For three days, between October 7 and 9, Bra\u0219ov, Sibiu, and T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219 hosted the first edition of the TECHConnect Technology Transfer Festival, organized by Iceberg+ in partnership with CITT I4T, CIT IRECSON, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, and George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science and Technology of T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over 350 participants \u2013 researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, and representatives from the public and academic sectors \u2013 took part in a format that combined direct dialogue with startup presentations, matchmaking sessions, and entrepreneurial discovery exercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
PHOTO GALLERY HERE.<\/a><\/strong> The official opening took place at CATTIA Bra\u0219ov, in the presence of Mayor George Scripcaru, with a message from Drago\u0219 P\u00eeslaru, Minister of Investments and European Projects, and Ionu\u021b \u021aa\u021ba, CEO of Iceberg+, who emphasized that regional development begins where local and national priorities meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creative technologist Andrew Melchior opened the festival with a reflection on technology, culture, and ethical sovereignty<\/strong> a call for Europe \u2014 and Romania along with it \u2014 to build its own voice in technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silvia Ursu (EIT Romania), Ionu\u021b \u021aa\u021ba (Iceberg+), and Anca P\u0103iu\u0219escu (General Secretariat of the Government \u2013 Innovation Lab) spoke candidly about what Romania still lacks to innovate at a national scale: institutions that collaborate consistently, not occasionally. Alexia Perouse, Adrian Radu, and Diana P\u00eerjol discussed how research and investment can be effectively connected, while Irina Florea-Saghin, Marius Apostu, Raluca Luc\u0103\u021b-G\u00eerbacea, Octavia Negru\u021bi, and Bogdan Cioc\u0103nel explained how technology transfer mechanisms can work in practice. On the second day of the festival in Bra\u0219ov, discussions focused on funding and scaling.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul Bulencea a vorbit despre importan\u021ba experien\u021bei directe \u00een inova\u021bie \u2013 f\u0103r\u0103 leg\u0103tura cu realitatea \u0219i cu oamenii care folosesc solu\u021biile, progresul devine abstract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Silvia Ursu highlighted the growing interest of investors in deep tech across Romania\u2019s Central and Western regions: Jean-Marc Bally (Aster Capital), Yann Gozlan (Creative Valley), Alexia Perouse (iBionext), and Paul \u0218tef\u0103nu\u021b (BoosterLab), joined by MedTech founders Zaki Milhem (WakeZ) and Roxana Sab\u0103u Vesa (Synaptiq).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Loredana Gavrilescu, Alexandru Agatinei, Vadim F\u00eent\u00eenari, Cristina \u021aoncu, Carmen \u021aale, and R\u0103zvan Suta showed through concrete examples that it is possible to build and scale from Romania for markets that truly matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, the sessions focused on energy and advanced manufacturing, featuring Ramona Samson, Bogdan P\u00eervu, Dan Zbuchea, and Dominic Gorecky (Swiss Smart Factory). The TECHConnect Festival provided the setting for the official launch of the Centru Innovation Valley platform, in the presence of Ioan Levi\u021bchi, Director of Regional Policies at ADR Centru \u2014 a partnership between academia, business, and local administration, created to transform applied research into a driver of regional economic development. Centru Innovation Valley can become a reality through the successful implementation of initiatives launched by ADR Centru, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2022 a regional investment fund for innovative startups; \u201eCentru Innovation Valley<\/strong> will become the support initiative through which we bring ideas out of laboratories and turn them into products and companies with real impact on the economy.\nWe have the support of city halls and ADR Centru<\/strong>we work directly with universities, and we have partnerships with investors from Romania and Europe.\nThe next natural step is for startups in the region, local administrations, and as many investors as possible to join us \u2014 because the region grows only if we build it together. \u201cTechnology transfer is the mechanism through which innovation can grow from the bottom up \u2014 from regional to national and European level.\nIf research remains isolated, progress stays theoretical.\nWhen the results of universities and research centers begin to be used by companies and local communities, they become an engine for development and change.\nCentru Innovation Valley gives us exactly this framework \u2014 a concrete way to connect regional capacities to European innovation networks,\u201d said Irina Florea-Saghin, Coordinator of the CITT I4T Technology Transfer Center and Festival Manager. Centru Innovation Valley<\/strong> Valley gives us exactly this framework \u2014 a concrete way to connect regional capacities to European innovation networks,\u201d<\/em> said Irina Florea-Saghin<\/strong>Coordinator of the CITT I4T Technology Transfer Center<\/em> CITT I4T and Festival Manager.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizatori \u0219i sprijin<\/strong> The event was supported through a grant from the Ministry of Education and Research, through the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development, and Innovation (UEFISCDI), project number PN-IV-P7-7.4-FTT-2024-0055, under the National Plan for Research, Development, and Innovation (PNCDI IV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n About Iceberg+<\/strong> <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Timp de trei zile, \u00eentre 7 \u0219i 9 octombrie, Bra\u0219ov, Sibiu \u0219i T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219 au g\u0103zduit prima edi\u021bie a Festivalului de Transfer Tehnologic TECHConnect, organizat de Iceberg+ \u00eempreun\u0103 CITT I4T, CIT IRECSON, Universitatea \u201eLucian Blaga\u201d din Sibiu \u0219i UMFST \u201eG.E. Palade\u201d din T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219. Peste 350 de participan\u021bi \u2013 cercet\u0103tori, antreprenori, investitori \u0219i reprezentan\u021bi ai mediului public \u0219i academic \u2013 au fost parte dintr-un format care a combinat dialogul direct cu prezent\u0103ri […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fara-categorie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1884"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1889,"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1884\/revisions\/1889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techconnectfestival.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n\n\n\nBra\u0219ov \u2013 where research, funding, and public policy connect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Aharon Dines (UiPath) and Timmy Ghiur\u0103u (Volvo Cars, The Point Labs) brought the industry\u2019s perspective \u2014 showing how automation and creativity are not mutually exclusive, but can together reshape the way we work and innovate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In parallel, within the +ONE Incubator<\/a> at CATTA \u2013 the festival\u2019s venue in Bra\u0219ov \u2013 researchers and companies worked on topics such as health, energy, and mobility, in a format that will be further expanded within Centru Innovation Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cecilia MoSze Tham\u00a0(Futurity Systems) on how disciplined imagination can build better futures \u2014 and urged Romania to develop its own \u201cdigital soul\u201d as part of an effort to craft a coherent strategy that truly supports innovation.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nSibiu and T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219 \u2013 applied innovation and European collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
At UMFST \u201cG.E. Palade\u201d T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, the sessions focused on MedTech and digital health, featuring Yolanda Beenen, Zaki Milhem, Sorina Moica, Jacek Kasz, and Ali Tavakoli, in discussions dedicated to moving from lab to market and fostering international collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The initiative brings together universities, clusters, startups, and public authorities within a shared collaboration framework focused on projects with direct economic impact and measurable results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2022 two open innovation platforms and business incubators in the fields of smart specialization;
\u2022 new industrial parks and research infrastructures, both public and private;
\u2022 a network of over 15 local business incubators and accelerators;
\u2022 over 200 innovative startups funded through grants and investments;
\u2022 the consolidation of a regional network connecting universities, companies, and local administrations into a functional innovation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first concrete step we\u2019ve already taken, beyond organizing TechConnect, is the TECHConnect<\/strong>is +<\/strong><\/em>ONE Incubator<\/em><\/a>, la CATTIA Bra\u0219ov<\/strong> the entry point for startups, research teams, and local administrations that want to test, pilot, and scale new solutions,\u201d<\/em>said Ionu\u021b \u021aa\u021ba<\/strong>, CEO CEO Iceberg+<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TechConnect was organized by Iceberg+, in partnership with \u201cLucian Blaga\u201d University of Sibiu (ULBS), \u201cGeorge Emil Palade\u201d University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of T\u00e2rgu Mure\u0219, and CIT-IRECSON. Operationally, the technology scouting and matchmaking were carried out by CITT I4T, Iceberg+\u2019s accredited technology transfer center and a member of the Enterprise Europe Network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iceberg+ is a European consultancy company with over 15 years of experience in innovation hubs, funding, and technology transfer. With more than 30 consultants and 100 collaborators, Iceberg+ works across a wide range of fields \u2014 from deep tech, e-health, creative industries, manufacturing, and urban mobility to European programs and networks. It manages CITT-I4T (Smart City, Industry 4.0, e-Health), implements three digital innovation hubs (FIT DIH, DIZ DIH, CityInnoHub DIH), serves as the EIT Community Office in Romania (covering EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Manufacturing, EIT InnoEnergy, and as a member of EIT Culture & Creativity), and acts as the local coordinator of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN).<\/p>\n\n\n\n