The Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH) network is the backbone of European strategies for innovation and digitalization of economic sectors. The key role of DIHs, of which there are already more than 600 in the EU, is to support small and medium-sized enterprises in their innovative development. In Ukraine, there are only 3 DIHs (2 in Kyiv and 1 in Lviv) and they are just being deployed. In May 2021, APPAU announced a program to “reset” its relations with its members, technical universities. The main thing in this program is the course on DIH.
The BOWI project, implemented by Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, has become a catalyst for these changes. But similar processes of better orientation to market demands and cooperation with business are also underway in other universities across the country. So, it’s time to meet, synchronize and share best practices, and importantly, in the broader context of the challenges of regional smart specialization.