The Paseo de la Petxina campus of the European University of Valencia hosted an important meeting last Tuesday, July 9, among the partners of the Valencian Community involved in the European project I3-INSHAPE. The meeting was attended by Quique Alcántara and Oliver Salazar from the HUB 4icv Esport, Javier Gámez Ismael Vallés, Héctor Espinós, Ferran Domínguez and Francisco García from the European University of Valencia, Javier Iturralde, expert from Metric Salad, and Javier Soriano, CEO of Blautic Designs. The progress of the project, which is about to complete its first year, was analyzed during the meeting with the aim of planning the work for the coming months to achieve the objectives of the I3-INSHAPE project.
The I3-INSHAPE project aims to develop a European network of regional innovation hubs in sports and physical activity that provide support to SMEs to bring products and services to the market that address the enormous problem of inactive lifestyles among the population, which contribute to the increase in chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer's, and cancer. A European network that operates as a single service provider: the INSHAPE network.
I3-INSHAPE focuses on solving key challenges for SMEs, such as:
- Lack of interregional connections to build European value chains and expand their market presence.
- Digitalization of services and products, and greater impetus for data.
- Specialized innovation support services including user-centered and evidence-based innovation, scaling, commercialization, and access to financing.
In this project, with a budget close to 10 million euros, the partners of the Valencian Community coordinate the development of a data-driven innovation services network that supports regional and European SMEs to improve their competitiveness through data.
Valencian community SMEs like Blautic Designs are already benefiting from these services, while others will be incorporated in the coming months, followed by others within the cascade funding call that I3-INSHAPE will launch in 2025.
By addressing these areas, the I3-INSHAPE project responds to the EU's needs to create a more vital society with a consumer-based approach, covering everything from healthcare to overall health and well-being.
