The Innovations and Industrial Internet project was formed with partners from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, Centria University of Applied Sciences, Finland, and University of Tromsø, campus Narvik, Norway. The work has addressed an increase in small and medium sized enterprises’ competences of applying modern digital technology to benefit product- and service development in the region. Almost 40 companies have been keenly involved in the project’s activities, which have included, for example, case studies, demonstrations, workshops and seminars. The close academia and company collaborations has resulted in SMEs’ test and evaluation of new technologies, in turn leading to the implementation of new methods that were new to 16 of those companies.

The project collaborations have resulted in 9 products and services that were new to the companies. A number of cross-border collaborations among companies and universities across the program region have been finalized, for example a case on 3D printing and boat production which involved all partners competences. The cross-border added value does not only encompass the open accessible milieu bringing all partners expertise together to benefit SMEs in the region, but it also identified and mitigated barriers between knowledge domains, like the ones occurring in value chain collaborations where digital solutions often dissolve some aspects of a problem while simultaneously cause new ones.

The project has had a fairly good representation of females in leading positions since the project leader and one country’s leader are females, but also the female representation in activities has been good.

The project has been nominated to the Regio Stars Award 2017.