Kick-off event EDIH South Holland
Feb. 16, 2023
Digitalzh opens its doors today and supports companies in South Holland in applying new digital technology. Digitalzh was founded so that companies do not have to reinvent the digital wheel themselves but can get help from parties in their region. With information, training, test facilities and best practices, Digitalzh’s ambition is to help 200 companies a year, often free of charge, in applying digital technologies such as AI, robots, Internet of Things, 3D printing and cybersecurity.
Digitalzh is an initiative of InnovationQuarter and TU Delft and is funded by the Province of South Holland and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. Digitalzh focuses on companies with up to 500 employees and €100 million in turnover and helps them to apply digital technology faster, making their business operations faster, cheaper and more future-proof. The European Union has granted Digitalzh the official status of “European Digital Innovation Hub for South Holland,” one of five such hubs spread across the Netherlands and from 136 in Europe.
Jos Maccabiani, project leader on behalf of InnovationQuarter: “Digital technology has a potentially large impact on the future earning capacity of companies. However, smaller companies in particular still struggle to adopt that technology quickly: there are often few employees with the right knowledge, there is often less investment space and, perhaps most importantly, where to start? What is the best first step? We are making a strong case for helping precisely this group of companies to a digital future.”
“With Digitalzh, we offer one central counter in the region, where we work together with industry and network organizations, schools and universities, field labs and governments to help answer companies’ questions in a structured way. We prefer to work with groups of like-minded companies, but a company can also come to us with an individual question. By working well together we can offer almost anything in this region, we provide you with the tools to get to the right place. Thanks to funding from the province, the state and Europe, we can make some of that offering available virtually free of charge.”
Digitalzh is assured funding until the fall of 2025, with the expectation that it will be extended to 2029. Companies active in the South Holland manufacturing industry, port and maritime industry and greenhouse horticulture can contact it through the website: https://digitalzh.nl/dzh-nw.
The EDIH in South Holland is an initiative of InnovationQuarter and Delft University of Technology and is financially supported by the Province of South Holland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the European Union. In supporting companies, it collaborates with regional vocational and higher education institutions and numerous other relevant organizations such as industry associations, field labs and already existing innovation programs.