Lahti Science and Business Park took this initiative to form a Regions of Knowledge Project Consortium, realizing the vital importance of clear and sufficient water resources and aiming at the strengthening of industrial wastewater treatment know-how exchange between the regional public administration bodies, as well as deepening of relations between the Finnish, Swedish and Greek R&D-driven clusters, institutions and companies in this significant sector.

The STInno project introduces 3 research driven clusters and 12 partners from 5 European countries. The regions of Päijät-Häme, Kalmar and Western Greece have a common objective to strengthen RTD resources in industrial wastewater treatment and become world leaders in sustainable, cost and energy efficient methods.

The regions have clear focus on clean technologies and complement each other as they are in different stage in their cluster development, RTD policies, disciplines and sustainability. Together with expertise of the RTD partners, enormous amount of knowledge on wastewater treatment, methods and techniques involved is generated.

Finland, Sweden and Greece rely not on huge quantities of RTD activities and companies, but as small economies, on developing niche sectors of RTD. For niche economies value-added networks are the solutions. This mindset can also been seen in STInno. The whole wastewater treatment sector of agrochemical industry is evaluated, olive mill wastewater sector being a case study. The reasons for this particular focus are the enormous environmental problems the untreated olive mill wastewaters are causing.

The overall objective of STInno project is to create growth in the participant regions. In order to achieve this, STInno project will stimulate the internationally acting regional clusters via strengthening their regional innovation systems; create value-added networks; develop platforms for technology solution developers and increase energy efficient treatment and recycling and reuse knowledge of the state of the art in the sustainable treatment of industrial wastewater.

More specific objectives of the project are the following:

1. To strengthen the research potential and infrastructure of the participating EU regions in Finland, Sweden and Greece by encouraging and supporting regional industrial wastewater regional research driven clusters.
2. To stimulate the clusters through the development of Joint Action Plan.
3. To create the preconditions for reaching the future global market by preparing the Joint Action Plan implementation steps in industrial wastewater treatment for the participating regions.
4. To increase of the competitiveness of the partner organisations through mentoring.
5. To deepen the understanding of ecological utilization of water resources.
6. To provide policy recommendations and suggest joint future actions in industrial wastewater quality indicators and EU legislation.

The participants in the STInno Project are the following:

Region of Päijät-Häme (Finland)

1. Lahti Science and Business Park
2. Regional Council of Päijät-Häme
3. Lappeenranta University of Technology
4. Helsinki University of Technology

Region of Kalmar (Sweden)

5. Sustainable Sweden South East
6. Regional Council of Kalmar
7. University of Kalmar

Region of Western Greece (Greece)

8. Patras Science Park
9. Regional Council of Western Greece
10. Foundation of Research and Technology of Hellas /ICE-HT (FORTH)

Region of Perugia (Italy)

11. International Association of Mediterranean Agro-Industrial Waste

United Kingdom

12. Lancaster Environment Centre

For more information, please contact:

Mrs. Eleni Arvaniti,

Business Administration, MBA

Program Implementation

Patras Science Park.

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Tel.: +30 2610 911560