Erik Rodenbach

The new PO Days

In addition to a higher turnout, that event saw the introduction of companies from beyond the founding members of ITEA, as well as more SMEs and a wider range of nationalities. Erik and the team would subsequently build on this success with a new format for the PO Days. “First, we created a marketplace where people could share posters and connect. Then, we allowed them to make five-minute pitches. Finally, we asked them to collaborate throughout the day and come back to us at the end to share what they had achieved. You didn’t need to guide people much. Once you provided the structure, they were motivated and creative enough to drive the process themselves. The PO Days are much more professional now but, over the years, the format has served as the basis for a successful event.”

“The most recent PO Days had around 300 participants. I think this is the maximum you should have. I’ve been to EU events with thousands of attendees, and you feel lost in those massive crowds. But with a smaller group, the atmosphere is more creative. About 70% of submitted project proposals were first presented at the PO Days, which is a testament to the success of the format.”

Starting a trend

Today, this Community is ITEA’s key asset, providing a well-rounded ecosystem that fosters collaboration between large companies, SMEs, universities and research institutions. However, Erik remembers a time before this was the norm: in the early 2000s, the big automotive OEMs all had their dedicated electronic units and suppliers had to deal with many variants and interfaces. This all changed with the ITEA project East-EEA, in which OEMs and suppliers defined a common language to standardise the interaction with the increasing number of electronic components in cars. Standardisation became essential and later projects continued to develop this. Many functionalities in modern cars are based on these very standards.

This is far from the only seismic shift that Erik has witnessed. 20 years ago, he first saw a demonstration on using a smartphone to make purchases. Nowadays, this technology is taken for granted. Even the current sensation around artificial intelligence has some of its roots in ITEA, which ran early Internet of Things projects that paved the way to the enormous amounts of data needed for AI. “It was fascinating to witness trends emerge at an early stage, when nobody had heard of them, and see them become commonplace,” Erik smiles. “ITEA projects are important within the whole innovation landscape because they are already quite close to the market. We provide a playground to use emerging technologies, allowing engineers to see how they can work in real life.”