SARIO INNOVATION SERVICES BROUGHT SUCCESS EVEN IN A YEAR MARKED BY THE PANDEMICFor the fourth year in a row, the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO) provides its matchmaking platform SARIO Innovation Services as part of the systematic support of established investors with an emphasis on technological innovations in the industry (Industry 4.0) and services. The aim of these services is, on the one hand, to involve Slovak technology companies in product and industrial innovation projects of large companies - established investors - at home and abroad. On the other hand, these activities are aimed at supporting the streamlining of activities and processes of established investors in Slovakia.SARIO Innovation Services are mainly focused on process optimization in the industry with an emphasis on the topics of automation, robotics, and digitization of production or logistics processes. There is also a growing interest in innovation in the services sector, where the most common topics are Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI), software automation, and cybersecurity. Last but not least, Slovak technology companies can also offer their solutions in the areas of industrial design, tooling, testing, and engineering.The main tool for connecting the two groups of actors mentioned above are tailor-made innovations focused matchmaking events and workshops. Despite the pandemic, the SARIO agency organized a total of five of these events in 2020. They were attended by 28 Slovak tech companies with a focus on software as well as hardware innovations. Since the establishment of the SARIO Innovation Services in September 2017, a total of 24 innovative events have been organized. These created opportunities for the presentation of up to 79 different Slovak companies, which presented their innovative products, services, and solutions skillfully 156 times (several times and repeatedly). The fact that, on average, every tenth presentation of a Slovak company led to the acquisition of a pilot innovation project (contract), of which we have so far registered FIFTEEN projects/contracts, can certainly be considered a success.In addition to physical events, SARIO Innovation Services have also successfully moved into the online - we have organized 5 webinars with more than 30 speakers and almost 400 registered participants. Two webinars were addressed to the Slovak audience during the first wave of the new coronavirus pandemic, another dealt with e-mobility in the post-pandemic period and the last two were co-organized with foreign partners from Finland and the Spanish Basque region, confirming our ambition to present Slovak companies.We have traditionally used the end of the year for activities aimed at preparing other webinars and events in the new year. The beginning of 2021 will be marked by technological innovations in the e-commerce sector within the SARIO innovation agenda, while the first webinar on this topic is scheduled for January 27, 2021. SARIO Innovation Services — matching platform interconnecting the needs of SARIO´s major clients with capacities and competencies of the most advanced and innovative Slovak technology companies at home and abroad.SARIO Innovation Services focus on but are not limited to:• Industry — automation, predictive maintenance, quality control, digital factory solutions, etc.• Product development — design, prototyping, testing, tooling, etc.• Services sector — software automation, outsourcing, cybersecurity, big data & AI, etc. Contact: Marek Kopanický, Innovation Services Lead and Consultant of SARIO Investment Projects DepartmentEmail: innovate@sario.sk Innovate Your Business with Solutions Made in Slovakia!
