A sense for innovation

BioRegio STERN initiates the new international ZIM network „smart analytics“

(Stuttgart) – BioRegio STERN Management GmbH has won the tender for another project funded under the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi). The aim of the smart analytics project is to promote the development of innovative analytical methods and applications for the health care sector, industry and research. An initial group of 14 partners from all over Europe are going to build a skill-sharing network over a period of at least 18 months with funding amounting to 177,000 euros. BioRegio STERN Management GmbH is coordinating activities in Germany.

A whole host of different technologies are used in analytics. Although numerous biological, chemical and physical methods are available, development and application potential is far from exhausted. The challenges involved in processes such as human diagnostics, food testing and environmental monitoring include on-site analytics, real-time analysis and the networking of different analytical methods. The smart analytics project is designed to encourage cooperation between users and developers from various sectors with the aim of exploring the options for developing synergies, automating processes and utilising artificial intelligence. In addition to linking industries and technologies, another goal is to create both national and international networks of companies and research institutes. New partnerships are to be forged, synergies leveraged and state-of-the-art technologies combined to develop innovative analytical methods and applications for the healthcare sector, industry and research.

A total of 14 businesses and research establishments are joining forces with BioRegio STERN Management GmbH and the ISOCS (International Society for Olfaction and Chemical Sensing) as founder members of the smart analytics network. BioRegio STERN Management GmbH is acting as coordinator and contact for the German participants. The Dijon-based ISOCS is the international coordinator and is contributing its expertise in the field of artificial olfactory sensing, that is to say using chemical sensors to analyse odours. This highly innovative discipline opens up pioneering possibilities such as diagnosing diseases from the breath of patients and using olfactory sensors for quality control purposes in the food industry. „Artificial olfactory sensor technology is just one of the many exciting innovations we can expect to see in analytics,“ explains Nina Zabel from the project management team. „In the coming months, smart analytics will enable us to devise new strategies for developing trendsetting prospective applications and business models with our partners,“ adds project manager Dr. Verena Grimm.

The smart analytics project was launched back on May 1 and is initially being funded for 18 months by the BMWi with a sum of 177,000 euros. Other companies are welcome to join the network’s 14 founder members as project partners. This will give them access to targeted support, if required, to submit their own promising ZIM research and development applications.

German SMEs:
JLM Innovation GmbH, Tübingen
LuxFlux GmbH, Reutlingen
KWO Kunststoffteile GmbH, Offenau
Synovo GmbH, Tübingen
4base lab AG, Reutlingen
Micro-biolytics GmbH, Esslingen

German research partners:
Hahn-Schickard Institute for Micro Assembly Technology, Stuttgart
Hahn-Schickard Institute for Micro Analysis Systems, Freiburg
Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) at the University of Tübingen
Research Institute for Women’s Health at Tübingen University Hospital

International partners:
Nano Sensor Systems NASYS S.R.L., Italy
RUBIX S&I, France
IONICON Analytik GmbH, Austria

Coordinators:
ISOCS, France
BioRegio STERN Management GmbH, Germany

Interested companies can apply now to Dr. Verena Grimm:
grimm@bioregio-stern.de, tel.: +49 (0)711-870354-27

Keywords:BioRegio STERN Management GmbH, smart analytics, ZIM project, analytics, analytical methods, ISOCS, BMWi, Nina Zabel, Dr. Verena Grimm