The fifth partner in FRiDGE is University of Western Macedonia (UoWM) that is located in the northern part of Greece. Read more what project manager Mr. Dimitris Stimoniaris and technical manager Mr. Dimitrios Tsiamitros from UoWM has to tell about their region and their organisation’s targets in the project.
Can you tell us something about your organisation?
The University of Western Macedonia (UOWM) (www.uowm.gr or rc.uowm.gr ), consists of several departments scattered at the Western Macedonia Region of Greece. It numbers almost 15.000 students. It has a constant active presence and influence at the Western Macedonia Regional policies, by establishing technical co- operations with the business community and the authorities and by participating to numerous EU-funded projects.
Who are working with the project?
The Research Committee of the UoWM recently acts as a consultant of the Regional Authorities, through Interreg Europe projects or technical support contracts. It is also a lead partner or partner in numerous EU-funded projects on fields such as Eco-Innovations, RIS3 sectors (agrifood, clusters, internationalisation), Financial Instruments, Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Biomass district heating systems, Electromobility, Intelligent transportation Systems, Smart electricity Grids with the Electrical and Computer Engineering department.
The project activities will be managed by a team of two: project manager Mr. Dimitris Stimoniaris and the technical manager Mr. Dimitrios Tsiamitros.
FRiDGE project team at UoWM: Mr. Dimitris Stimoniaris (left) and Mr. Dimitrios Tsiamitros (right).
What is special in the region of Western Macedonia?
The region of Western Macedonia is located in the northern part of Greece and is the only region in Greece without sea coast. Instead of the sea we have plenty of beautiful lakes and mountains and are sometimes called as the region of lakes.
In the food sector the region is known for its production of saffron, apples, cereal, legumes, aromatic plants and herbs. In the secondary sector the main areas are mining activities, fur and leather production, production of lignite and electric power and local food processing SMEs. In the Tertiary Sector the main areas are financial and insurance agencies, transport and storage facilities.
What do you want to achieve with FRIDGE project?
Through the FRIDGE project we would like to learn and achieve:
- Utilisation of trans-European networks by the urban and productive centres of the Region
- Extraversion of local food and drink industry SMEs
- Reinforcement of businesses around the Public Power Corporation Company
- Creativity, research & innovation for the increase of competitiveness
Who are involved in your stakeholder group?
In our stakeholder group we have members from the Managing Authority of The Regional Operational Program 2014-2020, the Regional governor on agricultural development, the Regional Enterprise Europe Network - ANKO, the Regional Development Fund and local food processing SMEs and wineries, chambers and so forth.
The first meeting with the regional stakeholder group was held on the 20th of November. In the meeting we introduced the FRiDGE project shortly for the stakeholders and discussed the current state of food sector SMEs and funding opportunities under the Regional Operational Programme of Western Macedonia 2014-2020. The need for a well-known regional brand for the region’s food and drink products was also discussed and proposed to be put forward during FRIDGE project.
