Editorial

Dear ITEA Innovation Community,

This is a joyful and happy moment for all of us. This special edition of the ITEA Magazine celebrates the launch of ITEA 4 in the Eureka Clusters Programme (ECP).

ITEA 4 is now more than a plan, it is a real, continuous research and innovation programme that has one purpose agreed by all stakeholders: to create impact to enable Sustainable Growth through Innovation. I am very grateful to our dedicated ITEA Community and the Public Authorities for their continued and inspiring support and valuable contribution to make ITEA 4 happen!

ITEA 4 is the Eureka Cluster on Software innovation in the Eureka Clusters Programme (ECP), a renewed Eureka instrument. And collaboration, which has always been an important ambition of ITEA, has a new concept with ECP: collaboration among Eureka Clusters through Joint Calls. Frans Verkaart and Jan Jonker tell you more about the ECP and how it is designed to make stronger connections among Clusters for greater impact.

At the start of ITEA 4, we would like to cherish the impact of ITEA created by the ITEA Community over more than 20 years. Yes, ITEA 4 will build on ITEA’s strong roots. ‘Enhancing from Established Roots’ reflects on the great achievements of ITEA projects on 19 different aspects, and the ‘Success stories’ of Assume and Reflexion reinforce this impact. Additionally, important ITEA 3 highlights have been presented in this magazine in the overview ‘ITEA 3 measured in milestones’.

Moving from ITEA 3 to ITEA 4 is an important moment for us and for the ITEA Community. That’s why a new ITEA 4 style has been designed presenting flexibility, dynamism, freshness and openness. I hope you will enjoy this new design and I invite you to find out the story behind it in the article ‘ITEA 4 styling’.

By having continuous dialogue with Public Authorities, the ITEA 4 impact plan is designed to facilitate a better response to the requirements and needs of countries. And interaction with industry identifies the urgent needs of industry. It is at the meeting point of the industry and Public Authorities that this impact plan was built. This magazine presents a summary; the complete version will soon appear on our website.

Several new concepts developed for ITEA 4 have already been launched before its start. For example, the Smart City and Cyber Security Advisory Boards were established to strengthen ITEA’s customer orientation. And the new challenge, Smart Energy, that was introduced was also the focus of this year’s international customer workshop. Summaries of these initiatives can be found in this magazine as well.

ITEA 4 is an exciting new beginning for all of us and we are very happy to share this memorable moment with you. ITEA has been creating impact since its beginning. As Sustainable Growth is an ambition of ITEA 4, this ambition also applies to ITEA itself, too. The sustainability of ITEA can only be made possible thanks to your continuous support and sharing the joy of creating impact together.

I hope you enjoy the celebration of ITEA 4 in this magazine and I wish you all a good read.

Zeynep Sarılar