Healthy technological ecosystems depend on the close collaboration between startups developing up-and-coming technologies and large corporations with the power to bring innovations to market. Communication and network building are the first steps on the way to such collaboration. But what to do when a global pandemic makes networking opportunities scarce and limits communication to the virtual realm?
To counteract these developments, the Swedish Embassy in Vienna organized an online Austrian-Swedish Innovation Exchange Day. Selected startups and corporates from both countries were invited to participate in a day of networking, matchmaking and learning. Keynotes were given by high-ranking officials, including Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schramböck. Gerald Fritz, Senior Innovation Projects and Funding Manager at TTTech Group, represented the company at the event.
The TTTech Group was invited to the exchange event partly due to its outspoken commitment to research and development. The company was founded on the concept of time-triggered technology, developed by co-founder Prof. Hermann Kopetz at the Technical University of Vienna in the mid-nineties of the 20th century. The concept has since been applied successfully in several domains, including aeronautics, space, automotive, energy and off-highway. Ties with universities and other research institutions remain strong to this day. In addition to in-house research carried out at TTTech Labs, the company currently participates in a total of 36 grant-funded research projects. “We have a high success rate in initiating and submitting joint projects in some of the largest funding programs, both on a national and an EU level,” says Gerald Fritz. “The European framework programs are the most important R&D funding programs for us and the TTTech Group is the fourth-ranked private for-profit within HORIZON 2020. Innovation is part of our DNA.”
Sweden and Austria have much in common when it comes to their approach to innovation and new technologies: Sweden is ranked first in Europe in R&D spending in relation to its GDP, with Austria following in second place. Both countries are among the few nations worldwide that spend more than 3% of their respective GDPs on research and development and both are heavily reliant on exports. The two economies are even united by the same strengths: their leading involvement in the automotive and ICT sectors. Under these circumstances, looking for more ways to collaborate seems only natural.
Find out more about innovation programs at TTTech
Visit the Swedish Embassy in Vienna’s website
