A matchmaking event was held on 6-7 June in Kiel, Germany. This event offered maritime industry stakeholders from across Europe an opportunity to establish, or to further develop, partnerships of various types.
The event kicked-off with a Steering Committee for partners of the CLIPPER project in the morning of the 6 June and in the afternoon a matchmaking event was held for external participants. The afternoon matchmaking event brought together over 50 participants from the 7 CLIPPER regions (including representatives from clusters, companies, local authorities and universities) to develop European partnerships, projects and businesses.
The matchmaking event opened with a welcome speech by Peter Franke from Kiel University. He noted that Interreg Projects are about networking between Regions and welcomed the fact that so many stakeholders from across Europe were participating in this event.
Agathe Fournier, from Pays de la Loire Region, introduced the CLIPPER project to external stakeholders and explained the aims and objectives of the project. After a general overview of the project, she concluded by addressing the project deliverables and introducing the CLIPPER benchmark and toolbox.
Wolfgang Schultz represented the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Transport, Employment, Technology and Tourism, Schleswig-Holstein, and gave a speech during the opening session. He stressed the importance of exploiting the potential of offshore wind energy and the significance of working together.
The opening session concluded with a presentation by Philip Treuer from MCN (Maritime Cluster Norddeutschland). He introduced the maritime cluster to participants, and provided key facts and figures relating to both Schleswig-Holstein and the maritime cluster itself. He concluded by explaining some projects that the cluster is involved in.
The matchmaking session was very similar to speed dating in terms of the format. Businesses, ministries, clusters and other stakeholders involved in maritime industry interested in similar fields and offering different skills, products or services, came together to network and find the perfect match for what they are doing, or what they would like to do.
This event provided all participants with an opportunity to present themselves and explain what they do and to learn from each other. It consisted of bilateral sessions which included 13 timeslots of 15 minutes each.
Andy Boddice from Subsea International explained that he was invited to participate by Invest in Fife and explained that he hoped that the 15-minute matchmaking meetings would provide him with “an opportunity to discover what other stakeholders do and what we can do to assist them”. The fact that he had selected stakeholders to meet, whilst at the same time other stakeholders had approached him, illustrated the value of this event for stakeholders, and how they can learn from others and how others can learn from them. This was echoed by Marten Thiele from Kiel, who explained he was there “to network and look for new opportunities and collaborations”.
On the evening there was a boat trip which provided an ideal opportunity for participants to continue networking and further develop their discussions over dinner. The boat trip also enabled participants to see the naval yards from an offshore position to give another perspective.
An on-site visit took place on 7 June, when participants had the opportunity to visit the German Naval Shipyards. This also included a presentation of Nobiskrug shipyard.
