FOOD AND ICT
What ?

The creation, development, stimulation and promotion of a series of cross-sectoral, innovative forms of cooperation between the Food and ICT sectors in the North Sea Region.

Focus on:

Ø The faster, smoother delivery of reciprocal knowledge and contacts between the FOOD & ICT sectors

Ø The set up and maintenance of a Food & ICT Network in the North Sea Region (intensify exchange and contacts between companies, research and public authorities)

Ø The stimulation and initiation of potential new project ideas or pilots on ‘building bridges’ between Food & ICT

Ø The support of a number of multidisciplinary innovations within the Food sector, through the use of (new) ICT Technologies

The aim:

Create growth and make the North Sea Region more attractive to both internal and external stakeholders of the Food & ICT Cluster

Specific activities (possible ideas)

· E-commerce of fresh products: investigate which kind of reliable and relevant information (e.g. about origin, freshness, cooling etc.) potential customers would require, in order to rely on guaranteed quality and to build up trust in the product. If this information would be made available along the production and supply chain, eCommerce might improve its market acceptance in the fresh food sector. There could be a focus on fresh fish….

• Improve logistical organization, distribution systems for small and medium sized food processing companies/entrepreneurs

· Develop e-tools to better monitor the food and drink intake of children (schools), elderly people (hospitals and elderly homes)…..

· Develop a virtual platform where research studies on agro/food innovation can be consulted and mainstreamed (stimulate ‘open innovation’)

· Organize structural North Sea region exchanges between agro-food and ICT stakeholders in order to detect multidisciplinary innovation topics

· Involving young people/students from all over the EU in joining a ‘Food Hackaton’, to stimulate fresh, new ideas and use social media as a preferred channel for dissemination and discussion

· ‘Internet of Things’: track and trace systems could be introduced into the production process, but also into products. E.g.: sensors into machinery park can send information to the machine supplier in order to give faster service and to gather better knowledge of their customer

· Stimulate ICTers to find a job in traditional sectors such as the food sector (e.g. by bringing together CEO’s from the sector and young ICTers)

· Introduction of tablets and apps in the production process in order to:

o Simplify the programmation process

o Spead up the start-up of new employees

o Perform training on the job

o Easilt produce smaller batches