Towards closer collaboration with SMEs

Involving SMEs and Developers was the big goal of last week´s plenary session in Berlin. During two days, on the 5th and 6th July, EMBERS team organised debates and networking activities to present and discuss the product and its evolution. And this first contact was a success! With an impressive and committed group around the table, at Fraunhofer FOKUS, the SMEs were very pleased to be involved in an early stage of the project, enabling a dynamic and more productive engagement. The general feedback was very positive, and this new community is eager to contribute with their opinions and feedback, but most of all to share their needs and participate actively in the development of new apps. The APIs turn out to be the most significant need expressed so far, to start testing the data. “For us, it was a great chance to meet with this community of interest during our meeting and participate in this knowledge exchange, which clearly consolidates our vision and enriches it! Not only is it great to involve people in our goals, but it is crucial to have our product continually tested to achieve better results!”, said Ricardo Vitorino from Ubiwhere. Students and citizens were also invited to provide the team with their needs and ideas in Berlin. With the purpose of empowering EMBERS impact and respond to the wishes expressed by the involved stakeholders, the consortium is already working on the collection of new data, by integrating more cities into their community enabling a broader impact of the developed applications. Municipalities are now the next big stakeholders to involve. There are already several activities foreseen for the next months. Our great team is committed to disseminating and engage cities all around the world, starting with Brazil where we will be meeting new stakeholders at the end of the Month, during Beyond2020 event and Hackacity Roadshow.