Outside the European Commission building in Brussels (left-right): Anne-Grete Ellingsen (CEO, GCE NODE), Marianne Engvoll (FoUI Manager, GCE NODE), Stig Marthinsen (South Norway’s European Office), Isabelle-Louise Aabel (EU Advisor, GCE NODE), Jan Helge Viste (Project Manager Digitalization, GCE NODE) and Kristine Lunde-Tellefsen (South Norway’s European Office).

GCE NODE spent two days in Brussels meeting representatives from the European Commission, South Norway European Office and others.

“We had two highly productive days in Brussels, in the heartland of the European Union. Our objective is to seek partners and relevant funding for projects that are useful for our cluster companies and European partners,” says Isabelle-Louise Aabel, EU Advisor at GCE NODE.

During the stay in Brussels, GCE NODE met with:

  • European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet), a network of organizations that work together to observe the sea and collect data from the sea.
  • JPI Oceans, a coordination platform for long-term alignment and cooperation in marine and maritime research and innovation funding, to increase the impact of investments.
  • DSP Valley, a Benelux cluster of excellence in smart electronic systems and embedded technology solutions, with more than 125 members.
  • Scotland Europa, a membership-based organization that promotes Scotland’s interests across the institutions of the European Union and to the representatives of Europe’s regions and member states.
  • European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology, which runs the Digital Innovation Hubs program.
  • Norwegian Digital Innovation Hub, based in Trøndelag counties, with SINTEF and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology as partners.
  • Innovation Norway in Brussels
  • South Norway’s European Office (Sørlandets Europakontor)

“A big thank you to Stig Marthinsen and Kristine Lunde-Tellefsen at South Norway’s European Office, and Mathias Havgar at Innovation Norway in Brussels, for organizing meetings and putting together a program tailormade for GCE NODE,” says Aabel.