Cambodia Hosts EU-ASEAN Workshop on ASEAN Technology Management Hub Development

Cambodia hosted in March the EU-ASEAN workshop on development of ASEAN Technology Management Hub Development in Siem Reap province, accelerating research, catalysing innovation, fostering knowledge sharing and promoting technology transfers in ASEAN.

According to a joint ASEAN-EU press release AKP received this morning, two EU-ASEAN workshops brought together stakeholders from academia, start-ups and innovators, the private sector and technology transfer offices from all ASEAN Member States to jointly develop and design the concept for the ASEAN Technology Management Hub (TMH).

The TMH project intends to develop a comprehensive online platform that will match commercially viable university research with an innovation-driven private sector to accelerate research, catalyse innovation, foster knowledge sharing and promote technology transfers in ASEAN.

The first workshop in Jakarta on Feb. 23-24 was hosted by Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and focused on identifying stakeholder priorities, securing their support, and designing the TMH platform.

The workshop was organised with the support of the Enhanced Regional EU-ASEAN Dialogue Instrument (E-READI) in coordination with the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), and the Science and Technology Division of the ASEAN Secretariat.

The second workshop was hosted by Cambodia’s Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation (MISTI) in Siem Reap on Mar. 16-17. It developed recommendations from the first workshop, focusing on how the ASEAN TMH will be structured, implemented, and financed. The EU continued its dialogue with ASEAN during this second event and shared lessons that it learned from its own initiatives.

The EU and EU Member States have invested in building effective innovation ecosystems, technology management platforms, and digital innovation hubs, which are designed to support the scaling of companies, encourage innovation, and stimulate cooperation among national, regional, and local innovation actors including universities, public research agencies, governments, inventors, entrepreneurs and companies.

The European Union and E-READI are therefore supporting the development of the ASEAN TMH by facilitating the dialogue with some of these European initiatives including EURAXESS ASEAN, the Southeast-Asia-Europe Joint Funding Scheme for Research and Innovation, the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), the Competence Centre on Technology Transfer set up by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, and the SAIRA platform. During the workshops, representatives from these entities shared lessons learnt in building innovation ecosystems covering both successes and failures.

Hul Seingheng, Cambodia Committee on Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI) Chairperson, added in his remarks that the ASEAN TMH initiative will not only drive the effort of scaling up innovations, but also bring together stakeholders from across the ASEAN region to effectively tackle regional, and ultimately, global challenges by utilising science, technology, and innovation.

“The EU-ASEAN Workshops are of paramount importance in setting the right foundations and direction for this initiative. Cambodia is committed to continue working with partners, contributors, and stakeholders to ensure the successful establishment and operation of the ASEAN TMH,” he said.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse