Skopje, 31 January 2025 (MIA) - The first European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) in North Macedonia opened Friday at the Center for Technology Transfer and Innovation - INNOFEIT of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies (FEIT) within the "Ss. Cyril and Methodius" University in Skopje. 

EDIH will help companies in digital transformation, encouraging innovation, increased productivity, successful handling of challenges, and access to EU funding. Companies can use the hub to obtain necessary information, expertise, infrastructure and direct support in implementing innovative business ideas. Public sector institutions can also rely on the innovation hub to ensure more efficient and transparent delivery of services to citizens.

INNOFEIT EDIH is part of the Reform Agenda 2024-2027, and the Ministry of Education has provided co-financing for half of the funds needed for its launch, which is also a requirement in withdrawing additional EU funds from the Growth Plan.

Congratulating FEIT professors Dimitar Tashkovski and Vladimir Atanasovski on their persistence and engagement in making this centre functional, Education Minister Vesna Janevska said she expects the Macedonian hub to be included on the list of the EDIH European network awards very soon, which will mean that it is achieving its goals.  

"INNOFEIT EDIH should facilitate digital transformation of the business sector, on the one hand, and the public sector, on the other. This hub should be our point of contact with Europe in terms of knowledge transfer, partnerships, and funding opportunities in order to support the most potential businesses, ideas and research, so that they can develop and be internationally competitive," said the Minister.

She added that “this is a great day for Macedonia” because state institutions, science, and people from the private sector “have finally united to do something that offers prosperity to this country”. She expects that such hubs “will multiply”, noting that finally “we are moving towards something that is truly serious and will make a difference in our country”. 

Minister of Digital Transformation Stefan Andonovski pointed out that the project has been planned for over a year in order to apply and receive funds. It is supported by the European Union through the Digital Europe Project, the Government with over Mden 60 million allocated over three years, as well as by a consortium consisting of the private sector, higher education institutions and chambers.

According to him, EDIH will support innovation in digitalization, testing digital solutions, as well as digital transformation of small and medium enterprises. He said he expects the hub will succeed in encouraging new companies to change their work processes and digitize.

"I hope that in this way we will be able to truly support innovation, unlike before. This is a truly creative and innovative undertaking that supports real innovations, not criminal innovations. I hope that in the coming period we will have the opportunity to establish such hubs of different sizes, with a different focus in different sectors across the country in order to geographically cover the entire country with this profile of activities, or, alternatively, to expand this innovation hub in terms of its engagement, not only in the cities where the consortium partners come from, but to expand it further," Andonovski added. 

Photo/video: MIA