Industry Meets Innovation – RTIT Closing Conference

Transnational Conference in Mostar

June 29, 2026

More than 70 experts from eight countries in the Danube region gathered in Mostar for the final conference of the RTIT>> project.

Over the past two and a half years, the RTIT project partners have worked together to accelerate the transfer of research results into marketable innovations and to strengthen the innovative capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises in the field of materials and materials technologies. At the final conference in Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the project results were presented and discussed in a panel discussion.

Among the most important findings are:

A shared understanding between research and industry is crucial—knowledge communities and strong networks are key to success.
Agile testing and adaptation processes are often more successful than lengthy planning—pursue practical approaches from the very beginning.
International collaboration creates new opportunities for innovation—European collaboration serves as a driving force.
SMEs need accessible and understandable innovation ecosystems—and support from networks.

A particular highlight was the keynote address by Olav Carlsen (SPRIND – Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovations), who emphasized that the countries of the Western Balkans already possess the necessary knowledge, research potential, and motivation to produce successful innovations. His call to action: think globally and act boldly.

The conference demonstrated once again how important cross-border knowledge and technology transfer is for the competitiveness and innovative strength of the Danube region.

Project results and further information are available online on the >">RTIT project page>>