The European Digital Innovation Hub “Trakia” (EDIH Trakia), coordinated by the Union for Private Economic Enterprise (UPEE), is organizing a series of information and consulting events in the security sector on November 28th and 29th at Sofia Tech Park, Laboratory Complex. The events are organized in the framework of the Cyber4AllSTAR project with the support of the European Commission’s Digital Europe Programme and the National Programme “Research, Innovation and Digitization for Smart Transformation” 2021-2027.
The European Digital Security Innovation Days programme will start on 28 November 2024 with an Investor Day event, open for startups to pitch in front of investors: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eccc-access-2-finance-in-sofia-tickets-1040596410877.
The event is organized jointly with the European Cybersecurity Centre of Competence (ECCC), in cooperation with the National Coordination Centre – Bulgaria (NCC Bulgaria) at MEU, and with the support of the Европейската организация по киберсигурност , Women4Cyber Foundation, the Ministry of e-Government of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Cybersecurity Association, UPEE, BAS, Plovdiv Municipality and other partners. It can be attended both on its own and in combination with other seminars and workshops for business and technology consulting for companies and institutions in the security sector.
In the afternoon of 28 November, a financial seminar is scheduled to present the opportunities for applying for access to funding for companies in the security sector under national and international programmes such as Digital Europe, Horizon Europe, NATO programmes in the field of technology and innovation.
The last consultancy event of the day is dedicated to the development of B2B (business-to-business) relationships in the cybersecurity sector and will be broadcast online – “Cybersecurity webinar”. A total of 12 such webinars are planned to be held by the end of the project, where Bulgarian innovator companies will present their innovative products and services to value chain partners and potential customers from home and abroad.
The second day of the EDIH conference is dedicated to opportunities for supporting innovation and digitalization. Important topics for the sector such as new developments in security education will also be covered, as well as current initiatives by organisations such as Women4Cyber, aiming to create new and diverse career opportunities and mentoring support.
The European Digital Security Innovation Days are planned to conclude with two consultancy events – a workshop on grant funding and attracting investment, as well as an “Innovation Demo Day”, again in a hybrid version with an online broadcast, where innovators will be able to present best practices to be developed and multiplied through application in new settings and with new partners.
Details about the speakers and partner organizations will be announced later. It is planned that, both during this series of consulting events in the “Security” sector and on the occasion of all upcoming “European Digital Innovation Days” in other priority sectors of the economy, representatives of the members of the innovation ecosystem of the “Trakia Hub,” as well as the hub’s partners from the international “EDIH network” of the European Commission, will be invited as speakers, panelists, and consultants. This network unites over 150 similar structures working to promote and implement new technologies among small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe and institutions at regional, national, and international levels.
Companies wishing to participate in the consultancy events should do so by filling in the registration form herein – https://dihtrakia.org/bg/reg. A single application for access to the consulting services of the Trakia Digital Innovation Hub enables the employees and management of the respective SMEs and institutions to participate in all events of the Hub until the end of December 2025.
This material was created with the financial support of the “Research, Innovation and Digitalization for Intelligent Transformation” 2021-2027 program, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund. Full responsibility for the content of the material lies with the Specific Beneficiary of the grant under Priority 1 “Sustainable Development of the Bulgarian Research and Innovation Ecosystem,” Priority Direction 4 “Synergy with the ‘Horizon Europe’ and ‘Digital Europe’ programs” of the “Research, Innovation and Digitalization for Intelligent Transformation” 2021-2027 program – Union for Private Economic Enterprise, and under no circumstances can it be considered that this material reflects the official position of the European Union.