TRAILS

The global trend of urbanisation affects countrysides across Europe more and more. Many regions suffer from fast shrinking towns as a result of economic emigration. So far, governments encounter this development with only a few measurements. One option is strengthening the innovative capabilities in local SMEs and supporting creative business ideas of young talents to keep both groups in the region. But professional innovation trainings for companies and formats promoting entrepreneurship only take place in big cities. Thus, there is an unsatisfied demand and great potential in rural regions. Against this background, the paper describes the concept of TRAILS – Traveling Innovation Labs and Services. TRAILS is a funded lighthouse project by EU INTERREG that focuses the area of eastern Saxony (Germany) and southern-west Poland starting in June 2016.

The TRAILS project has two main phases. Since there are no proofed mobile solutions for innovation labs, in phase A three regular ship containers will be redesigned and modified to fulfil multiple functions. In strong relationship to the container design, custom tailored educational programs for students of vocational schools and innovation services for SME employees are developed. In phase B the containers go on tour for nine month. They are transported to 32 destinations in the rural border region of eastern Saxony (Germany) as well as south-western Poland and stay in every place for one week. In this time the TRAILS-Team runs workshops, trainings, and matching-making events with students of vocational schools and SME employees building up innovation capabilities and entrepreneurial skills.

TRAILS brings established entrepreneurial formats like maker-spaces, start-up weekends, or hackathons on the road to rural regions. For the first time people in towns with high emigration of professionals and young talents get access to newest technologies and learn how to create innovations with economic impact within their nearest environment. Exclusively for this mission designed containers fully equipped with prototyping tools and workshop-supporting technologies bring the necessary setup and space on tour.

Students of vocational schools learn how to be innovative and transform project ideas into business models encountering economic standstill in their immediate surrounding. Employees of SMEs train creativity and co-design methods increasing the innovation capabilities of their firms. In sum, TRAILS helps rural regions to cross-connect students with SMEs to retain young talents and equips both groups with innovation methods and entrepreneurial knowledge.

Project Duration:
August 2016 – July 2018

Co-operation Partners:
Woiwodschaft Niederschlesien, Marschallsamt der Woiwodschaft Niederschlesien Technische Universität Breslau, Institut für Geistes­ und Sozialwissenschaften

Co-ordinator:
Dr. Peter SCHMIEDGEN
Email: 
Tel.: +49 351 463-32210

Team Members:
Florian SÄGEBRECHT
Email:
Tel.: +49 351 463-32210

Further Links:
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