Memorandums of Cooperation NTUA with SME for circular production and distribution of products

Memorandums of Cooperation were signed, yesterday, between them National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and his Institute of Small and Medium Enterprises of GSEVEE, the Chamber of Commerce of Athens, the Tourism Development and Promotion Company of the Municipality of Athens (EATA S.A.), the Silver and Goldsmiths Association of Athens and the Athens Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of searching for the best circular economy practices in the quality of life and the revitalization of the center of Athens.

The action is implemented within the framework of the INNOMED UP project “Promoting UPcycling in Circular Economy through INNovation and education for creative industries in MEDiterranean cities which concerns creative professions and their connection with the circular economy, in the historical center of Athens”.

In a relevant event held yesterday, in the context of which the memorandums of cooperation were also signed, it was pointed out that the general objective of this innovative project is to propose a revitalization strategy for Mediterranean cities, by exploiting productive, creative networks and connecting them with the modern and necessary practices of the circular economy. At the time of the digital and green transition, it is observed that cities are now facing a severe problem in terms of waste management, which requires immediate and effective management actions especially for waste.

This Euro-Mediterranean project is financed by the EU. and the ENI CBC MED program with a budget of 3.1 million euros (of which 2.8 million euros is European participation) and is implemented in seven Mediterranean cities: Athens, Prato, Palermo in Sicily, the city of Tunis in Tunisia, Hebron and Nablus in Palestine, Irbid in Jordan. In addition to the National Technical University of Athens, which is the coordinator of the project, the engineering company EPEM S.A., the Municipalities of Prato and Tunis, the university of Birzeit and the NGOs Future Pioneers (Jordan) and CRESM (Sicily) also participate. .

Smart bins have been designed and manufactured by NTUA

It is noted in a GSEVEE announcement that the multi-year research engagement of the NTUA Research Group, which directs the project, with creative and cultural industries (Creative & Culture Industries – CCIs) has highlighted the fact that in the cities of the Mediterranean there are active and strong networks small artistic, craft and creative enterprises.

In the three years of implementation and despite the significant obstacles arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the project has carried out a number of actions and produced significant results. However, it aims to complete the pivotal result, i.e. the creation of pilot circular cooperation networks (circular clusters) in each participating city.

In this direction, some of the Small and Medium-sized Cultural Creative Enterprises, which cooperate in various ways, will host (or already host) the smart bins, which have been designed and built by the NTUA, where secondary materials from production activities will be collected (cloth and leather scraps, plastic , paper, metal objects). The smart bins communicate through smart technology with the project’s electronic platform, which collects and shares information in an open way. A smart bicycle (also made by NTUA) is notified to collect and distribute the materials to professionals, who will use them for their own constructions. Finally, six small and medium-sized enterprises have been awarded, after a public tender process, by the NTUA, with amounts that are already being used for the production of innovative pilot products, the acquisition of circular economy equipment and for training on issues related to the circular production and distribution of products .

In the cooperation network (cluster) of Athens, ten companies participate, which will host the smart bin, the six companies that were awarded and the five collaborating institutions, with which the NTUA has written Memorandums of Cooperation and they assist in the project’s actions and in the communication of the results.

RES-EMP

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