This week we want to present you our seventh project partner: Government of Cantabria in Spain, a regional authority responsible for managing the policy and administration over its territory.
Cantabria is recognised for its large and powerful industry sector, with almost 19% of the GDP at regional level and with almost 32.000 employees and a global market figure of 7.845 M€. These figures reflect a huge development of the sector and the possibility to implement further measures in order to maintain and to increase this production.
Within it, there are some manufacturing sectors that have been identified as high potential for the smart growth of the region: metallic transformation, machinery with specialisation in energy generators, high-tech electro-mechanical machinery and automotive equipment with specialisation in melting processes and production of iron elements, aluminium and polymers, among others.
The impact of the DIGITAL REGIONS project in the region of Cantabria will be focused in the increase of developing further instruments and techniques around Industry 4.0 practices, for the better development of the local innovation ecosystem to support the S3 priorities as well as in other industrial areas.
Cantabrian Government will contribute to the project by sharing their strategy ‘Factories of the future’ and other good practices, including, skills, technology audits, training and dissemination measures, technology watching activities, Industry 4.0 Regional enablers, etc.
“Being part of the project and improving the interregional cooperation between all the partners, it would be interesting to interact with other stakeholders, understand the best projects and practices already implemented in their regions and the possibility of developing such measures in our region”, explains Jorge Muyo, General Director of Innovation, Technological Development and Industrial Entrepreneurship at the Regional Government of Cantabria.
The region will be at the first line in order to correct and shape policies and funds allocated to the region within the Regional Operational Programme that our Spanish partners are addressing: ‘Cantabrian Regional Operational Programme 2014-2020’ policy instrument. The actions developed by the regional government in relation with the Industrial Digitalisation and the impact of new technologies in the industry, especially on SMEs, will need a further action at regional level. The implementation of specific measures will impact positively on the different actions developed by the region, in order to increase the knowledge, the specific actions, the socioeconomic structures and the openness culture to increase the industry 4.0 actions.
According to our partner Jorge Muyo, the reasons of improving these actions are basically focused on the low impact that currently Industry 4.0 holds in relation with the actions already developed in the industrial sector. In that way, a more focused policy and the implementation of new measures will help to integrate the new models of industrialization including the adoption of technologies, processes improvement and development of new skills.
