Travel grants for Innovation Expo Rotterdam

Purpose and goal

Goal of this project was to enable Native Bionics to participate in the Innovation Expo 2018 in Rotterdam. Furthermore, this was an opportunity to take part in the innovation discussion panels and importantly to meet potential collaborators from Europe and Asia. Native Bionics main focus is laying in areas of health and technology which were widely covered by this EXPO.

Expected results and effects

Native Bionics used this opportunity to initiate contacts with a series of potential partners suggested via Enterprise Europe Network and Vinnova, especially from South Korea. Such direct interactions under other circumstances would have been hard to initiate. Native Bionics also took part in the series of seminars as for example about designing a successful Eurostars project, visited number of exhibiting Dutch start-ups, as well as observed Accenture Start-up Health Awards competition. This resulted in an intense networking and possible new collaborators.

Planned approach and implementation

Native Bionics actively participated in the sessions and plenary meetings arranged by EXPO and partners. This resulted in gained knowledge about the EUROSTARS project, grants possibilities as well as plans for oncoming application call period. The matchmaking meetings were an excellent chance to discuss more complex ideas and try to find a common ground with collaborators. Additionally, the Innovation EXPO was an inspiring environment to test our ideas on the potential European market.