Research in Central and Eastern Europe: networks for automotive Innovation

Through their universities, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are positioning themselves in the new value-added chains of global automobile production. The educational network CEEPUS, which includes 15 countries in the region, is seeking intensive communication with the international automotive industry for ambitious research and development projects at universities. In the automotive trade fair "Automotive Hungary" from 17 to 18 October 2018, edubiz will be presenting the CEEPUS initiative "AutoAuto" and selected projects on the future of mobility.

Central and Eastern Europe has become a hub for the global automotive industry. Only in the four countries of Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, German manufacturers produced almost 1.7 million vehicles in 2017 – almost 17 percent of total German production abroad. The countries of the region want to reposition themselves to the changes in the value chains, which are emerging with electric mobility, the networking of vehicles and autonomous driving, to avoid a role as an "extended workbench". "Hungary wants to be an innovation hub for the automotive industry. For this we have all the skills in the country, "says Prof. László Palkovics, Hungary’s Minister of Innovation and Technology. Palkovics opens an international keynote conference on October 17, 2018 at the country’s most important automotive trade fair, Automotive Hungary. Representatives of OEMs, suppliers and research will talk about "Innovation – the driving force behind the automotive industry".

In Budapest, therefore, the educational network CEEPUS seeks dialogue with the international automotive industry. It has also invited the universities, which are working on research projects on the future of the vehicle and mobility throughout the region, to Budapest to attend the conference and take advantage of networking opportunities with industry. "We want the impulses coming from research and teaching in the region to reach the industrial companies very quickly," says Elisabeth Sorantin, CEEPUS’ secretary-general. The dialogue format edubiz, which took place in Budapest for the first time in 2017, aims to stimulate the exchange and networking between the education sector and companies.

AutoAuto: a research network for autonomous driving

Already on October 16, 2018, a transnational coordination meeting of the CEEPUS network "AutoAuto" will take place in Budapest. Its focus is in the field of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. "We expect an expanded potential for innovation through closer and cross-border coordinated cooperation of the various subprojects", Elisabeth Sorantin describes the initiative.

AutoAuto’s partners currently include the coordinating University of Maribor, Graz University of Technology, Budapest BME, ELTE, the University of Montenegro, universities in Gliwice, Poznan and Krakow, as well as Novi Sad, Lubljana and Zagreb. The coordination of research projects should also accelerate the transfer of knowledge into teaching and in the respective "ecosystems" of the industry. All partners of the network already cultivate intensive cooperation with each other and are involved in European research and funding projects. CEEPUS also wants to support the academic and personal exchange between the individual universities.

edubiz: Dialogue between education sector and companies

The implementation of the conference and matchmaking format edubiz in Budapest is a joint initiative of CEEPUS and the Stuttgart-based media company local global. In Germany, local global has organized edubiz events in Stuttgart and Karlsruhe since 2010. Themes were each time the resources that the education sector can provide for the international growth of companies. For 2019, partners are planning an edubiz premiere at the world’s leading trade fair for production technology, the Hannover Messe.

Automotive Hungary is a trade fair of Hungexpo in Budapest with over 200 exhibitors from 10 countries and around 10,000 trade visitors. One highlight of the trade fair is "Automotive – Techtogether" – a technical "hackathon" in which students will develop projects during the three fair’s days and present them to a specialist’s jury.

Kontakt:

Giada Bressan
local global GmbH
+49 711 22 55 88-30
giada.bressan@localglobal.com 
www.edubiz.de 
www.localglobal.com