The Action Plan described in WG2 serves as the basis for implementing the innovative methodology that the ASCA Pilot Action represents. This Pilot Action consists of the testing and subsequent evaluation of a collaborative experience that contributes to boosting innovative actions by agri-food SMEs with the direct collaboration of students (“Innovation Projects for Agri-food SMEs with Students”).
Specifically, ASCA will select 100 SMEs and a minimum of 100 students participating in their respective training and capacity-building programs to carry out this collaboration. Students, with the support of materials and tutors assigned by ASCA’s partner training centers, will act as “facilitators” of the industrial transition and smart specialization of an SME, providing support in identifying possible market solutions for the challenges prioritized by the SMEs in Phase 2 of the Program (Individual Support Plan).
Ultimately, this new collaborative method will foster knowledge exchange, the rooting of young talent in the SUDOE area, and innovation processes in companies. Its direct link with territorial strategies will contribute to the articulation of the RIS3 of the partner regions, and to the identification of tools and knowledge for industrial and sustainable transition.
This collaborative scheme, whose results will be disseminated at International Meetings, aims to endure beyond ASCA’s execution, and to be usable in other economic sectors, which will ensure the durability and transferability of the developed solution.
