The Consortium
The ASTRAL consortium is structured based on each organisation’s knowledge, expertise and related projects. The consortium is balanced with representations of the world of education and the world of business complemented with topic experts, it consists of 3 higher education (HE) institutions , 3 business associations and 3 SMEs.
There is a strong mix of expertise in the field of long-term foresight & strategic planning, high tech, education and training and educational innovation. In each country there is a dual partnership: a HE partner with expertise in education, training and/or research and a business representative. These so-called “country tandems” jointly implement the project tasks, execute the piloting and ensure a continuous cross-fertilisation and cooperation between both also on national level.
bwcon – Germany
bwcon GmbH (bwcon) has been founded in 2014 and is the commercial branch of bwcon e.V, a network with more than 700 members composed of startups, SMEs and corporates from the fields of energy, mobility, production, health. Today bwcon is Baden-Württemberg’s leading facilitator for innovation in the technology sector. Being more precise, bwcon coordinates the technology transfer from research to industry by starting with early stage concepts at universities such as the Opportunity Recognition Workshops for PhD candidates and researchers from the ICT sector. bwcon also organizes summer academies, hackathons and idea factory workshops for students with various modules relevant for sensitization on entrepreneurship such as design thinking, effectuation, business modelling, prototyping or the lean startup method. For established companies, bwcon offers services that support them in their innovation strategy.
Hochschule der Medien – Germany
Hochschule der Medien (HdM) in Stuttgart is a public higher education institution (funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg) that trains media specialists for companies, organizations and institutions. It covers a broad spectrum of media expertise; for example from printed media to electronic media or from library science to advertising. About 30 accredited Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs mirror this diversity. At the moment, more than 5000 students are registered at the university. As a University of Applied Sciences, HdM has a special focus in academic training with strong connections to regional and national businesses.
Green Innovation Group – Denmark
The main goal of Green Innovation A/S is “making green business good business”. Green Innovation Group A/S noticed that there is a need for cooperation between municipalities, ministries, foundations, agencies and large companies to achieve this objective and find more sustainable alternatives for their organization. The company thus provides services which help to accelerate the green transition by matching real needs in the private and public sector with green innovative solutions. This comprises the connection of green startups and incumbents to fuel green innovation change. Green Innovation Group A/S operates in 8 EU partner countries.
University of Southern Denmark – Denmark
The University of Southern Denmark is the 3rd largest university in Denmark. It has five faculties with 31,000 students – 20% of whom are international – and 3,400 employees distributed across five regional campuses. The Department of Business & Management (DBM) is a department under the Faculty of Business and Social Science. It’s Centre for Integrative Innovation Management is bridging two faculties: Social Sciences and Engineering. The Centre adopts a cross-disciplinary approach because understanding and promotion of innovation from the initial idea to commercialization requires the combination of engineering, management and marketing.
LucidMinds – Netherlands
LucidMinds has a strong focus on agent-based modelling and big data analytics and a solid track record for rapid prototyping of complex systems and IT solutions to support systemic change, with deep knowledge in humans-in-the-loop algorithm design, data pipeline architectures and software development. Its staff are experts in AI and its use for trend analysis, human-centred and climate-centred design and modelling. In a similar manner as for MKO, LMs interest lies in the application of LTFFs for their technology scouting processes and in improving their consultancy offerings for their clients, in particular related to the area of AI and its implications for the everyday business activities of their clients.
MKO Investments – France
MKO is a specialised holding company at the forefront of fintech innovation, with a mission to lead in this field, particularly in payment methods, security, crypto, and cryptography, through strategic ownership and development of cutting-edge services. They are committed to pioneering solutions that redefine the landscape of digital finance. MKO is interested in applying LTFF for their own strategy process. Also, with LTFF MKO is better able to consult clients on upcoming technology trends, and support them in tapping into the opportunities these offer
University Clermont Auvergne – France
University Clermont Auvergne offers education in different fields, among which various related to smart & intelligent technologies, mobility & energy and changing environments. It has brought together research and education in various fields through the I-SITE initiative, aiming to enhance multimodal innovation to develop sustainable living and production models in the region of Clermont-Ferrand and beyond. UCA wants to embed LTFFs especially in the area of smart mobility and energy.
Asociacion de Industrias de Conocimiento y Tecnologia – Spain
GAIA’s mission is to boost the development and growth in the Engineering, Consulting, Electronics-IT and Telecommunications sectors, and to favor the assimilation and efficient usage of the sector’s technologies, with the aim of collaborating in the development of the Information and Knowledge Society. Also, it is a regional Cluster and it promotes the Networking with the key stakeholders within the Basque Country, and policy and ICT Deployment to the industry within the region. GAIA represents the ICTA sector (Knowledge and applied technologies industries), which constitutes a competitive advantage to accelerate the transformation of companies, territory and society with the aim of positioning Basque Country in the New Economy.
Universidad de Vigo – Spain
Universidad de Vigo – Spain offers degree programs in the fields of engineering, science, humanities, technology and legal-social studies, and runs the Campus of International Excellence for the Sea (marine science, technology and management) and the AUGA Campus (water-related issues and water resources management). Thus, UCA is interested in LTFFs for underwater climate research.
EOLAS S.L. – Spain
EOLAS S.L. offers services and support to enterprises, organizations and entities in 3 main areas, for a wide range of demands and needs from support for projects, business development and consulting to innovation. EOLAS S.L. is founded by a team of professionals with more than 20 years of experience in idea generation, identification of financing schemes, proposal preparation, partner search and management of international, European, national and regional projects. It combines the knowledge and experience of in the field of economics, innovation and enterprise organization with engineering, allowing the company to integrate both the technical coordination as well as the economic aspects of project management.