The University of Warsaw is a member of a consortium FoodConnects which won a pan-European competition – the Food4Future call: EIT Food, organized by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology is a research and development organization of the European Union which enhances Europe’s ability to innovate by nurturing entrepreneurial talent and supporting new ideas. The EIT brings together the ‘knowledge triangle’ of business, education and research to create cross-border partnerships – Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs).
On 17th November, the EIT announced the winner of the call – Food4Future – Sustainable Supply Chain from Resources to Consumers. The winning consortium – FoodConnects will be doing projects in in order to increase knowledge and innovation in the food area.
– We will do this by delivering products, services and ideas that will contribute to the safety and sustainability of food across Europe. EIT Food will support the creation of 350 start-ups in the next seven years to help us achieve our goals – says Thomas Hofmann from the Technical University of Munich, the key coordinating partner.
The FoodConnects consists of 50 partners from 13 countries including universities, research institutes and enterprises. Besides the University of Warsaw, in the consortium are, among others, the University of Cambridge, the Technical University of Munich, the Autonomous University of Madrid, companies: Robert Bosch GmbH, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Siemens or Sodexo.
Our University will support Knowledge and Innovation Community in the field of food by carrying out customer research, educating managers and supporting entrepreneurship.
Polish partners which contribute to the FoodConnects are, besides the UW, the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Science, companies: Maspex Wadowice Group and Raben Group, start-ups: Kontakt.io and GeoPulse (the UW is a shareholder of this corporate spin-off).
Warsaw will be one of the five Co-Location Centres for new technologies in Central Europe and the Nordic countries. – Warsaw was selected for the CLC location as one of the fastest developing business hubs in Europe and a major academic centre located in the new EU member states. EIT Food will explore innovative opportunities in other countries of this region, while also leveraging the dynamic innovation ecosystems in Finland, Sweden and Denmark – says the Interim Director of CLC North-East, Prof. Krzysztof Klincewicz from Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw
