Among the initiatives promoted by the European Commission we find I4MS (ICT Innovation for Manufacturing SMEs) which supports manufacturing SMEs and mid-caps in the application of information and communication technologies (ICT) for the development of their business.

According to data reported by I4MS, the European manufacturing sector comprises about 2.1 million enterprises generating 31 million jobs and accounting for about 15% of EU GDP. 59% of all enterprises in the sector are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), together generating about 45% of total manufacturing value added. To ensure the competitiveness of this important pillar of the European economy at the international level, companies must be able to benefit from digital opportunities to accelerate and optimize their products and processes.

Thanks to I4MS, this transfer of digital technologies is facilitated by connecting companies and their needs with technology providers and European consortia of excellence in key areas of the digital factory, through ad hoc projects.

The I4MS website periodically publishes Open Calls: quick and easy-to-use funding schemes for application experiments to enable experimentation and testing with new ICT technologies.

There is also a catalog of training courses for the introduction of new technologies related to digital transformation.

Within the members of the IMPROVENET RIR we have two Contact Points of I4MS with the task of transferring in an executive way the opportunities offered by this European network to its stakeholders: t2i and NeroSuBianco.

• t2i (Technology Transfer and Innovation), is a consortium company that supports companies to make innovation a continuous process through the accompaniment in the birth of an innovative company, support in research projects and protection of intellectual property, the definition of skills.

More information about t2i’s role in I4MS at this link.

NeroSuBianco is a consulting and services company, which supports all those who are evaluating, planning or implementing projects and partnerships of technological, productive and commercial innovation with a team of high profile specialists and a network of experts at European level. Read more about NeroSuBianco’s role in I4MS at this link.