In October 5th, the European Clusters Alliance celebrated its General Assembly, during which the election of the Board took place.
Antonio Novo, President of the Spanish Federation of Clusters and Managing Director of the Aragonese cluster IDiA, renews his leadership by being re-elected President of the European Clusters Alliance (ECA), while Kristina Sermuksnyte-Alesiuniene (AgriFood Lithuania) was appointed Vice-president.
We are thrilled to announce that Montse Daban, current President at the Council of European BioRegions and Director of Science Policy and Internationalisation at Biocat, joins ECA as a new Board member, who will be the ECA representative in the “Friends of the EEN” group to strengthen the relation between the European Clusters Alliance and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).
“It is personally an honor to have been elected member of the Board of Directors of the European Clusters Alliance (ECA). I think it’s an excellent opportunity for the Council of European BioRegions, and I’d like to think that for ECA is an opportunity as well.
The links between CEBR and ECA come from some years ago. Let’s recall that during the pandemics the ECA, the CEBR and the ECCP were supporting the European Commission in subjects like recovery of the supply chains or contributing to accelerate the development of new and repurposed medicines. Connecting, mobilising, engaging the members of our respective organisations proved as an effective way to realize the clusters’ capacities of resilience and quick adaptation to new realities.
CEBR itself, as member of the European Clusters Alliance, has been actively strengthening the connections and bonds between both organisations, jointly representing almost 1000 European clusters and innovation ecosystems, and promoting their presence across EU.
Among the firsts tasks assumed on behalf of the board, I joined the recently created group “Friends of the EEN”, aiming to strengthen the relation between the ECA and the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and to create synergies with other organisations supporting SMEs.
This is one of the several opportunities that might unfold for CEBR, as ECA has a strong presence in different EU fora where industrial and regional policies are discussed. Opportunities unfold in both directions, as CEBR represents ECA in the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), very much in line with our shared commitment to contributing to Europe’s preparedness and resilience. And also CEBR might connect ECA more directly with the health Innovation ecosystems across Europe. At the beginning of the mandate of the current CEBR board, last May in Stuttgart, we aimed at having more influence and impact, both towards our members and our ecosystems, and to the European institutions and discussion tables. I wish that being elected as member of ECA’s board will contribute to it“, points Montse Daban.
