About StarDust

The StarDust project combines strengths and core competencies in nine countries in Northern Europe and brings business, academic and public worlds together to find better solutions for the Baltic Sea Region. The overall objective is it to find new answers for societal challenges that the people in this part of Europe is facing. Increasing water pollution and an ageing population are just two examples of those. StarDust turns these challenges into opportunities for growth.

The project consists of five sub-projects supported by new tools and methods on open and user-driven innovation. Their cooperation highlights that common problems must be addressed jointly. Therefore, every project combines researchers, clusters, SME-networks and public actors from different countries. The projects bring different expertise and perspectives together. This transnational cooperation gives the creative approach that is needed to meet the grand challenges.

The five transnational projects are the core of StarDust. They operate in the fields of clean technology & future energy, wellbeing & health, future transport, and digital business & services. New commercial-based concepts and routines relating transnational, national, regional and local levels will be indentified and implemented. The projects involve all fields of innovations (scientific, technical as well as non-technical) with the aim of developing business-focused competitive global positions in selected fields. In this way, the project increases the growth of the region by fostering business ideas and setting up competitive partnerships beyond the national borders.

In total, StarDust mobilizes 34 partners from the public and semi-public sector. These partners are supported by 33 associated partners from national, regional and local levels. This set of partners represents all national ministries and innovation agencies in the ten Baltic Sea countries. The five pilots are supported by five work packages, for example regarding their communication or collaboration.

During 2012 and 2013 StarDust has strengthened its partnership by attracting new partners and financiers: the partners received more than 8 MEUR as add-on investment, 15 research institutions and six new cluster and business development organisations joined as associated partners. The five sub-projects are continuing their work by preparing strategic action plans focusing on long term strategy.

The innovation project StarDust is a transnational project co-financed by the European Union’s Baltic Sea Region Programme 2007-2013, which promotes regional development through transnational cooperation. StarDust was enacted under the priority area 1 aiming on fostering innovation with a total budget of 6,5 million Euros. StarDust builds on earlier cooperation and is in line with the earlier transnational projects (like BSR InnoNet and BSR_CBP projects).

StarDust is the first stepping stone in the BSR Stars programme and is lead by VINNOVA, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems.

The five sub-projects are:
Mobile Vikings
Active for Life
MarChain
Clean Water
Comfort in Living