COMMECT at the Synergy Days Conference 2023 (October 4 and 5)
The Synergy Days Conference 2023 took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 4 and 5 October 2023, and was a great opportunity for the COMMECT project to connect with other EU-funded projects and create synergies with them.
The event was well organised by SmartAgriHubs and was attended by over 300 people, including representatives of EU project members, digital innovators and various stakeholders from the European agri-food sector. Besides technical sessions focusing on relevant topics such as sustainable agriculture, 5G for smart communities and the relevance of EU policies, the conference also offered a wide portfolio of workshops, organised by EU projects.
COMMECT, together with its sister project XGain, organised two workshops, which focused on two of the main issues addressed in the project activities.
The first workshop, entitled "Connectivity, business models and socio-economic impact: What is the Interlink?" aroused great interest among many Synergy Days participants, as confirmed by a fully booked meeting room.
Digital transformation will play a very important role in the future of agriculture, forestry and rural areas in general. Enhanced broadband connectivity is of strategic importance for growth and innovation in all sectors of the economy. However, how to develop appropriate business models, assess potential investments and the environmental and socio-economic impact of XG connectivity, edge/cloud computing and digital technologies on rural communities is still an open question. Possible answers to this question were gathered during the workshop from an engaged audience, based on lessons learnt in other EU projects (e.g. QuantiFarms, to name but one). Thanks are due to Per Jonny Nesse of Telenor and Andrea Kerstens of TNO for chairing the workshop, on behalf of COMMECT.
A second workshop, entitled "What are the best digital technologies for my use case?", presented and discussed the decision support tool currently under development, designed to provide suggestions on the availability and suitability of technology proposals, including connectivity and computational aspects, in the context of different use cases in rural areas.
These proposals were selected taking into account socio-economic aspects, environmental impact and business models. The workshop organisers engaged with the participants in an interactive session during which a demo of the tools was presented. Of particular interest was the artificial intelligence (LLM) approach presented by Srdjan Krčo of DunavNET.
Finally, our COMMECT coordinator Maria Rita Palattella participated in the plenary session 'Synergy Projects', where her task was to summarise the main objectives and challenges of our project in 3 minutes. The workshop was well attended and Maria Rita Palattella was able to engage and inspire the audience through her short but captivating speech and interaction with the audience.
COMMECT is grateful to the Synergy Days organizers and all participants who made the success of the 2023 conference possible and already looks forward to the next edition in Barcelona!
The Plenary Meeting of the COMMECT project took place in Oslo (Norway) on 17-19 October 2023 and was excellently held by Telenor.
Three fruitful days full of stimulating presentations, engaging discussions, useful demonstrations in the Living Lab ‘Connected Forestry’ and many ambitious plans for the near future.
DunavNET represented the COMMECT project at the 90th International Agricultural Fair in Novi Sad (Serbia).
Our partners were proud to share the progress of two impactful projects such as COMMECT and H2020 DEMETER with the fair's attendees. The DunavNET's team of experts answered questions, offered demonstrations, and engaged in meaningful discussions about how these projects are shaping the future of farming and the agricultural sector by means of innovation and forefront solutions.
News and Events
A fruitful COMMECT meeting took place today at Aalborg University, in Denmark.
The members of the Executive Board gathered together to discuss the progresses of the #project over the first 6 months. Particular focus was on the use cases that were defined for each Living Lab, after closely discussing with the end-users, and stakeholders, listening to their needs, and daily challenges.
In the coming months, the consortium will deploy first connectivity solutions that have been identified to address the challenges, and make rural communities stronger, prosperous, and competitive.
Following the Executive Board Meeting, COMMECT holded a General Assembly. A work plan for the upcoming months was presented by the coordinator Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). Lot of collaboration, and interaction are forseen among the partners of the multi-disciplinary consortium. This will ensure the design of innovative connectivity solutions that can find large adoption, and have a concrete socio-economic, and environmental impact.
IoT Day organized by DunavNET (DNET)
On April 9th, the IoT community celebrated the IoT Day to recognize the profound impact of IoT technology. To mark this event, DunavNET (DNET) is hosting a meeting to discuss recent achievements in digital technologies, with a particular emphasis on the data economy, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics that are propelling the industry to new heights. The meeting will take place on April, 21st and more details about it can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eZ6vm_G4
In that special occasion, DunavNET (DNET) will be pleased to showcase its latest activities within the COMMECT and H2020 DEMETER projects.
Padborg Transportcenter (PTC) at the 'Telecom Industry Forum' (Denmark)
Yesterday the Danish Department of Data and Infrastructure held a meeting titled 'Telecom Industry Forum'. The event saw the participation of 50 key actors in the fields of telecommunication, fiber networj, and broadcasting, together with several delegates from the Confederation of the Danish Industry. The invited attendees discussed how to expand the fiber net as well as how to enhance the use of 5G networks.
The COMMECT Consortium was represented by Padborg Transportcenter (PTC) and its Director Jesper Schimann Hansen. At the end of the event, Padborg Transportcenter was invited by the Department for the Use of New Technologies – i.e., a new department under the Danish Ministry of Digitalization and Infrastructure – to participate in upcoming workshops and meetings organized by the Ministry itself. In those occasions, PTC will have the opportunity to present and discuss the technologies explored within COMMECT, and in particular in the Living Lab on Livestock Transport in Denmark.
COMMECT in the LuxInnovation Newsletter
The ambitious objective of the COMMECT project is to provide digital connectivity to rural areas by identifying the most efficient and cost-effective solutions. The national innovation agency in Luxembourg, Luxinnovation, helped the coordinator of the COMMECT project, LIST, to find key international partners and ensure the high quality of the funding application. Learn more: https://www.luxinnovation.lu/news/bridging-the-digital-divide/
COMMECT in the Norwegian newspaper Nationen
Nationen is a Norwegian daily publication focusing on agriculture and rural areas. The newspaper published an article about the COMMECT project and how the adoption of 5G technology may enhance the forestry industry in Norway.
COMMECT in the Press in Norway
Telecom Revy is a Norwegian website focusing on the telecommunication industry. On November 4th, the webzine published a long article about the activities carried out by the COMMECT's Norwegian partners Telenor, Klosser Innovation and Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences in the context of the local Living Lab ('Connected Foresty').
COMMECT in the Press in Luxembourg
Following the kick-off meeting, MERKUR, a Magazine from the Chambre de commerce in Luxembourg, published a PRESS Alert, announcing the start of the project, and the strategic role of LIST, leading the project aiming to digitalise rural areas across Europe and beyond.
COMMECT Kick-off Meeting
The COMMECT project started on September 1st, 2022, and the kick-off meeting was organised on September 8th - 9th , hosted in Luxembourg, by the coordinator, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST).