NEWS
RUN-EU Associated Partners visit CeNTI and CITEVE (Norte PT)
25 November 2025
During the RUN-EU General Assembly week, held from 6 to 10 October 2025 at the Polytechnic University of Cávado and Ave (IPCA) in Barcelos, Portugal, the RUN-EU Associated Partners took part in a special programme organised by CCDR Norte, and designed to strengthen cooperation between regions.
The programme began with a meeting chaired by Krista Taipale, Director of the Häme EU Office in Brussels, and Ricardo Simões, Head of Innovation at the Norte Regional Commission for Coordination & Development (CCDR Norte) and Chair of the RUN-EU Associated Partners Group, together with the RUN-EU Chief Executive Officer, Ruaidhri Neavyn and Chief Operations Officer, Siobhán Moane.
The Associated Partners (APs) of RUN-EU are key regional stakeholders drawn from industry, enterprise, regional government, and civil society. They represent the quadruple helix actors that ensure the alliance’s activities are regionally anchored, needs-led, and have a tangible impact.
Each RUN-EU partner institution collaborates with its respective Associated Partners to co-design and co-create initiatives in education, research, innovation, and societal engagement that directly contribute to sustainable regional development.
European Zone for Interregional Development (EZID)
The EZID is the strategic framework within RUN-EU that connects the alliance’s regions, fostering cross-border cooperation, innovation, and knowledge exchange to strengthen regional ecosystems and drive sustainable growth. It aims to create an integrated interregional development zone built on shared priorities, complementarity of strengths, and joint actions aligned with EU strategic agendas.
Role of Associated Partners in the development of the EZID
The Associated Partners play a central role in shaping and implementing the EZID by providing regional insights, identifying common priority areas, and ensuring that RUN-EU’s transnational initiatives respond to real societal and economic needs. Through their participation, they help co-design policies, pilot actions, and collaborative projects that enhance interregional innovation capacity and ensure that the EZID effectively contributes to regional competitiveness, inclusivity, and sustainability.
Each Associated Partner gave a short presentation highlighting their region’s key priorities, international networks, and ongoing collaborative projects. At the end of the session, Ricardo Simões led a collaborative mapping exercise to identify the priority areas of interest shared by the Associated Partners and the companies or industries they represented. To support this process, a Network-of-Networks has been created, which is a database of contacts that enables regions to connect with their counterparts across RUN-EU. The meeting concluded with an open discussion aimed at identifying common interests and collaborative opportunities, with an aim of future cooperation within the RUN-EU network and its regions.
As part of their regional programme, the group visited CeNTI and CITEVE, two influential technology centres located in Vila Nova de Famalicão, about 20 km from Barcelos. These two institutions represent an important regional innovation ecosystem where advanced materials, smart technologies, and textile research meet industrial applications.
The visit included a guided tour of their facilities, where the visitors saw industrial-scale equipment, R&D laboratories, and prototypes created through collaborations between industry and academia. Because both centres cover a wide range of innovation fields, the visit provided a valuable opportunity for the diverse group of Associated Partners to see how regional and European priorities can align through science and technology.
CeNTI – Centre for Nanotechnology and Smart Materials
CITEVE – Technological Centre for the Textile and Clothing Industries of Portugal
CeNTI is a private non-profit R&D institute specialising in smart and functional materials, nanotechnology, and printed electronics. Its work covers multiple sectors such as automotive, construction, health, and wearable technology. CeNTI supports innovation from laboratory scale to pilot production and is recognised for its advanced multi-material and multi-sector solutions that bridge the gap between research and industry.
CITEVE is the leading Portuguese technology centre for textiles and clothing. It provides laboratory testing and certification, innovation support, training, and technology transfer to companies in the textile and fashion sectors. CITEVE also promotes sustainability and circular economy practices while working on technical and smart textiles for industries such as mobility, sports, defence, and healthcare.
Address Rua Fernando Mesquita 2785 · 4760-034 Vila Nova de Famalicão · Portugal