NEWS
Innovation Meets Regions 2025 – Connecting Innovation with Regional Impact
31 July 2025
The third Innovation Meets Regions event of 2025 took place on 21 and 22 May at Fórum Braga during Braga Economy Week.
The event brought together 250 participants, including representatives from universities, industry, regional governments and civil society, to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems across Europe. It forms part of a series of nine regional showcases, each hosted by a RUN-EU member institution and scheduled to take place between months 7 and 42 of the project.
These events aim to connect the RUN-EU European Innovation Hubs (EIHs) and their collective research, development, and innovation (RDI) expertise with key regional stakeholders.
Day 1
Brainstorming Regional Futures and Visiting the European Innovation Hubs (EIHs)
Day 2
Workshops and Research Collaboration
The first day of the event featured brainstorming sessions focused on RUN-EU’s three core innovation themes as below:
EIH – Future and Sustainable Industries
Moderator: João L. Vilaça, IPCA, Portugal
EIH – Social Innovation
Moderator: Ellen de Bruin, NHL Stenden, The Netherlands
EIH – Bioeconomy
Moderator: Annukka Pakarinen, HAMK, Finland
These sessions brought together researchers, industry representatives, and policymakers to explore opportunities for cross-sector collaboration and regional development. Participants then visited each of the three thematic innovation hubs, where they were introduced to the ongoing research, partnerships, and infrastructure driving innovation in those domains.
Day two was dedicated to capacity-building workshops and research group meetings, offering practical knowledge and deeper networking as per the sequence below:
Workshops (14h00–15h30)
- AI for Research
Sara Cruz, IPCA, Portugal
- IP Protection
Anabela Carvalho, Patentree Company
- Storytelling for Project Writing
Markus Preissinger, FHV, Austria
Workshops (16h00–17h30)
- Material Degradation
Anna-Maria Baronenkova & Eva Zschieschang, FHV, Austria
- 21st Century Soft Skills for Interdisciplinary and International Teams
Caroline Van Keymeulen, Howest, Belgium
- Embedding Sustainability into Higher Education Research and Teaching
Marie Taylor and Elaine Cleary, TUS, Ireland
Research Group Meetings
- Inova+ Collaboration
- WorkEd
Liisa Postareff, HAMK, Finland - IoT & Cyber Security
Michael Winterburn, TUS, Ireland - Smart Solutions in Biotechnology
Patrick Murray, TUS, Ireland & Annukka Pakarinen, HAMK, Finland - Tourism
Anthony Johnson, TUS, Ireland
These sessions enabled deeper dialogue between research groups and external stakeholders, encouraging future collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Conclusion
The 2025 Innovation Meets Regions event clearly demonstrated RUN-EU’s ongoing commitment to fostering regional innovation, societal transformation, and sustainable development. By creating a platform for meaningful dialogue between academia, industry, policymakers and local communities, the event opened new pathways for interregional collaboration and real-world impact.
As the series continues, each event will build on this momentum, further strengthening the role of higher education institutions as key innovation drivers across Europe.
This year’s event also contributed to advancing the objectives of RUN-ERA, by promoting research excellence, supporting cross-border collaboration and reinforcing the connection between innovation and education across the RUN-EU ecosystem.
Stay connected with RUN-EU 2.0 for updates on upcoming Innovation Meets Regions events taking place across the alliance’s diverse regions.