First in person consortium meeting
The INCORE consortium had the first opportunity to meet in person to discuss the project progress, and the short to long term objectives. The host of the meeting was the partner Eduardo Leite – Universidade de Madeira (UMa), who organized the meeting and the venue at Colégio dos Jesuítas – Funchal, Madeira (Portugal). The three-day meeting was planned according to the following schedule:
• 9th November 2021: Welcome by UMa´s Dean and Vice Dean
• 10th November 2021: 8th INCORE Consortium Meeting
• 11th November 2021: 1st open INCORE regional event
On the first day of the meeting (09/11), the INCORE partners were welcomed by the dean and vice dean of Universidade da Madeira at the Rectory Meeting Room. After a brief introduction of the consortium, the Project Coordinator Nuno Almeida provided a short presentation about INCORE’s concept, background and objectives, emphasizing its positive impact in the entrepreneurship and innovation sectors in the EU Outermost Regions. The introduction of the project was well received by UMa’s dean and vice dean, who showed a strong support to the initiative.
The following day (10/11) was dedicated to the 8th plenary meeting – exclusive to the INCORE partners. Plenary meetings have been held biweekly, online, and this was the first chance to conduct it in person. The task leaders related to Work Package 2 – Setting the Stage – presented the work progress and the produced deliverables that mapped the following topics:
- Contextual analysis of the regional innovation environment
- Institutional capacities and information exchange
- Training and mentoring programmes to be developed in INCORE
- Action Plan and Roadmap to implementation – towards Phase II of the project.
The third and last day of meetings (11/11) was organized as an open event, dedicated to UMa staff and students. This was a hybrid event held in the Courtyard Room I at Colégio dos Jesuítas (Universidade da Madeira), as well as online. The opening session was conducted by the vice dean of UMa, followed by the Project Coordinator Nuno Almeida, who provided a presentation about the project. After that, the next session titled “Innovation Capacity Building in EU’s ORs” counted with two invited guest speakers from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) – who are now part of INCORE project – to provide insightful presentations on:
- Introduction to Entrepreneurial Dynamics and Social-Economic Impacts in ORs (Miguel Amaral)
- Requirements for Resilient Innovation Ecosystems in ORs (Oliver Schwabe)
The session was wrapped up with some questions from the audience, who demonstrated engagement and interest in deploying their entrepreneurial capacity in the Madeira Island. Our mentors already offered their support and follow up discussions with these students.
After intense meetings during these three days, the INCORE consortium reviewed the past and current progress of the tasks, and aligned the work plan for the upcoming months. In addition, it was an opportunity to develop team building activities, and strengthen the partnership within the project.
