On December 11, an expert consultation organized by representatives of the Research Council of Lithuania (RCL) took place at the Klaipėda Science and Technology Park. The aim of the event was to familiarize regional research institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, startups and young scientists with the funding and competence-building opportunities provided by the RCL and to encourage more active involvement in R&D and project activities.
Representatives of startups, universities, SMEs and scientists located in the Klaipėda Science and Technology Park participated in the event. The meeting, organized on the principle of consultations, was relevant both for researchers planning the commercialization of ideas and for teams already conducting R&D activities.
RCL Program Coordinator Lukas Valaitis presented in detail the funding opportunities for spin-off R&D projects. The presentation discussed the stages of establishing a spin-off company, requirements for applicants, R&D qualification levels, documentation features, call statistics, and the most common mistakes made by applicants.a
RCL innovation expert Tomas Nakutis presented the pre-acceleration and mentoring programs implemented by the council, aimed at developing the competencies of researchers and companies. It was mentioned that these programs are flexible and adapted not only to spin-offs, but also to SMEs seeking to commercialize R&D results, as well as to MSI researchers and specialists from technology transfer centers. Pre-acceleration activities are focused on both Lithuanian and international markets, in cooperation with foreign partners and participation in international projects. Other incentive measures applied by RCL were highlighted – the opportunity to participate remotely in international training, in-mentoring programs, individual or group expert consultations.
RCL Program Coordinator Dr. Vita Urbanavičienė presented the opportunities provided by the international network EUREKA – application topics, competition specifics and the benefits of networking. EUREKA R&D instruments were discussed in more detail: Network Projects, Globalstars, Clusters, Eurostars and Innowwide.
The event included an active question-and-answer session, during which participants discussed practical aspects of application submission, international development opportunities, and individual consultation needs. The meeting contributed to closer science and business cooperation in the Western Lithuania region and provided participants with valuable practical knowledge about R&D funding and international development instruments.
