Third Cluster Booster Academy: Empowering Clusters Across Europe
We are excited to report on the successfully closed third Cluster Booster Academy (CBA) setting the stage for supporting another group of motivated European clusters! This edition of the CBA brought together a diverse group of cluster managers and cluster team members coming together from 17 European countries, each eager to explore innovative solutions and develop their clusters to new heights.
The virtual training sessions, held from January 24-26, 2024, kickstarted the CBA journey with enthusiastic and engaged participants. Thanks to several keynote speakers, such as Felicitas Behr from Cluster Electric Mobility South-West, Arild Kristensen from Norwegian Smart Care Cluster and our host Lyubomir Stanislavov from Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, we learned about internationalization strategies for clusters and how clusters can act as catalysts to solving existing challenges in difficult industries like healthcare and automotive. These learnings also inspired the participants to think outside the box and apply these best practices when developing their own action plans.
Following these insightful virtual days, we discussed in one-on-one coaching sessions the challenges that participants were facing, such as attracting new and sustaining existing members, developing impactful services, making new connections, and finding collaborations.
During the in-person sessions held in Sofia, Bulgaria on March 11-12, 2024, participants received a warm welcome from our host the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria and together engaged in discussions, refining their action plans and envisioning the future of their clusters. Specifically, we took a deep-dive into the major challenges of member engagement, delivering innovative services to cater towards member and industry demands, developing a financially sustainable future as a cluster as well as overcoming barriers to new collaborations outside of one’s own ecosystem. Following this, participants made new connections and shared best practices through dedicated matchmaking sessions.
As we closed the Third Cluster Booster Academy, participants left with new additional knowledge to drive progress within their clusters. The success of the CBA underscores its crucial role in empowering European clusters and fostering collaboration across diverse ecosystems.
Looking ahead, organizers are excited to announce the forthcoming open call for the fourth Cluster Booster Academy this summer 2024 building on the success of the previous editions. Stay tuned for more details soon as we continue to shape the future of cluster management together.
If you are curious to see the training material we worked with, feel free to download the documents below:
