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La Palma Research Centre

LPRC joins the INCORE meeting in La Reunion

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The INCORE partners met in the Island of La Reunión (France) on the 21-23 November 2022. LPRC was present there contributing to the representativenes of the Canary Islands as an Outermost Region – which is one of the company’s main missions.

The first day of events happened on 21 November 2022, hosted by the partner École Supérieure d’Ingénieurs Réunion Océan Indien – ESIROI (Université de La Réunion). In this opportunity, external stakeholders from the island attended the open event to deliver high level presentations. In addition, the event counted with contributions from members of the Regional Council, companies, and representatives of local research & innovation initiatives. A roundtable discussion on the INCORE project, Innovation and Entrepeurship completed the day.

The second day of meetings was dedicated to consortium’s discussions. Here, the Work Package leaders presented the progress and future tasks of their work, followed by feedback and discussions on how to align the work plan for the upcoming months, including the following topics:

  • Coordination activities
  • Training programmes for young entrepreneurs and start-ups
  • Development of new modalities for HEI-SME cooperation
  • Development of joint and individual actions for transformational change
  • Communication and dissemination management (lead by LPRC)

The final day started with Rosanna West, who conducted EIT HEI Initiative workshop and ecosystem, from which recommendations were collected. The next section was led by Dr. Oliver Schwabe, the leader of the Call for Start-ups and SMEs to receive high level mentoring from INCORE expertise.

Follow the INCORE project news on the website and social media channels for more information on how the project is changing Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Outermost Regions!

INCORE

LPRC was in the Madeira Island for the first in person INCORE meeting

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After a few months of online collaboration, the INCORE consortium had the first opportunity to meet in person to discuss the project progress in the Madeira Island between 9 and 11 November 2021. LPRC members Luís Lopes and Márcio Tameirão were in this Outermost Region island not only to help define next activities and steps but also to bring coordination to the communication and dissemination efforts of the project.

The three-day meeting was planned according to the following schedule:

  1. 9th November 2021: Welcome by Univerirsity of Madeira´s Dean and Vice Dean: brief introduction of the consortium, short presentation about INCORE’s concept, background and objectives, emphasizing its positive impact in the entrepreneurship and innovation sectors in the EU Outermost Regions. The introduction of the project was well received by UMa’s dean and vice dean, who showed a strong support to the initiative.
  2. 10th November 2021: 8th INCORE Consortium Meeting: The task leaders related to Work Package 2 – Setting the Stage – presented the work progress and the produced deliverables that mapped topics on Contextual analysis of the regional innovation environment, Institutional capacities and information exchange, Training and mentoring programmes to be developed in INCORE and the Action Plan and Roadmap to implementation.
  3. 11th November 2021: 1st open INCORE regional event: a hybrid event held in Universidade da Madeira, as well as online. The opening session was conducted by the vice dean of UMa, followed by the Project Coordinator Nuno Almeida, who provided a presentation about the project. After that, the next session titled “Innovation Capacity Building in EU’s Outermost Regions” counted with two invited guest speakers:
    • Introduction to Entrepreneurial Dynamics and Social-Economic Impacts in ORs (Miguel Amaral)
    • Requirements for Resilient Innovation Ecosystems in ORs (Oliver Schwabe)

After intense meetings during these three days, the INCORE consortium reviewed the past and current progress of the tasks, and aligned the work plan for the upcoming months. In addition, it was an opportunity to develop team building activities, and strengthen the partnership within the project.

Follow the project on the website and social media!

INCORE 2nd project meeting

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Following the first official Kick-off meeting, the INCORE team held another meeting on the 8th of September to discuss and analyse the project implementation, with EIT InnoEnergy, the entity responsible for the funding.

In this occasion, the agenda focused on three main points: 1) administrative and financial reporting of the partners’ activities (WP1 – Project Management), 2) on how to implement the tasks of WP2 – Setting the stage, in order to meet the proposed KPIs which include training and mentoring of students, staff and non-staff members of the targeted Outermost Regions, and 3) the communication and outreach measures to boost the project impact.

LPRC presented its ideas for the implementation of the communication activities. These included the creation and set up of the website, social media channels, logo and templates for the project and will be followed with the creation of the Communication and Dissemination Plan and all the outreach materials.

The INCORE team during the 2nd meeting.

Follow the project website and Social Media channels (@incore_eu) to learn more on how we are connecting the Outermost Regions to support Innovation and Entrepreneurship!

INCORE Project Kick-off

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The most recent collaborative project in LPRC’s portfolio – INCORE – held its Kick-off meeting online on the 17th of August, to start discussions on the implementation pathways for the project. INCORE is one of the 23 projects selected under the recent Cross-KIC call for Higher Education Institutions Innovation and Entrepreneurship development. The project aims to boost innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in higher education institutions in Europe’s Outermost Regions by seizing region-specific contextual and business opportunities.

The project represents a collaborative approach between four regions – Madeira and Azores (Portugal), Canary Islands (Spain) and La Reunion (France) – involving different actors from the Knowledge Triangle including education, research and industry partners (such as LPRC). The project is, however, driven by the HEIs from Madeira, Canarias and La Reunion, and these are supported by IST (Lisbon). The partnership includes:

  • Instituto Superior Técnico (HEI, Portugal)
  • Université de La Reunion (HEI, France)
  • Universidade da Madeira (HEI, Portugal)
  • Universidad Europea de Canárias (HEI, Spain)
  • Universidade da Madeira (HEI, Portugal)
  • La Palma Research Centre (SME/Research, Spain)
  • Trisolaris Advanced Technologies (SME, Portugal)

INCORE is divided in 4 WPs – Project Management, Setting the Stage, Action, Communication, Dissemination and Outreach. LPRC is leading the communication efforts, but also support the implementation of the work within the other WPs. The agenda of the Kick-off meeting included presentations and discussions on all of the future actions. From LPRC, Márcio Tameirão presented the vision for WP4 outreach activities.

Check the project website and Social Media channels (@incore_eu) to learn more about the project!

La Palma Research Centre to take part in a new EIT-funded project for boosting entrepreneurship in Europe

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We are happy to announce that LPRC will be taking part in a new project called INCORE. The project aims to boost innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in higher education institutions in Europe’s Outermost Regions by seizing region-specific contextual and business opportunities.

The project will receive funding from the EIT’s HEI Initiative: Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education. This new initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) aims to boost the entrepreneurial and innovation capacity of higher education institutions (HEIs). The involvement of non-HEIs like LPRC is an important part of the initiative, because it allows the higher education sector to better integrate and engage with innovation ecosystems.

As part of this project, we will be working together with the following partners:

  • Instituto Superior Técnico – project lead
  • University of Madeira
  • University of Reunion Island
  • Universidad Europea de Canarias
  • Trisolaris Advanced Technologies

Under the EIT’s HEI Initiative, the project will receive funding of € 1,2 Million and will run until December 2021, with the possibility of getting extended for 18 more months.

Stay tuned for more information about this project in the coming months!

ABOUT THE EIT’S HEI INITIATIVE

The EIT’s HEI Initiative is a key objective for the EIT as part of its new strategy, the EIT Strategic Innovation Agenda 2021−2027. The initiative aims to support higher education institutions (HEIs) with expertise and coaching, access to the EIT innovation ecosystem, and funding, enabling them to develop innovation action plans complementing the needs of individual higher education institutions. As part of its Pilot Phase, the initiative has provided funding to 23 projects, with the next call for proposals expected towards the end of 2021.

ABOUT THE EIT

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) strengthens Europe’s ability to innovate by powering solutions to pressing global challenges and by nurturing entrepreneurial talent to create sustainable growth and skilled jobs in Europe. The EIT is an EU body and an integral part of Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. The Institute supports dynamic pan-European partnerships, EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities, among leading companies, research labs and universities.

FUTOR project kick-off

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FUTOR – Fostering Futures Thinking in Europe’s Outermost Regions with the help of Digital Art – is the most recent project awarded to La Palma Research Centre, which is the project coordinator. This ERASMUS+ project is an initiative aimed at adolescent learners from the Outermost Regions of the European Union, in a very unique initiative.

The FUTOR project, which started in May this year, is already implementing its actions and tasks. The main goals of the project are to:

  • Empower students and young people with systemic futures thinking skills through international collaboration in a ‘climate’ supportive of individual creativity, critical thinking skills and digital literacies.
  • Educate students and young people about local and global environmental challenges using the DPSIR (Drivers, Pressures, States, Impacts & Responses) framework while encouraging individual and collective responsibility in mitigating the aforementioned challenges.
  • Empower teachers with new pedagogical methods and tools that contribute to their lifelong learning repertoire while potentially enhancing their awareness of ‘adolescent matters’ and new ways to engage their students within their teaching practice.
  • Contribute to raising a generation that is ready and willing to make sacrifices to improve the state of the natural environment.
  • Raise awareness of fundamental skills that are often overlooked in today’s formal, STEM-inclined education, such as creativity, collaboration and systems thinking.
  • Create a durable and shareable positive example for other educational organizations in the European Union and beyond.

La Palma Research Centre, which represents the Canary Islands (Spain) is joined in FUTOR by Ajiter from Azores (Portugal) and Ici & Ailleurs from La Reunion (France). The project has a duration of 2 years. Learn more on our dedicated page for the project.