On the 14th of October, Vincent Jamier, international project manager at LEITAT, gave a keynote about Smart Specialisation in Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) during the Open Days of the European Commission. His speech was entitled Vanguard Initiative, the Catalan Case Study & LEITAT as KET TI.
According to the Commission, KETs are a group of six technologies: micro and nanoelectronics, nanotechnology, industrial biotechnology, advanced materials, photonics, and advanced manufacturing technologies. They have applications in multiple industries and help tackle societal challenges. Countries and regions that fully exploit KETs will be at the forefront of creating advanced and sustainable economies.
The workshop concentrated on fostering cooperation between public and private sectors in the field of KETs. Vincent Jamier was invited as an expert in KETs representing the activities of the centre in this field. Concretely, LEITAT participated actively in the Vanguard Initiative, an initiative for new growth through the coordination of regional smart specialisation to better position and embed the smart specialisation agenda within relevant EU policy frameworks. Vincent presented case studies such as services offered to SMEs where LEITAT provided specialised services in nanotechnologies, advanced materials, and biotechnology.
LEITAT is part of the KET infrastructure, a group of research centres identified as capable of delivering specialised services to SMEs in the field of KETs. The centres have been selected according to a set of capacity and quality criteria. Technological service centres active in the area of KETs (also called ‘technology infrastructures’) can help SMEs to speed up the commercialisation of their innovation ideas.
