EBN kicked June off with the 6^th EBNTechcamp in Lund (Sweden), where our host Ideon Open helped us welcome over 100 participants to discuss the recent paradigm change towards more collaborative ways of working within business support organisations.

Day 1 - Open Innovation

The first day was entirely devoted to Open Innovation, with a first session framing the terminology and the following sessions exploring several angles from which to tackle it. This includes big corporates such as SAP and Alfa Laval, three start-ups, some of the network’s EU|BICs, Swedish R&D Centres and clusters but also from the policymaking angle. Very interesting discussions took place thanks to the high quality and expertise of the speakers, namely Vasu Briquez (EBN), Mats Dunmar (Ideon Open), Mats Nilsson (Alfa Laval), Luisa Silva (SAP), Magnus Larsson (MAX IV Laboratory), Valeria Fascione (Campania Region), Lars Tilly (Innovation Skane), David Uhlir (JIC), Johan Mårtensson (Packbridge).

Three very different start-ups shared their experience while working with big corporates:

• Fredrik Westman - Sensative (Sweden)
• Archie Ravishankar - Cogni (Ireland)
• Xavier de Baillenx - Match Group (France)

Of course the Techcamp maintained its traditional element of showcasing efficient tools for business intermediaries to innovate their services. This year the following were selected:

• Barcamper; (a more informal way of scouting and approaching entrepreneurs via a camper travelling the country)
• Segmentuition, by CCI Lyon Métropole; (new methodology to segment your market)
• Compellio; (web service to implement lean start-up methodology and interaction between entrepreneurs and their coaches)
• Growthwheel; (web service to facilitate action planning and scaling up of start-ups)
• IdeasWipe, by Realize AB (innovative web platform that allows the sharing of ideas among individuals)

The day was finalised with a Barbeque – Swedish style- with a live jazz band and a great opportunity for participants to network and exchange experiences.

Day 2 - Open Finance and Spaces

The second day was kicked off by Magnus Lundin presenting the experiences of the Swedish Incubators & Science Parks. What followed were sessions, always along the ‘Open’ trail but this time applied to other sectors such as Finance and physical spaces.

Interesting and interactive sessions thanks to: Anna Wilkens (Connect Sverige), Rene Reijtenbagh (Business Angels Europe), Didier Moret (Tech Venture), Mashrukh Talukder (International Venture Club) and Jean-Luc Nahon (Business Resort & Campus).

The Techcamp was embedded within the Skåne Innovation Week, with other parallel sessions dealing with Skåne’s innovation activities counting on the participation of roughly 300 participants.

Launched of EU|BIC Impact Report

The EBNTechcamp 2016 concluded with the public launch of the EU|BIC impact report 2016, the publication with all the data on how EU|BIC can impact European Economy. Together with examples of nine entrepreneurs and small business helped by EU|BIC all over Europe and overseas, you can already download your copy here.

Take a look Techcamp highlights via the storify and make sure you don’t miss out on the next one!