The Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems will contribute to the New European Innovation Agenda and its flagship action in building 100 regional deep-tech innovation valleys.

These valleys hold significant potential to support and expedite the implementation of the bioeconomy in regions where communities reside and work. They also address the innovation gap within the EU, with particular attention to countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

The event is being jointly organized by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation and the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, in close collaboration with the BIOEAST ;

The event will be held on 13 October 2023, 9:00 EET, at the University Aula and will be live-streamed and recorded, with preliminary registration 

The working language of the event is English.

The program of the event will be announced in September.

Objectives:

The European Commission (EC) has initiated the development of the concept of Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems, taking input from Member States provided during a workshop at the European Bioeconomy Policy Forum in July 2023. The resulting concept will be introduced at a high-level event hosted by the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The specific objectives are:

• Present EU instruments relevant for establishing a network of Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems, particularly focusing on the New European Innovation Agenda and the flagship initiative regarding Regional Innovation
• Explain the distinctive characteristics of Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems and highlight successful existing examples from Member
• Discuss and explore challenges and opportunities in setting up Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food Systems, especially for BIOEAST countries and regions. Additionally, discuss the role in deploying and scaling up bioeconomy
• Emphasize and reinforce the role of bioeconomy education and skills development, and address the needs and gaps in current curricula to support Regional Innovation Valleys for Bioeconomy and Food

The target audience for this event includes existing and potential emerging bioeconomy and food system valleys, with a strong focus on less developed regions, relevant stakeholders in the agrifood and bioeconomy sector, university faculty and students, and media.