SecurIT: European Funding for SMEs Towards Resilient Smart Cities & Territories

On September 14th, 2021, representatives of eight leading European clusters in the field of security and tech, one of which is HSD, along with two European Union representatives, gathered during a hybrid meeting in Aix-en-Provence, France. On this day, the SecurIT project officially kicked off. SecurIT is a European project that aims to support and co-finance the development of collaborative projects in the field of security to promote a new industrial value chain for safe, secure, and resilient cities and territories. These projects will allow for the prototyping of and experimentation with top-notch technological solutions. The project will go on for 36 months and aims to establish new industrial value chains that will have long term benefits beyond the project’s timeframe. This initiative provides a great opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular. HSD is part of a slim 4% of applicants for INNOSUP projects whose proposals have been honored.

Events and dates coming up

The first activity on the agenda will be a series of workshops in November of 2021. In these workshops, end-users and integrators from the different clusters’ networks will gather to discuss potential use cases for the first open call. These workshops will thus not only provide an opportunity to further develop relevant ideas and projects, but they also serve as a way for end-users and integrators from different countries to connect with one another. During the workshops, the main goal is to identify future needs and use cases related to specific test beds within the security sector. This will help all parties involved with the development of their security.

The first open call for the submission of projects will begin soon, in January of 2022. During this open call, SMEs will be selected by external experts, including integrators and end-users. The open calls are adapted to security challenges and SMEs will receive direct support from clusters and their relevant partners. The second open call will be in February of 2023.

Why is SecurIT interesting for me or my business?

The SecurIT project is a beneficial, innovative initiative for the security market. It allows for networking at a European level for all parties involved, leading to new connections and partnerships in the security sector. Most importantly, the project gives SMEs the opportunity to receive European funding for their projects. Along with this funding comes visibility and brand awareness. HSD looks forward to a productive partnership with all involved clusters, end-users, integrators, and SMEs to bring innovation to the security market.

Click here to read this article in Dutch.