First Cluster Excellence Training in Turkey

The First Cluster Excellence Management Training in Turkey Completed Successfully  

The Aegean Exporters' Associations welcomed Prof. Antoni Subira, President of the European Foundation for Cluster Excellence, to the closing event of the first Cluster Excellence Management training ever held in Turkey.

After 6 months of intensive work - both classroom-based and on-the-field - with participants hailing from Ministries, Regional Development Agencies, Cluster Organisations and Chambers of Commerce & Industry from across Turkey, the Aegean Exporters’ Associations trainers imparted the last week of the course in Izmir. Participants received their certification as Cluster Excellence Managers from the Foundation.  

With the presence and valuable contribution of Prof. Antoni Subira, former Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Catalan Government and President of the Foundation, participants had the opportunity to learn from his extensive knowledge and experience in top-level cluster policy.

Set-up and mostly delivered by Associate Trainers in Cluster Excellence from the Aegean Exporters’ Associations, the training concluded on the 6th of June 2014. Other international contributors to the final week’s programme included Alberto Pezzi from ACC1O - on continuous policy input and evaluation - and Werner Pamminger from Clusterland Upper Austria - on project management - both of them accredited professors of the Foundation.

Conclusion of the Euromed Programme

The Euromed Cluster Excellence training successfully concludes its programme with a final week in Brussels

The Euromed Cluster Excellence teams completed the Train-the-Trainers programme during their 6th training week taking place in Brussels, on the 13th and 14th of May 2014.

The changes that have taken place in the Southern Mediterranean region have no precedence in the recent history. It’s a time of both challenges and opportunities for a whole new generation. The Euromed Programme - "Innovative Entrepreneurs for Change " - was spurred by the European Commission on behest of the European Parliament. The programme was devised to bring support to the local economic forces in these times of democratic transition, by developing expertise and training practitioners in the areas of Cluster Management and Innovation Management. A way to actively support local entrepreneurs and innovators.

The programme which started in April 2013 was designed for Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon and Egypt. Previous training weeks took place in Beirut, Casablanca, Tunis and Barcelona.

After days of sustained interaction between professors and participants, teams were awarded the Certification for their participation in the programme. Diplomas were delivered by Reza Zadeh, Executive Director of the Foundation, and Dr. Nikos Pantalos, Policy Officer for Clusters and Emerging Industries at the European Commission, DG Enterprise.

Classes of the week were taught by renowned European cluster experts and practitioners from Spain, Denmark and France. They provided the participants with an in-depth view on the topics of continuous cluster policy input and cluster policy evaluation.

On completion of their practical field-projects, participants will qualify as Cluster Management Excellence trainers and will be able to run training courses for economic development professionals, using the European Cluster Excellence methodology and material. The participants left Brussels with the firm intention to disseminate the methodology in their respective countries, hoping to foster regional competitiveness and social well-being through Cluster Excellence.

A unique opportunity to ignite positive socio-economic changes across the Euromed region.

CIP Call 2013/2014 - 1st Training Week

The latest training programme on Cluster Excellence Management has started

The first week of the new Train-the-Trainers programme started last Monday in Barcelona in support of the European Commission's CIP Call 2013: "Towards World-Class Clusters, Promoting Cluster Excellence".

42 participants from across Europe completed the first intensive week of a nine-month training programme in Cluster Excellence Management. 

During the week participants, representing 15 regions in 10 countries, were introduced to the concept of Cluster Excellence Management and its methodology. They were given to examine cases studies from European regions as well as from other international business communities. The programme, which combines 6 weeks of in-class training with a hands-on, practical experience in developing a regional Cluster Initiative, was developed under the European Cluster Excellence Initiative (ECEI) with co-funding from the European Commission.

On successful completion of the training in February 2015, participants will qualify as Associate Trainers. This will enable them to run Cluster Management training courses in their regions, using the Cluster Excellence methodology and material, while receiving support from the Foundation throughout the process.

Most participants from the previous programme (CIP Call 2011), successfully embarked cluster agents of their respective regions onto Cluster Management Excellence trainings.