Highlights of the Bulgarian National Cluster Conference 2019

Submitted by Alina Danieles… on 03 April 2019

More than 160 delegates from 12 countries gathered last week in Sofia for the National Cluster Conference, which took place in Sofia Tech park.

The 2-days conference has been co-organised by the Association of Business Clusters Bulgaria, BSMEPA (Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency) and ARK Consulting to Enterprise Europe Network-Bulgaria. The event was under the patronage of the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and part of the European Cluster Weeks 2018 - 2019.

Over 160 participants, representing national governments, regional development agencies, innovation actors, industry and academia, clusters and cluster associations from 12 European countries debated about the role of clusters, business achievements and social entrepreneurship, synergy of components and ecosystem unity, triggering “Innovations & Clusters to a Knowledge-Driven Economy”.

During the two days, in “John Atanasoff” forum were featured 28 presentations, spread across 20 sessions, welcoming more than 52 experience speakers. Within the various formats – from storytelling and open discussions, to educational modules and project presentations, in the rather were important issues, coming from the following industries:

  • Automotive
  • Bio-tech
  • Creative and re-creative industries
  • ICT
  • Life & Health

Special attention was given to successful cases, presenting projects like DANUBIOVALNET, FORESDA, ECOINN DANUBE and CLUSTERBRIDGE.  

In the frame of outlining future perspectives and opportunities, delegates learned about the startup organizations, Norwegian experience and the models of networking.

When talking about innovations, a special emphasis was given to” How can the management consultant bring you there”, in a session powered by Bulgarian Association of management Organisations, who were also official partner of the conference.

Cluster managers and practitioners had a chance to hear about tools and initiatives supporting international and inter-regional cluster collaboration, presented by Ms. Lucia Seel, an International Expert on Clusters.  In addition, Mr. Helmut Kergel, Director European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis ( ESCA), presented gave a detail overview on current status and future prospects of Cluster management excellence labelling.

Overall, the conference was a platform for networking, experience exchange and intensive planning for the future.

The Association of Business Clusters of Bulgaria has celebrated its 10th anniversary birthday, bringing positive vibes with party photos, branded cakes and balloons!

The organisers express special thanks to all partners and supporters of the conference - Sofia Municipality, Sofia Tech Park, Industrial Cluster Srednogorie, Hotel Metropolitan Sofia, BAMCO, Bulgarian Furniture Cluster, Ligna Group, Cleves, Bulgarian National Association of Essential Oils, Invictus and Photo King.

 At the closing ceremony, the dates for the 2020 national Conference were announced – 

 25th & 26th March 2020!

Conference presentations and images are available at the official website:https://conference.abclusters.org/pictures

Related Event
Bulgarian National Cluster Conference 2019 - ‘INNOVATIONS & CLUSTERS TO A KNOWLEDGE-DRIVEN ECONOMY’
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