26 June, 2018

The Hincks Centre for Entrepreneurship Excellence travelled to Nice along with other ecoRIS3 partners to hold their fifth Steering Committee meeting and study visit in the French city on the 26th and 27th of June 2018. An invitation to the ecoRIS3 project from Direction Europe Métropole Nice Côte d’Azur to Innovative City 2018 was viewed by lead partner Fomento San Sebastian as a great opportunity to look for the latest novel innovative ideas that could be applied to ecoRIS3 partners' regions. 

On Tuesday the 26th, the visit began with a meeting with Direction Europe Métropole. Sebastian Viano, Director of Europe and External Funding, Jérôme Sieurin, Direction Europe et Financements Extérieurs, and Camille Torrenti, Direction Europe et Financements Extérieurs, introduced to the group ‘What is Direction Europe Métropole?’ and how they work to develop a region into the European Silicon Valley. 

With thoughts of developing a European style “Silicon Valley” still on their minds, the partners participated in a very productive fifth Steering Committee meeting, which discussed the project communication strategy and the regional and composite SWOT analysis. 

The second day of the visit began with a visit to the Innovative City 2018 conference. The partners had an opportunity to learn from a best in class Smart City like Nice as to how technological change can be implemented in a sustainable manner in their regions. The showcase contained numerous stands and booths from companies and regions promoting many innovative products so attendees could network with different suppliers. Yesenia Otamendi, ecoRIS3 project co-ordinator from Fomento San Sebastián, was a speaker in one of the workshops which took place at the conference. She had the opportunity to describe what the ecoRIS3 project is, its objectives, goals and aims.

The consortium also had the opportunity to meet and learn from Jean François Carrasco and Frederic Bossard from La French Tech. Convinced by the necessity to promote the emergence of successful start-ups in France to generate economic value and jobs, the French Government created ‘La French Tech’ Initiative at the end of 2013. Its philosophy: build on member initiatives of the French Tech themselves, highlight what already exists, and create a snowball effect. It is a shared ambition, propelled by the State but carried and built with all the actors of the French tech company and start-up scene.