ITEA 4 - And we're off!

First ITEA 4 Call launched in conjuction with the Online ITEA PO Days 2021

2021 marks the start of ITEA 4, the new programme on software innovation under the umbrella of the Eureka Clusters Programme (ECP). The first Call of ITEA 4, ITEA Call 2021 for project proposals, was launched on 13 September in conjunction with the Online ITEA Project Outline (PO) Preparation Days, which were held from 13-16 September.

Unfortunately, like last year, it was not yet possible to get together with the ITEA Community physically, so ITEA took up the challenge again to translate the ambiance of the annual PO Days event to the virtual realm. The second consecutive virtual PO Days combined 4 days of informative sessions on ITEA, its upcoming Call, and the submission process with the most important element of all: discussions on new innovative project ideas. Although most ITEA Community members prefer to meet in person for this purpose, they have proven again to be very agile and active in the virtual format.

Four major achievements awarded with the ITEA award of Excellence

Apart from initiating new innovative ideas, the Online PO Days 2021 also provided the opportunity to have a look at the great achievements of ITEA projects that were recently completed. On Wednesday 15 September, during the ITEA Awards of Excellence ceremony, ITEA’s four most outstanding software innovation projects were celebrated. This year's award winners are:

BIMy - An innovation engine for integrated BIM and GIS

BIMy learned how Building Information Modelling (BIM) can be used and exploited beyond its normal use, and how the integration of BIM and geographic information systems (GIS) can be improved. It created a shared space for digital representations of construction projects in their environments, enabling collaboration between multiple stakeholders within the Smart City domain and paving

EMPHYSIS – The missing link between digital simulation and embedded software

EMPHYSIS delivered the new, global standard for smart industry, "eFMI standard" (embedded Functional Mock-up Interface), for digital model exchange among manufacturers. It accelerates the development of embedded software, with a focus on the automotive industry, thanks to which up to 90% gains can be made in productivity. Another successful outcome is the official approval of a new Modelica Association project to further develop, standardise and promote eFMI.

PARTNER - 'One patient, one team' approach for hospitals

PARTNER developed an architecture allowing different systems to communicate with each other, to enable the creation of a unified overview of a patient’s status (including at home). This assists collaboration within hospitals and reduces costs while offering greater freedom and comfort to patients.

VMAP - Enhancing interoperability in virtual engineering workflows

VMAP created a vendor-neutral standard for Computer-Aided Engineering data storage and transfer to enhance interoperability in virtual engineering workflows, increasing innovation speed by 50% and reducing setup time for virtual process chains by 40%. The VMAP Standard Community will be established to further disseminate the VMAP Standard and its development.

ITEA congratulates the ITEA Award of Excellence winners for contributing to a better society in their own way!

Online ITEA PO Days in review

Via our event survey several PO Days participants shared their evaluation and suggestions for improvements. With an average score of 3.4 on a 5-point scale (where 3 is good and 4 is very good) the score was bit lower than we were used to, but the event was still well appreciated.

What we have learned from last year’s online event is, that it’s more difficult to provide networking opportunities when hosting a virtual event. What is missing is the (spontaneous) networking experience and social interaction. Although this year the focus on networking was prioritised by introducing a new chat and messaging system, and although an online event has several advantages too, a high number of participants indicated they really miss the opportunity to interact and meet people face-to-face and would prefer a physical event next year.

ITEA will look to blend the best of both worlds to ensure that next year’s event will be optimally valuable for all participants and improve the creation of connections between the large international Community of industry, SMEs, start-ups, academia and customer organisations to build strong consortia.

The ITEA PO Days are made by and for the ITEA Community, and therefore we have invited different Community members to share their experience:

We are hopeful to be able to come together in person next year. We know the Community is eager to meet again, face-to-face, benefiting from the rich and efficient networking opportunities that the ITEA PO Days bring and we really look forward to come together with the ITEA Community again too!