The Future of Digital Innovation – Academia and Industry Collaboration Symposium

5 July 2026 3 min. read

Date: Wednesday, 02.10.2024

Location: Faculty for Computer Science and Engineering

Rudzer Boshkovikj 16, 1000 Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia

Register HERE by 27.09.2024

On behalf of all the DigitMak partners, we are pleased to invite you to our upcoming event, “The Future of Digital Innovation – Academia and Industry Collaboration Symposium”, on Wednesday – 02 October 2024, at 09:00 a.m.

Motivated by the nation’s need to boost digital readiness and capacity in businesses and public organizations, this event will bring together key players from academia and industry to explore the exciting potential of digital innovation and foster new partnerships.

Throughout the event, we will comprehensively introduce the Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) DigitMAK, including insights into its core goals and services to support digital transformation across various sectors.

We will go into essential topics such as the upcoming calls and corporate innovation initiatives, followed by an overview of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) programs designed to support innovation and growth. Additionally, we will discuss the various European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) opportunities available to foster collaboration and development and explore contributions from Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and UNICA, Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe.

The event will also cover significant advancements under the EuroCC² project, which aims to enhance Europe’s high-performance computing capabilities. A session focused on the essential aspects of Intellectual Property Rights will guide organizations in protecting their innovations.

After the main program, there will be opportunities for speed meetings focused on DIH services, including:

Innovation assessment
Education and training
Digitalization and digital services
Access to Finance

We look forward to your participation in this exciting initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry and drive forward the future of digital innovation.

Please RSVP by 27.09.2024 by filling in the form.

AGENDA-02.10.2024

Time	Topic	Speakers
9:00 – 9:30	Registration
9:30 – 9:45	Opening of the event	Stefan Andonovski MSc – Minister of Digital Transformation
9:45 – 10:00	DIH Introduction (founders, goal and service portfolio)	Prof .Petre Lameski- Vice Dean for Science and Cooperation at Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering – Skopje, DIH Coordinator
10:00 – 10:10	EIT Food call- Corporate innovation	Nikola Ognenovski- EIT Community RIS Hub in North Macedonia
10:10 – 10:40	EBRD programs	Maja Stolevska Kostadinova -EBRD
10:40 – 11:00	Coffee Break
11:00 – 12:00	Session 1 – EIT opportunities	Marta Kaczmarek – Director, Cross-KIC Strategic Regional Innovations, EIT Health Adam Strzelecki- EIT Food Piotr Pawelec – EIT Innoenergy Smart Learning Factory Nikola Ognenovski EIT Community RIS Hub in North Macedonia
12:00-12:10	Break
12:10 – 12:30	Session 2 – EEN	Prof. Viktor Stojmanovski -EENOMA
12:30 – 12:50	Session 3 – UNICA	Prof. Sorin Costreie, President of UNICA, Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe Prof. Luciano Saso, Secretary General
12:50 – 13:30	Coffee Break
13:30 – 14:30	Session 4 – EuroCC project	Prof. Boro Jakimovski, Dean at Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering – Skopje
14:30 – 15:00	Session 5 – Intellectual Property Rights	Dr. Adrian Bradley, Cleveland Scott York
15:00 – 17:00	Possibilities for speed meetings about DIH services: – Assessment – Education – Digitalization – Access to Finance Cocktail and networking

Digital Innovation Hub (DIH)-DigitMak

About DigitMak – Digital Innovation Hub

In response to the nation’s need to strengthen digital readiness and capacities in businesses and public organizations, the Innovation Center – DigitMak was established as a consortium of four partner institutions. Each brings unique service expertise to support digital end-to-end transformation, and essential infrastructure:

Ss Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje
Business Accelerator UKIM – BAU
Economic Chamber of North Macedonia
Foundation for Management and Industrial research -MIR

The consortium will implement a targeted strategy aimed at building capacities and delivering value-added services that align with the Digital Europe Program objectives. The focus will be on enhancing the digital transformation, sustainability, growth, productivity, and competitiveness of the private and public entities supported by DigitMak.

The DigitMak digital transformation centre will be involved in all stages of a company’s digital transformation, from digital gap analysis (diagnosis), to digital strategy development and implementation through: