Aurora

Aurora

Relevant for: Cluster organisations

The Aurora was project aimed at strengthening cluster management excellence, facilitating international exchanges and at strategic partnering between clusters and specialised eco-system actors and cities across Europe. Aurora was about moving digital and green transformation forward towards safe, resilient, healthy and environmentally friendly food systems. The project had a special focus on food quality, food safety and food authenticity and the application of novel, deep and Industry 4.0 technologies.

The Aurora project was part of the COSME programme (COmpetitiveness for Small and Medium Enterprises), a programme set up by the European Union between 2014 and 2020 to promote entrepreneurship and improve the environment for SMEs.

Project highlights

One of the major highlights of the project was the organisation of a three-day Roadshow in and around Wageningen on the topic of Personalised Nutrition, Food and Health. For three days, a group of over 40 people from eight countries, representing 30 different organisations, explored Foodvalley‘s ecosystem on this topic. Many relevant actors were visited, and new, valuable connections were made. Other results of the project include:

• More than 140 ecosystem members, stakeholders, or partners actively participated in delivering cross-country consultations, workshops, and European missions.
• 60 visiting organizations benefited from the CXC mobility scheme thanks to the AURORA project. They received financial support for visits to international conferences related to AURORA-thematic priorities.
• Involvement of 11 EU countries in short-haul missions, hosting organisations from Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain – and even the UK!
• 5 high-level training sessions on cluster management with more than 20 people across the cluster’s network.

The Consortium

Besides Foodvalley NL, four European Partners participated in Aurora:

• Valorial (FR): Innovation cluster and network devoted to agri-food innovation in Northwest of France
• Agri Sud-Ouest Innovation (FR): Innovation Hub for the agri-food sector in the Southwest of France
• Unimos Alliance – coordinator of AgroBioCluster (PL): specialised in agri-food, packaging, and ICT solutions, including photonics and sensors
• OnTech Innovation (ES): Digital Innovation Hub (DIH) specialised in ICT, biotechnology, and e-health

Duration of the project: 02.02.2022 – 02.02.2024