In August 2019, the new Interreg project “DIGITAL REGIONS” was launched at the Hof University of Applied Sciences. This is a novelty for the Institute Information Systems (iisys), as the interregional European funding programme INTERREG EUROPE has hardly been used in Bavaria to date.

DIGITAL REGIONS will contribute to a better Europe-wide exchange of experience and information on digitisation policies and methodologies. The potential of existing European, national and regional funding opportunities is to be better exploited and best practice examples from different countries are to be made known. INTERREG EUROPE is a funding instrument of the European Regional Development Fund and is intended to help discuss and jointly develop the effectiveness of existing instruments for regional development and cohesion, in particular through interregional cooperation. To this end, cooperation networks are to be created and the exchange of experience between the regions will be intensified.

The lead partner is ERNACT, a Europe-wide digitisation network based in Ireland with extensive project experience. ERNACT is a working group of peripheral regions to support digitisation processes. In addition, administrations, research institutions and universities from Slovenia, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania and Germany are involved in the project. What all project partners have in common is that they focus on digitisation issues, especially in more rural regions.

Further information on the project can be found on the project´s official website (in English): https://www.interregeurope.eu/digitalregions/