Launched in 2019 at the initiative of FEDIL – The Voice of Luxembourg’s Industry and the Ministry of the Economy, the L-DIH was commissioned with supporting the digital transformation of Luxembourg’s manufacturing sector. “Accelerating the digital transformation and the move towards industry 4.0 is essential for the Luxembourg economy to maintain competitiveness. Managed and hosted by Luxinnovation, the L-DIH has already established a strong local footprint by working closely with the Luxembourg manufacturing ecosystem to assess and comprehend its digital needs while leveraging the digital solutions available within the community. The recognition as E-DIH gives it a new impetus and increased impact, in Luxembourg and beyond,” states Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot.
The new designation of the E-DIH title is consequential as it directly implies additional components linked to the operations, structure, and services of the Luxembourg Digital Innovation Hub. The E-DIH network, which includes over 170 E-DIH centres throughout Europe, is part of the Digital Europe Programme, which funds E-DIHs up to 50% of the total budget, with member states or regions contributing the other half.
The L-DIH consortium is now being extended to include the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity, the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), the University of Luxembourg and the University of Luxembourg Competence Centre. The FEDIL, the Chamber of Commerce and the National Research Fund (FNR) remain strategic partners to L-DIH to further leverage synergies.
“Becoming an E-DIH will enable the L-DIH to respond to a wider range of industry needs while positioning it for stronger impact in Luxembourg and Europe. While we continue our role as host and coordinator, the addition of new members in the consortium broadens the range of available technical resources and expertise, while also increasing the team’s size from four to ten people across these institutions,” comments Luxinnovation CEO Sasha Baillie.
The enlargement of the consortium reflects the expanded missions of the L-DIH to be even more relevant to our industry. The first four years of hub’s operation have focused on inspiring, informing and engaging companies in the national manufacturing ecosystem in order to facilitate their digital transformation journey. The L-DIH now adds three additional missions:
- Supporting the development of digital skills and relevant training.
- Helping companies “test before invest” in order to encourage them to try out new digital technologies and estimate their return on investment before investing.
- Support companies to find funding and investment for their digital R&D and innovation projects.
The L-DIH will create a one-stop-shop catalogue of all available trainings critical to the digital transformation of the Luxembourg industry, as well as an analysis of the needs to supplement the existing offer with new trainings. Similarly, a reference catalogue will identify existing and required technological testing facilities based on market demands. The L-DIH team will also support businesses in obtaining investments from national, European, and external sources, leveraging the core competencies of Luxinnovation. Digital Maturity Assessment, Cybersecurity Maturity Assessment and Digital Skills Assessment are just of few of many more new services which will be supporting Luxembourg industrial companies in their digital transformation.
While the L-DIH will maintain a local focus, it will also tap into the power of the E-DIH network to foster closer relationships and get access to a wider range of digital skills and technologies. It will be able to promote the digital skills and solutions of Luxembourg digital providers on a European scale, while also gaining access to the E-DIH’s pool of providers of solutions that do not yet exist on the Luxembourg market.
At the initiative of the Luxembourg Digital Innovation Hub (L-DIH), a joint declaration was signed with four digital innovation hubs in the Greater Region to accelerate the deployment of digital technologies, and strengthen innovation and the technological advancement of businesses, especially SMEs.