Advancing smart specialisation and Industry 4.0 in the Danube Region

The Danube Region faces clear differences in competitiveness between older EU members, newer members, and non-EU countries. These gaps are reflected in their innovation performance, with many areas showing low levels of technology- and knowledge-intensive activity and uneven RDI spending. Cross-border scientific and technological cooperation is often limited due to varying capacities for knowledge transfer and innovation. Encouraging RDI cooperation, experience sharing, and capacity building among innovation hubs and research centres is essential. These steps can help strengthen competitiveness, improve skills for smart specialisation and entrepreneurship, and support industrial transformation in the region. Closing the region’s economic and social gaps also depends on embracing digitalisation, Industry 4.0 technologies, and smart specialisation strategies (S3). As the region continues its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, building stronger innovation networks and supporting transnational cooperation play a vital role in ensuring a more resilient and future-ready economy.

To this end, the Danube Region Programme (DRP) is supporting, for nearly 9 million euro Interreg funding, several initiatives that ambitiously drive smart specialisation and Industry 4.0 across the region. The funded projects address diverse themes and foster interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral collaboration, tackling disparities in innovation capacity and technological development in the area.

Thus, WE.Circular aims to support women entrepreneurs in the transition to Industry 4.0 while promoting circular economy principles, DRWO4.0 focuses on developing forest-based transformation models that apply Industry 4.0 technologies, while SpinIT project strengthens ecosystem linkages between less developed and more advanced innovation hubs to foster S3-related skills and encourage IT-based cross-sectoral collaboration. Danube DNA builds a network of active SMEs and training centres dedicated to digital transformation, knowledge exchange, and capacity building and finally, RISE brings digitalisation, energy efficiency, and circular technologies into the food sector and its connected value chains. 

Together, these DRP-funded projects directly contribute to the region’s industrial transformation and the broader advancement of smart specialisation and Industry 4.0.

Three of these initiatives have already been recognised for their strategic importance. WE.Circular was selected as a flagship project by the Priority Area 8 of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) in 2024, whilst DRWO4.0 and SpinIT were included in the 2025 EUSDR list of flagship projects, underscoring their region-wide relevance and impact.

In their turn, the Danube DNA and RISE projects are making a substantial contribution to the development of the B2GreenHub platform, which supports green and digital transformation. The platform helps companies navigate complex green regulations, enhance their market competitiveness, and position themselves at the forefront of the emerging green economy.

Through these combined efforts, the Danube Region is moving steadily toward a more innovative, interconnected, and sustainable future — one built on cooperation, digitalisation, and the shared pursuit of smart specialisation.