MED-QUAD

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MEDiterranean QUadruple helix Approach to Digitalisation

About the project

Innovation and technology are recognised as a major driver for competitiveness and for long-run endogenous economic growth. However, most of Mediterranean regions are characterised by a high prevalence of micro enterprises, with difficulties to acquire the necessary skills to innovate and grow. MED-QUAD will address this challenge through the cooperation among universities in 6 countries. The project aims to nurture the innovation potential of the regions, by building up a cross- border cooperation scheme of the Quadruple Innovation Helix. The main actors are the universities which will improve their capacity to be and act as “civic universities” in cooperation with the cities to which they belong as “anchor” Institutions together with the socio-economic stakeholders and the citizens. Two cross-border Living Labs will be established in the cities, where several pilot activities for technological transfer and commercialisation of research results will be implemented. They will exploit ICT technologies and Key Enabling Technologies for water use optimization, consumption and reduction (Smart Water Use Applications - SWUAP), as well as cultural heritage promotion and preservation (Applied Research for Cultural Heritage Exploitation - ARCHEO). The project will set up a toolkit for enhancing the institutional capacities of businesses, cities and universities of both shores of the Mediterranean to work together and reinforce their role as “catalysts” for fair and inclusive development.

Key information

Acronym:

MED-QUAD

Full title:

MEDiterranean QUadruple helix Approach to Digitalisation

Thematic objective:

A.2 Support to education, research, technological development and innovation

Priority:

A.2.1 Technological transfer and commercialisation of research results

Countries:

Greece, Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Tunisia

Financial data

3.2 million

Total budget

2.9 million

EU contribution

10%

Project co-financing

Highlights

Project in numbers

Partners

Countries

Technical outputs

Project duration

Start date

08 September 2020

End date

07 November 2023

Partnership

News

Events

Library

Deliverables

Documents

Videos

Objective

To create the conditions - through the establishment of Mediterranean Cross-border Living Labs - for an effective interaction between the main innovation players of the Quadruple Helix: Academia, Industry, Civil Society and Governments in the digital economy

What will be improved?

The involved countries share common specific needs and constraints, such as the high youth unemployment rate, the low participation of women in the workforce or low public investment in R&D. MED-QUAD will address these challenges by creating the right environment where universities, SMEs, and governments cooperate and promote together innovation of processes and products. The Quadruple Helix approach will be applied to the planned cross-border Living Labs focused on 2 crucial issues: Tourism and Water. Universities will establish Innovation Transfer Offices, and policy-makers will acquire competences for creating entrepreneurship ecosystems where new firms find the right support. In the short term, at least 5 cross border spin-offs and at least 5 existing SMEs will create new jobs for qualified young people.

Who will benefit?

Universities
Staff of city councils
SMEs and business associations
Regional and national authorities
Policy-makers
Entrepreneurs

Expected achievements

2 Living Labs established
8 joint projects between universities and SMEs launched
80 professionals benefiting from training on entrepreneurial skills
6 co-publications released
10 new innovative products/services commercialized

Contribution to policy-making

Measuring innovation is a major step towards evidence-based policy-making. It needs metrics that shows how innovation is, or could be, linked to policy and the country innovation ecosystem. MED-QUAD, by developing the Quadruple Helix approach, will provide policy-makers and public authorities with guidelines containing a roadmap for innovation listing the fundamental principles and indicators on which funds should be allocated. This is particularly important since some partner countries, despite having set up several policy initiatives in recent years targeted toward the entrepreneurship ecosystem, have obtained low scores in the pillar 12 of the Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI).

About the project

Acronym

MED-QUAD

Title

MEDiterranean QUadruple helix Approach to Digitalisation

Description

In the last years, several events are undermining the stability and social cohesion of the region. Political uncertainty and persistent economical crisis are increasing poverty and social exclusion in both MPCs and EUMCs. Innovation and technology are recognised as a major driver for competitiveness and for long-run endogenous economic growth. But the region is characterised by a high prevalence of micro enterprises that need to acquire the due skills and to get the right support by governments. MED-QUAD will be implemented by Public Bodies from Italy, Greece, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan and Palestine which depict the multifaceted features of the whole area. The core aim of the project is to nurture the innovation potential of the region, by building up a crossborder cooperation scheme of the Quadruple Helix. The main actors are the universities which will improve their capacity to be and act as “Civic Universities” in strict cooperation with the cities to which they belong as “anchor” Institutions together with the socio-economic stakeholders and the citizens, who all will learn how to contribute in local planning processes and in shaping the local economies. Two crossborder Living Labs, SWUAP and ARCHEO, will be organized IN the cities as the physical places where several pilot activities for technological transfer and commercialisation of research results will be planned and implemented. They will exploit ICT technologies and KETs for water use optimization/consumption reduction and cultural heritage promotion/preservation, key issues for the countries. Through these concrete cases, the project will set up a tool-kit for enhancing the institutional capacities of businesses, cities and universities of both shores to work together and reinforce their role as “catalysts” for fair and inclusive development. This methodology and a roadmap for innovation will be part of a jointly defined Action Plan that local and national authorities will be called to agree and subscribe.

Role

Name of the organisation

Country

Region

Contact

Lead beneficiary

EPIMORFOTIKI KILKIS Single Member Limited Liability Company

Greece

Kentriki Makedonia

Partner 1

INTERNATIONAL HELLENIC UNIVERSITY

Greece

Kentriki Makedonia

Partner 2

University of L'Aquila

Italy

Abruzzo

Partner 3

Arab Academy for Science & Technology

Egypt

Al Iskandanyah

Partner 4

Al-Balqa Applied University

Jordan

Al-Balga

Partner 5

Palestine Polytechnic University

Palestine

Partner 6

University of Sousse

Tunisia

Sousse

Associates

Role

Name of the organisation

Country

Associate 1

MUNICIPALITY OF KILKIS

Greece

Associate 2

Comune dell'Aquila / Municipality of L'Aquila

Italy

Associate 3

Housing and Building National Research Center - HBRC

Egypt

Associate 4

Hebron Municipality

Palestine

Associate 5

Millennium Energy Industries - MEI

Jordan

Associate 6

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, MHESR

Tunisia

Project news

01 December 2023

MED-QUAD in Tunisia contributes to revive archaeological pieces and promote water quality control

The University of Sousse paves the way for innovation, heritage preservation, and sustainable water management in the region.

Sustainable tourism

Technology transfer

Elderly care

Water efficiency

About the project

Key information

Financial data

Highlights

Project in numbers

Project duration

Partnership

News

Events

Library

Deliverables

Documents

Videos

Objective

What will be improved?

Who will benefit?

Expected achievements

Contribution to policy-making

About the project

Associates

MED-QUAD in Tunisia contributes to revive archaeological pieces and promote water quality control

Achieving Sustainable Development: Highlights from MED-QUAD project in Italy

Innovative results were achieved in Greece for water management and the promotion of cultural heritage under the MED-QUAD

MED-QUAD enhanced the use of IT for cultural heritage and better water use

Advancing water resource management and cultural heritage in Egypt: the experience of the MED-QUAD Project

MED-QUAD in Jordan fostered collaboration for water conservation and heritage preservation

MED-QUAD in Jordan hosted a conference and exhibition about innovation and cooperation

Boosting the vital role of Living Labs in technological transfer with MED-QUAD in Jordan

International Hellenic University and Epimorfotiki Kilkis sm LLC highlighted in Greece the MED-QUAD project's positive impact through a series of informati

Test your knowledge about MED-QUAD project through an online quiz!

MED-QUAD in Jordan enhances innovative tools to advance research in cultural heritag

MED-QUAD in Palestine participated at AgroTech workshop on how to enhance water quality with innovative tools

MED-QUAD in Jordan continues collaborations for enhanced water management in the industrial sector

MED-QUAD in Greece showcases its living labs and promotes the role of Mediterranean civic universities

MED-QUAD in Greece received a monitoring visit from the ENI CBC MED programme

MED-QUAD in Greece launches a tender to equip the cultural heritage exploitation living lab

MED-QUAD in Jordan organises the 2nd training for the City Development Groups

MED-QUAD in Egypt organises a training on City Development Groups

Training Seminar on City Development Groups & Water Management in Tunisia: Insights from the MED-QUAD Project

MED-QUAD in Palestine promotes City Development Groups

Building Sustainable Cities: MED-QUAD training to enhance the role of City Development Groups and foster digital development

MED-QUAD in Palestine organized field training to enhance skills applied to cultural heritage tourism

MED-QUAD´s cross border collaboration yields promising results in sustainable biomethane research

MED-QUAD: Educational and business executives from 6 Mediterranean countries collaborate to improve citizens' quality of life.

MED-QUADin Tunisia organises a 2-week training on the civic role of universities

MED-QUAD collaborates with a start-up company to exploit the results in the transfer of sustainable wastewater treatment to households

MED-QUAD in Greece impulses positive changes in highlighting cultural heritage

MED-QUAD in Jordan boosted the project in the exhibition of digital, physical games and applications

MED-QUAD in Greece organises a training to the staff of City Development Group

MED-QUAD in Jordan with PPI4MED plans to strengthen the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem

The MED-QUAD and RESTART MED projects join forces to improve sustainable tourism offer.

MED-QUAD in Greece utilizes modern equipment and an internet platform to analyze water quality.

MED-QUAD in Jordan presents its two living labs and the notion of civic university

MED-QUAD in Jordan is looking for technical staff to support the living lab for cultural heritage

MED-QUAD in Tunisia sets the Civic University’s role at the centre of the Mediterranean

MED-QUAD: the first test shooting digital imaging of a living lab for culture took place in Greece

MED-QUAD in Jordan identifies with 3 other projects a common objective of sustainable urban development

At the Thessaloniki International Fair, the Greek partners of MED-QUAD gave voice to their vision for the higher education.

MED-QUAD in Jordan is bidding to equip the Applied Research for Cultural Heritage Exploitation living lab

MED-QUAD: 1-week training for the members of the City Development Group of Kilkis Municipality

MED-QUAD in Greece installed equipment for the Smart Water Use Applications Living Lab’s scientific research.

Greece: the MED-QUAD project partners are designing the questionnaires on water consumption, quality, and savings research

MED-QUAD: a promising synergy is being built to create safer Mediterranean food products using technology

MED-QUAD increases career opportunities with joint business, research, and administrative training

MED-QUAD highlights the key role of civic universities for a productive collaboration between academia and citizens

MED-QUAD in Greece promotes universities-citizens cooperation in smart water use and cultural heritage exploitation

MED-QUAD in Greece is bidding to equip the Applied Research for Cultural Heritage Exploitation living lab

MED-QUAD in Jordan will set one living lab focused on Smart Water Use Applications

MED-QUAD meets in Greece to advance on the living labs on water and cultural heritage

MED-QUAD in Palestine launches a tender for the purchase of laboratory equipment

MED-QUAD in Tunisia launches a tender for equipment and software

MED-QUAD in Tunisia launches a tender for the purchase of laboratory equipment for Smart Water Use Applications living lab

MED-QUAD in Tunisia launches a tender for a 3D printer

MED-QUAD in Jordan boosts the applied research for cultural heritage exploitation to the researchers and postgraduate students

MED-QUAD in Egypt launches a new tender for equipment

MED-QUAD in Egypt launches a tender for the purchase of computers

The associated partners of MED-QUAD project enhances transnational cooperation in the Mediterranean. Learn how vital their role is!