Innovation Relay Centre

The Innovation Relay Centre (IRC) is the Slovenian node of the European Innovation Relay Centre network, a consortium project coordinated by the Jožef Stefan Institute with the University of Maribor (CIMRS) as partner. Its mission is to support innovation and international technological cooperation in Europe through a range of specialised support services. IRC Slovenija promotes innovation and competitiveness by connecting knowledge, technologies and people, and its assistance is aimed at technology transfer between companies, between countries and between sectors. The project identifies technological needs and demands, supports innovation, and supports international technological cooperation. It is part of a European network of 71 Innovation Relay Centres that links technology-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as larger companies, research institutions, universities, technology centres and others, with European companies, technology seekers and technology providers, and offers various services. In the 2004–2008 period the partners — the Jožef Stefan Institute as project coordinator and the University of Maribor (CIMRS) as partner, with nine experts in total — achieved a number of interesting results. The project was led by Prof. Dr. Peter Stegnar as project head and Marjeta Trobec as operational project manager. Communication and technology transfer activities were based at the Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. The IRC Slovenija project is described as a consortium project in which the Jožef Stefan Institute acts as coordinator and the Centre for Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Research and Studies at the University of Maribor acts as partner. The network deals with technology transfer and with ways of bringing available technologies and the results of research projects closer to users.

The Innovation Relay Centre (IRC) Slovenija was established as a consortium project within the European Innovation Relay Centre network, which at the time comprised 71 centres across Europe. The project was coordinated by the Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia's leading public research institute, with the University of Maribor participating through its Centre for Interdisciplinary and Multidisciplinary Research and Studies (CIMRS) as partner. The consortium brought together nine experts. The network's purpose was to deal with technology transfer and to find ways of bringing available technologies and the results of research projects closer to users. IRC Slovenija specifically supported innovation and international technological cooperation in Europe through specialised support services, connecting knowledge, technologies and people. Its assistance was intended for technology transfer between companies, between countries and between sectors. During the 2004–2008 period, the partners — the Jožef Stefan Institute as project coordinator and the University of Maribor (CIMRS) as partner — reported a number of interesting results. The project identified technological needs and demands, supported innovation, and supported international technological cooperation. It linked technology-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as larger companies, research institutions, universities, technology centres and others, with European companies, technology seekers and providers of new technologies and innovations. The project was led by Prof. Dr. Peter Stegnar as project head and Marjeta Trobec as operational project manager. Communication and technology transfer activities were hosted at the Jožef Stefan Institute at Jamova 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia. The IRC Slovenija project maintained an official project website and was part of the wider European IRC Gateway network.

• IRC Slovenija operates as part of the European network of 71 Innovation Relay Centres.

• 2004–2008: Jožef Stefan Institute (coordinator) and University of Maribor (CIMRS, partner) run the IRC Slovenija project with nine experts.

A publicly funded innovation and technology-transfer intermediary connecting Slovenian and European companies, research institutions and technology providers.

• Technology transfer support

  Support for transferring technologies between companies, countries and sectors.

• Identification of technological needs and demands

  Identifying the technological needs and demands of companies and organisations.

• Innovation support

  Services promoting innovation and competitiveness by connecting knowledge, technologies and people.

• International technological cooperation support

  Support for international technological cooperation in Europe.

1. 1TT/Zunanji/IRC - Institut "Jožef Stefan"ijs.si
2. 2Innovation Relay Centre - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Inovacijski relejni center - Wikipedia (Slovenian)sl.wikipedia.org