32nd IQ-Net Conference (Tampere) discusses Cohesion Policy and 'Smart Specialisation'

The conference opened with a welcome and introduction from the hosts, given by Jukka Alasentie, Director, Regional Development of the Council of Tampere Region. The main focus of the conference was on IQ-Net partners' views regarding the proposed 'smart specialisation' requirement under Cohesion policy. Discussions were supported by a research paper prepared by David Charles, Frederike Gross and John Bachtler of EPRC. Ruslan Rakhmatullin of the Smart Specialisation Platform provided an overview of current thinking and preparatory works underway on the theme of RIS3. Discussions also covered current programme implementation issues, with a focus on the future, specifically the European Commission's proposals for the new Structural Funds regulations, supported by presentations by Stefan Kah of EPRC. Frederike Gross, IQ-Net Network Manager, provided an overview of future network developments. During the conference, partners viewed several projects which have benefited from European funding: the 'New Factory', an innovation and business incubation centre; the development and investment project Opienempi (http://opienempi.projects.tamk.fi/) at the Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK); and the institut BioMediTech (http://www.biomeditech.fi/home.php), a joint initiative of Tampere University of Technology (TUT) and the University of Tampere (UTA).