Successful R & I in Europe 2026 (Registration closed)
13th European Networking Event
- 19. Feb 2026 - 20. Feb 2026
- Van der Valk Airporthotel
- English
Gain an impression of „Successful R&I in Europe 2025: 12th European Networking Event“ in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Become part of European networks for research and innovation and get ready for Horizon Europe!
We look forward to welcoming you!
For the thirteenth time, the conference invites researchers and entrepreneurs from North Rhine-Westphalia and regions in Europe and beyond to find new research and innovation (R&I) partners for Horizon Europe projects.
Participants are invited to become involved in established and new technology networks between researchers, entrepreneurs and multipliers.
The networking event is structured in parallel workshops focussing on eight topics:
- Cluster 1: Health
- Cluster 2: Creative Industries
- Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society
- Cluster 4: Digital Technologies
- Cluster 4: Industrial Technologies
- Cluster 5: Energy
- Cluster 5: Mobility
- Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Ressources, Agriculture and Environment
The event addresses in particular universities and research institutes as well as companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises. Participants are invited to become involved in established and new technology networks between researchers, entrepreneurs and multipliers related to Horizon Europe.
Giving a short presentation of a project idea or finding a partner by talking to other decision-makers opens doors for new research and innovation projects within Horizon Europe.
Conference fee: € 150 (€ 120 one day) per person including VAT.
Free participation for speakers in sessions 1 to 4.
Please note that the event organizer does NOT cover any travel expenses, costs for hotels etc.! The conference fee includes dinner on 19 February, lunch on 20 February, tea/coffee/cold drinks during the breaks and the airport-venue shuttle (solely as provided by the organizers).
Registration is binding. The closing date for registration is Friday, 6 February 2026. If the event is booked out before that date, we reserve the right to close registration earlier.
Testimonials
During the events since 2009, many productive and lasting contacts have been established between researchers and entrepreneurs from NRW, other parts of Europe and throughout the world.
Dr Marisa Sárria Pereira de Passos, RWTH Aachen University
“I was amazed by the number of valuable contacts I was able to make during and after the event. Plans for promising projects have already developed in the follow-up phase.”
Professor Mahdi Bohlouli, Petanux GmbH, Bonn
“As far as new international projects are concerned, the event has been an established part of my networking activities for over 10 years. On many occasions, it has also generated fresh opportunities for marketing my company’s AI solutions”
Contact:
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Including exhibition: Innovations for Europe based in NRW
Conference Moderator: Dr Bernd Janson
| 13.00 | Welcome |
| 13.05 | Opening address Thorsten Menne, Director Research Funding, Research Policy, Ministry of Culture and Science of North-Rhine Westphalia |
| 13.15 | Keynote speech Doris Schroecker, Head of Unit Industrial Research, Strategy and Coordination DG Research & Innovation, European Commission |
| 13.35 | Success stories in Europe based in NRW CIRCULAR FOAM, Dorota Pawlucka, Covestro Deutschland AG, Leverkusen COREu, Professor Roland Span, Ruhr-University Bochum Addition, Dr Florian Hengsbach, Addition GmbH, Paderborn |
| 13.55 | Services for Proposals and Projects Hans H. Stein, Special Representative for European and International Projects, ZENIT GmbH |
| 14.00 | Coffee/Start of parallel sessions |
| 14.15 | Session 1: Parallel workshops “European projects seeking partners” |
| Digital Technologies (Room Düsseldorf 2+3) Human-Humanoid Collaboration in Manufacturing – Task and Organisational Understanding for Flexible Manual Assembly Felix Terschluse, Institut für Produktionssysteme – TU Dortmund, Germany Secure implementation of Large Language Model (LLM) agents Dr Koen Gilissen, PXL University of Applied Sciences & Arts, Belgium Agentic Service Assurance for Cloud-Edge-Device Continuum Dr. Mohan Liyanage, Fachhochschule Dortmund, Germany Agentic AI for Manufacturing Processes Jose Ramón Vilanova Sánchez, ROVIMATICA, Spain Ahtapot – Open Source Omnichannel Retail Middleware Platform Nedim Tug, MNM Teknoloji A.S.,Turkiye Digital Safety Solutions for Urban Roads Kin Fai Chan, Scenwise, Netherlands Domain-Specific AI Governance in Manufacturing Marlene Mayr, BOC Group, Austria MindPort: Democratizing Immersive Experiences David Lähner, MindPort GmbH, Germany Advanced Local Digital Twin of Nicosia city (Cyprus) George Kirkos, CYENS Centre of Excellence, Cyprus Innovative digital interventions for mental health in children and young adults Professor Mahdi Bohlouli, Petanux GmbH, Germany | |
| Industrial Technologies (Room Amsterdam 1) CocoTex – Coir Fibre for Textile Usage Dr Justin Kühn, Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University, Germany AI Assistant for RealWear Smart Glasses Piotr Heflich, Liki Mobile Solutions, Poland Carbon Management for a sustainable use of carbon Dr Christoph Glasner, Fraunhofer UMSICHT, Germany F-Gas–Compliant Low-GWP Freeze Dryer Powered by Renewable Energy Ceyhun Erman, Nüve Sanayi Malzemeleri İmalat ve Ticaret A.Ş., Turkiye From Scrap Resistance to Circularity Dr Florian Hengsbach, Addition GmbH, Germany Circular supply chain ochestration Dr Burkhard Ohs, ContainerGrid GmbH, Germany To make the world a brighter place with innovative plastics Dorota Pawlucka, Covestro Deutschland AG, Germany Plasma Technology for Circular Economy: Processing of end-of-use PV Silicon for Industrial Application Tim Hülser, Institut für Umwelt & Energie, Technik & Analytik e. V. (IUTA), Germany Next-Generation Agile and Intelligent Robotics Platforms for Industrial and Service Applications Stefan Kokorski, FIR e. V. an der RWTH Aachen, Germany | |
| Energy (Room Amsterdam 2) Circular Transformation Lab TH Köln as a transdisciplinary research infrastructure for energy transitions Professor Christian Wolf, TH Köln (Cologne University of Applied Sciences), Germany THERMOGEN Daniel Lux, CemTec, Denmark Intelligence for Dependable Energy System Dr Mohammed Ali Khan, Univeristy of Southern Denmark, Denmark Mobility Centre UrbanLand: Coupling Hydrogen, DC Grids and sustainable Mobility in Integrated System Experiments Martin Griese, Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Germany Energy efficiency improvements of power electronics for high demanding industries (e.g. shipping industries, data centre) Professor Thomas Ebel, SDU, Denmark Platform for AI-Driven Local Energy Optimization: AI-Driven Energy Optimization for Industrial Parks Naim Kenan Hacievliyagil, GreenEdge Technologies BV, Netherlands Sustainable Fuels Deployment for European Aviation, Maritime and Heavy Load Transport Ralph-Uwe Dietrich, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR), Germany The characteristics of future global green hydrogen and derivatives markets: A modelling study with ERIKSSON David Wohlleben, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, Germany | |
| Health (Room Amsterdam 3) Regulatory Traceability Framework for Patient-Centered Health Technologies Şahin Mete, Bewell Technology, Turkiye Design2 Recover Johan van der Meulen, 8D, Research + Design = Impact, Netherlands From Innovation to Value: Identifying and Reducing Low-Value Care in Transforming Health Systems Professor Eka Paatashvili, Ilia State University, Georgia Development of molecular biological in vitro diagnostics using PCR and sequencing Dr Birgit Omengo, Inno-train Diagnostik GmbH, Germany From youth prevention to sex-specific cardiology: continuous wearable monitoring for personalised health and risk assessment Dr Kai Gand, Corsano Health, Netherlands The societal impact of successful digital health technologies to foster the transformation of our health systems Dr Stephanie Jansen-Kosterink, Roessingh Center for Rehabilitation, Netherlands | |
| 15.30 | Networking |
| 16.15 | Session 2: Parallel workshops “European projects seeking partners” |
| Digital Technologies (Room Düsseldorf 2+3) Entrepreneurial Decisions and Large Language Models Professor Michael Vogelsang, Hochschule Ruhrwest, Germany Algorithmic Approaches to Collective Workplace Stress Detection and Prediction Martynas Radzevičius, Kauno Kolegija, Lithuania Vehicle Data–Driven Business Creation Project Kaori Kobata, Mazda Motor Europe GmbH, Germany Liki AI Kiosk Mikus Przemek, Liki Mobile Solutions, Poland AI-Driven Systems: From Marketing Intelligence to Autonomous Testing Use Cases Hacer Ozmen Yilmaz, TEKNASYON YAZILIM SANAYI VE TIC. A.S., Turkiye MCP-based AI solutions to support the management of funding programmes Christian Bercker, rechenwerk GmbH, Germany Research Automation and Verification Ali Raza, Germany Self-driving E-Bikes Professor Zhichun Lei, Hochschule Ruhrwest, Germany | |
| Industrial Technologies (Room Amsterdam 1) Robotic Inspection and Predictive Maintenance for Industrial Assets Dr Michele Guarnieri, hibot corporation, Germany Textile Circular Value: Frugal Innovation driving Urban Action through Open Value Systems Adriana Cristina Cabrera Galindez, Collaborating Centre on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP) gGmbH/University of Nottingham, Germany Scale-up of Polycotton Textile Waste Valorization toward EU Innovation Action Professor Yusuf Z. Menceloglu, Sabancı University, Turkiye Decarbonisation of the process industry Professor Axel Gottschalk, Supren GmbH MESAP – Choosing the Right Ally Marco Mangiantini, MESAP, Italy Mechanochemistry For Next Gen High-Performance Nanopowders Dr Özgül Agbaba, MechSyn GmbH, Germany From Industrial Heartlands to Critical Raw Materials: Science-Based Post-Mining Transitions Dennis Pulimittathu, FZN Bochum, Germany | |
| Civil Security for Society (Room Amsterdam 2) Water And Soil Security to Empower Rural residents in Lippe Dorothea Streich, Kreis Lippe, Germany MORATEX Institute: Specialized materials and protective solutions – partnership in Horizon Europa Dr Paweł Kubiak, Institute of Security Technologies MORATEX, Poland Domain-Specific AI Governance in Disaster Resilience and Cybersecurity Anna Sumereder, BOC Products & Services AG, Austria Partnerships for Secure and Innovative IT Infrastructures in Critical Financial Services Anastasia Walter, SIGNAL IDUNA Group, Germany ORION: On-Premise AI for Critical Infrastructure Resilience Jan Ekiel, Liki Mobile Solutions, Poland Defence & Dual-use Innovation Collaboration with East Netherlands region Ingrid Meijer, Oost NL, Netherlands Robust LiDAR lasers for monitoring of submarine infrastructure Bastian Gronloh, RUPHOS – Rugged Photonics Systems GmbH, Germany | |
| Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Room Amsterdam 3) The Great Reversal – From Potential Hazard to Alpha Therapeutic Dr Michael Haschke, DMT GmbH & Co. KG, Germany Land resources assessment based on remotely sensed data and land use management for agriculture in a digital era Dr Vyacheslav Bogdanets, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine Oleatex: Driving the Next Chapter in Plant-Based Material Innovation Esref Hilmi Acik, OLEAGO BIO DERI VE SURDURULEBILIRLIK URUNLERI SAN. VE TIC.A.S, Turkiye WASABI platform: A tool to develop advanced innovative solutions in controlled environment agriculture Professor Haïssam Jijakli, University of Liege – Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Belgium In-Store Mockup Validation: Understanding consumer behavior without the need for a shelf-ready product Theo Toering, Bamboo Brands, Netherlands Advancing Bio-Based Materials: Integrating Modular BioBricks for Innovative Production Solutions Dr Marisa Sárria Pereira de Passos, RWTH Aachen University, Germany | |
| 17.30 | Networking |
| 18.15 | Reception, Exhibition and Dinner |
| 18.30 | Get connected |
Friday, 20 February 2026
Including exhibition: Innovations for Europe based in NRW
Conference Moderator: Dr Bernd Janson
| 9.30 | Welcome |
| 9.35 | Services for Proposals and Projects Jan Skriwanek, National Contact Point Health, DLR-PT |
| 9.45 | Success stories in Europe based in NRW BEATsep, Professor Bernardo S. Franklin, University Hospital Bonn Kill&Repel, Dr Marisa Sárria Pereira de Passos, RWTH Aachen |
| 10.05 | Coffee/Start of parallel sessions |
| 10.15 | Session 3: Parallel workshops “European projects seeking partners” |
| Health (Room Amsterdam 1) Self-powered bioactive 3D nanofibrous device Professor Amir Fahmi, Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Germany BRIDGing Evidence and Practice for Equitable Multisectoral NCD Care (BRIDGE-NCD) Alba Jiménez Rueda, Fundació TIC Salut i Social, Spain Advanced Sunlighting of Buildings for Improved Health and Energy Balance Professor Helmut Müller, Green Building R&D GmbH, Germany Personalized bioactive glass materials for tissue regeneration: energy-efficient production technologies, biomedical evaluation, and preparation for industrial implementation (PERSO-GLASS) Kateryna Polupanova, Pryazovskyi State Technical University, Ukraine Umbizo: Your Strategic Partner in Healthcare Data Transformation Zoher Kapacee, Umbizo, United Kingdom Immersive Digital Phototherapy for Gen Z Emotional Wellbeing with Biosensor Validation Martynas Radzevicius, Kauno kolegija Higher Education institution, Lithuania A first-in-class small molecule for metabolic liver disease Professor Jürgen Eckel, CureDiab GmbH, Germany | |
| Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Room Amsterdam 2) Transformation of the Housing Stock in the Ruhr Area: A Demographic-Climate Policy Approach Thanh Vivien Le-Vu, Hochschule Ruhr West, Germany From Biomass Flows to Circular Value Chains: Navigating the CIRCBIO Call Portfolio Peter Benedek, Rockwood Digital Europe bv, Netherlands RESIST-ALERT: AI-Driven Early Warning & Decision Support System for Pesticide Resistance Taskin Kizil, Bewell Teknoloji, Turkiye Crop farming chatbot Holger Rüsch, Landwirtschaftskammer NRW, Germany Regional circular bioeconomy at :metabolon living lab Dr Himanshu Himanshu, TH Köln (Cologne University of Applied Sciences), Germany S2AQUAcoLAB: A sustainable and smart aquaculture sector Dr Priscila Goela, S2AQUA Laboratório Colaborativo, Associação para uma Aquacultura Sustentável e Inteligente, Portugal From Research to Real-World Impact: Turning AI and Earth Observation into Scalable Solutions for Agriculture Vladimir Klinkov, GeoPard Agriculture, Germany | |
| Creative Industries (Room Amsterdam 3) Echoes of Resilience: A Media Platform for Immersive Learning and Cultural Renewal Dr Yuliia Kovalenko, Vidzeme University Of Applied Sciences, Ukraine Women in Creative Industries: Advancing from Past Barriers to Building a Digital Future – “ego from past” Professor Natia Meparishvili, Alte University, Georgia From digital inclusion to AI-enabled Work Hubs for PWDs Dr Milena Lazić, Institute of Economic Sciences, Serbia Virtual archaeology: Armenia at the Crossroads of Civilizations and Cultures Viktorya Vasilyan, The Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography NAS RA, Armenia Enga.ia: Deep Emotional AI for Multicultural Cultural Experiences Professor Henry Peyret, Wassati, France Digital Childhoods & Smart Learning Dr Janika Leoste, Tallinn University, Estonia AI-Rise – cross-border Sectoral AI Skills Academy Alesia Kunz, LearnSlice UG, Germany | |
| 11.15 | Networking |
| 12.00 | Session 4: Parallel workshops “European projects seeking partners” |
| Health (Room Amsterdam 1) Functional Precision Oncology – Combining Individualized Diagnostics with Rapid Translational Research Dr Peter-Martin Bruch, Universiätsklinikum Düsseldorf, Germany Functionalized polymer drug delivery systems for targeted therapy Professor Leonard Ionut Atanase, Apollonia University of Iasi, Romania Advancing Trustworthy AI in Healthcare Olalla Aramburu Cabada, Fundació TIC Salut i Social, Spain GeneCore Facility: Advanced Transcriptomics Analysis At Any Scale Dr Lukas Valihrach, Institute of Biotechnology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic New Tools for Measuring Animal Behavior Dr Andrew Spink, Noldus Information Technology, Netherlands New Dental Photopolymer Composites with Ag and Graphene Oxide: Synthesis and Characterization Dr Olena Fesenko, Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine Indication-Specific Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) for Postpartum Diastasis Recti Abdominis (DRA) Christian Senfleben, Wellenpuls GmbH, Germany Correspondence Problems in Multi-omic data Kjong Lehmann, RWTH Aachen, Germany | |
| Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Room Amsterdam 2) Prospective life cycle analysis of building stock: Implications for future development Nathalie Glenn, TU Graz/Institute of Structural Design, Hochschule Ruhr West, Germany BIONALES: Citizens for Regional Agriculture and Food Association Dr Susanne von Münchhausen, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE), Germany Smart Irrigation and Circular Agricultural Waste-to-Value Systems Onur Yolay, Boğaziçi University CT³, İstanbul, Türkiye Data-Driven Multi-analytical Characterisation of PDO and High-Value Food Products Dr Maria Tarapoulouzi, University of Cyprus, Cyprus Decontaminate and bioremediate aquatic pollution Octavian Holtz, Bavarian Research Alliance, Germany Future Food Factory OWL and SIXFOLD Sebastian Wittland, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lemgo, Germany | |
| 13.00 | Interactive lunch/Find a partner/Exhibition |
Parallel to the event there is an exhibition „Innovations for Europe based in NRW“. The exhibitors are presented below.
Please click on the photos for further information about projects by companies and universities in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Am Hülserhof 57
40472 Düsseldorf
Airport-Venue shuttle
The shuttle with e-cars will run from the airport to the venue (and back) on 19 and 20 February 2026.
Click here for more information about the shuttle service: SHUTTLE INFORMATION
About one week prior to the event, we will inform all participants who have indicated that they require an airport-venue shuttle where and when the shuttle service will run!
The meeting point at the airport where the shuttle leaves will be signposted.
The service is operated free of charge as a courtesy to our participants and on a “first-come, first served” basis. Please note that it is not possible to book the shuttle.
Van der Valk Airporthotel
There are several hotels close to Düsseldorf Airport and the conference venue.
It is recommended that event participants stay at the conference hotel.
To reserve a room, please call T +49 211 20063-0 or contact the hotel by email.
Address: Van der Valk Airporthotel, Am Hülserhof 57, 40472 Düsseldorf
The aim of the Call for Presentations is to facilitate communication between the participants.
Speakers profit threefold:
- They have the opportunity to present their ideas for joint Horizon Europe proposals to the audience in the specific workshop.
- During the breaks there are special booths for further discussions between presenter and audience.
- The conference participation fee is waived for speakers! (One per presentation.)
Each presentation lasts a maximum of 6 minutes.
Parallel workshops will focus on eight topics:
- Cluster 1: Health
- Cluster 2: Creative Industries
- Cluster 3: Civil Security for Society
- Cluster 4: Digital Technologies
- Cluster 4: Industrial Technologies
- Cluster 5: Energy
- Cluster 5: Mobility
- Cluster 6: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment
This video from 2025 showing the 12th event confirms the huge demand and interest among researchers in academia and industry as well as many SMEs and start-ups throughout the world.
Happy Viewing!
