TRANSUP

Technological startups in peripheral European territories, such as the area from the Alps to the Adriatic, usually turn to Western Europe or the United States, rather than to neighboring countries, to identify patterns of change and development. The TransUP project, approved in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Framework Program, addresses the challenge of making the Alpe Adria region an attractive hub for innovative entrepreneurs and investors, in which the ecosystem of actors and services dedicated to supporting the creation and the development of new companies is really collaborative and transnational.

By means of peer-review activities carried out at national and transnational level, the partner organizations of the TransUP project are involved in co-designing a transnational regional program of innovative Softlanding to enhance a multicultural and international attitude among startups as well as to attract talent in the reference area. The expected impact implies the diffusion of an international approach of startups in all aspects of corporate management with positive effects ranging from access to new markets up to the increase in competitiveness.

Particular attention will be paid to startups in the Alpe Adria area, but the recommendations developed and collected in a "Design Option Paper" (D.O.P.) will be valid for all sectors and geographical areas of the EU.

Partners

• Friuli Innovazione - Centro di Ricerca e di Trasferimento Tecnologico
• Inšttut za raziskovanje podjetništva (IRP) - Slovenia
• Technology Park Ljubljana (TP-LJ) - Slovenia
• Science and Technology park of the University of Rijeka (STEP RI) Croatia
• Carinthian Economic Promotion Fund (KWF) - Austria

Activities

Starting from the results of previous experiences of cooperation and exchanges between the innovation agencies of Friuli Venezia-Giulia, Carinthia and Slovenia, the Transup consortium will apply the method called "Twinning Advanced" in order to compare, evaluate and transfer good practices related to support services for startups in terms of internationalization and cross-fertilization in the multicultural field.
Furthermore, TransUP expects the so-called trilateral startup ecosystem (Italy, Austria, Slovenia) to be extended to Croatia, the youngest member of the EU among the three countries involved. With this in mind, STE PRI the Croatian partner will contribute with its own experiences and framework conditions, to the co-creation of better approaches for an even wider range of conditions.

• Creation of a Peer Learning group (PLG) composed of representatives of the interested parties and the actors of the involved territories
• Implementation of a benchmarking and peer-review activity on good transnational and local practices
• Development of a transnational softlanding program including a targeted pilot action
• Creation of a Design Option Paper (DOP), the project report which includes guidelines to make the Alpe Adria region an attractive hub for innovative entrepreneurs and investors.

Year 2016