Tech Days Catch-Up

TechDays are a series of events designed by THE NEXT SOCIETY to bring about collaborations among MENA innovators and with their EU peers, with clusters playing a key role in the value chain. Clusters, SMEs, start-ups, researchers and industry experts from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Europe are invited to a series of 3 events to discuss common visions and explore potential partnerships: Meet Up (29 & 30 June), Catch Up (8 September) and Match Up (12 & 13 October 2021).

The objectives of the #TechDays are:

• to promote cluster and network cooperation and explore common visions among MENA countries and with Europe;
• to initiate discussions that would ultimately result in Letters of Interest, Memorandum of Understanding, and other types of partnership agreements;
• highlight innovations from MENA countries and illustrate the importance to develop suitable solutions to the distinctive features of these markets;
• initiate a co-creative process for solutions by bringing out ideas of pilot projects associating researchers, companies, industry experts and clusters.

This online event is organized by AWEX with the support of ANIMA Investment Network, under the EU-Funded THE NEXT SOCIETY initiative.

Program

Welcome Speeches

• 09h00 - Mr. Eric DE CLERCQ, Director, Middle East & Africa, AWEX, Welcome speech and short presentation of AWEX
• 09h15 - Ms. Raphaële COHEN, EU and international project Officer, ANIMA Investment Network - Presentation of the Tech days
• 09h20 - Ms. Milena GVOZDEN, Attaché EU programs, AWEX, Presentation of the Agenda 
• 9h35 - Presentation of the MENA clusters/Participant introduction

Topic: Knowing your country / national ecosystem, a critical success factor - Presentation of the digital ecosystem in the Walloon Region

• 10h10 - Mr. André BLAVIER, Director of communication and digital ecosystems ADN (Walloon Digital Agency)
• 10h30 – Q/A Discussion and exchange of experience

Topic: Digital future of food and agriculture/ Digital transformation of the agro-food industry and its evolution towards I 4.0

• 10h50 - Mr. Jean-Philippe PARMENTIER, Directeur, INFOPOLE (Walloon cluster TIC)
• 11h10 - Q/A Discussion and exchange of experience
• 11h30 - Mr. Régis COLI, Manager Industry 4.0, Wagralim, (Walloon competitive cluster in Food industry)
• 11h50 - Q/A Discussion and exchange of experience

Topic: Towards the new caring – Digital Transformation of the E-health

• 12h10 - Mme Marianne GHYOOT, Director Research & Innovation, BioWin (the health competitiveness cluster of Wallonia)
• 12h30 - Q/A Discussion and exchange of experience

12h50 – 14h00 - Lunch Break   

Topic: Safeguard your business and reputation, be cyber-bulletproof

• 14h00 - Mr. Christophe PONSARD, Research-Innovation-Exploitation Coordinator, CETIC (Walloon Center of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology)
• 14h20 - Discussion and exchange of expertise

Topic: How a Wallonia Export & Investment Agency can support its Digital Economy ecosystem to growth

• 14h40 - Mr. Stéphan Ernst, Senior Digital Economy Specialist, AWEX (Wallonia Export & Investment Agency)
• 15h00 - Discussion and exchange of expertise   

15h20 – 16h00 - Closing of the event and inputs for further activities