on society, the implementation of facilitation techniques and methodologies for the adoption of new technologies in line with healthy lifestyles and cultural values, or the design and implementation of innovation policies and strategies for social and digital transformation.
Max Ros Petrov
Lecturer and Researcher,CETT-UB; Coordinator, Alimara Living Lab Project
Max Ros Petrov
Lecturer and Researcher,CETT-UB; Coordinator, Alimara Living Lab ProjectLecturer and Researcher at CETT-UB Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality & Gastronomy. He has a hospitality management professional background and entrepreneurship across Europe. Currently, he is the Alimara Living Lab Project Coordinator.
Alexandru Roja
Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation, Transilvania IT Cluster
Alexandru Roja
Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation, Transilvania IT ClusterAlexandru has been active for over twenty years in the academic and research environment, specializing in the field of strategic management, innovation management, digital organizations and entrepreneurship. Alexandru has contributed to the development of innovation ecosystems by implementing innovation projects in companies and universities and developing capacities and competencies for innovation and strategic competitiveness and digital transformation. Currently, Alexandru is the Head of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Transilvania IT Cluster, being also involved in the activities of the Transilvania Living Lab in Cluj - Napoca, Romania.
Teodor Pop
Director of Information Technology - Polytechnical University of Timisoara
Teodor Pop
Director of Information Technology - Polytechnical University of TimisoaraWith more than 20 years of experience in IT&C domain, in the area of advanced technical consulting, as well as business strategy and executive management, Teodor is an IT entrepreneur and Director of Information Technology at the Polytechnical University of Timisoara, and also coordinates the activities inside DIGIVEST consortium, as part of the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH).
Fernando Vilariño
Associate Director at Computer Vision Centre and Associate Professor at UAB. Co-Funder of the Library Living Lab.
Fernando Vilariño
Associate Director at Computer Vision Centre and Associate Professor at UAB. Co-Funder of the Library Living Lab.Fernando Vilariño is Associate Director at the Computer Vision Center and Associate Professor at the Department of Computer Science UAB in Barcelona, Spain, where he gives lectures about Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Multimedia Systems. His research has been linked to different areas of Computer Vision, and Artificial Intelligence with especial attention to Medical Imaging, fieldwork in which he has developed different projects together with paramount hospitals and companies. His work is published in the main Journals and Conferences of the area and he has also contributed to a number of patents in the field. In addition, during the last years, he has participated in the design of different initiatives, both at local and international level, with the aim of developing novel paradigms of digital social innovation.
