The Second Study Visit & Thematic Workshop took place on 16th and 17th October 2019 and was hosted by the Romanian Partner RDA SW Oltenia in Craiova.
The workshop was about IP and commercialization. After a general overview about the transport sector in South West Oltenia, the participants were shown the first results from the five RECREATE regions involved in the Transport SME Competitiveness report. The research is still in progress; it will be finalised by the end of the semester and uploaded on the project website. Afterwards, the focus moved on valorization, intellectual property and commercialization where the participants had also the opportunity to discuss more in depth about barriers and opportunities and training skills development for SMEs in the Transport sector.
On 17th April, we went out for the Study Visit to assess best practices in the local area. We started with Softronic, a company established in Craiova Romania in 1999 with the main purpose of modernizing locomotives. They consist of two companies: Softronic, manufacturer of Electric Multiple Unit Trains and Locomotives; and Softrans, railway freight and passenger operator and also a leader in the locomotive rental business. Another interesting visit was at Nextrom Industries, a company specialized in production of electric vehicles, which are differentiated by revolutionary technical characteristics. The visit concluded at the University of Craiova, Faculty of Mechanics and Transport Engineering that has had for over 40 years the role of shaping specialists in the field of mechanical engineering and automotive engineering for local, national and multinational companies as well as a strong cooperation with the business and economic environment.
Both Project Partners and local stakeholders from UK, Italy, Greece, Lithuania and Romania participated in the event. Part of the event was also dedicated to the Partners meeting to discuss the current implementation status of the project and the activities due in Semester 3.