During Advanced Factories, Farah Aziz, Ingrid Meijer, Karolien de Bruine, Thomas van der Lee and Bas Ramaker engaged with several European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) across Europe.Together with partners from Spain, Hungary, Estonia, Germany and Greece, we exchanged insights on how to better support SMEs in their digital and AI transformation.We focused on practical questions such as:<ul><li>how to activate and engage SMEs;</li><li>how to make AI adoption concrete and applicable;</li><li>and how to design services that truly match market demand.</li></ul>One key takeaway: across Europe, we face similar challenges. Especially turning initial interest into long-term adoption and measurable impact requires a focused approach. At the same time, we saw strong practices, including sector-specific engagement, regulatory sandboxes and close collaboration with regional partners.These exchanges help us further strengthen our approach in East Netherlands and better support SMEs in their digital transition.Ingrid Meijer, projectmanager Tech Oost NL:<blockquote>By collaborating through the EDIH network, we can connect companies from East Netherlands with organisations across Europe to share knowledge, explore opportunities, and innovate together.</blockquote>Many thanks to all EDIH partners for the open discussions and knowledge sharing.

Collaboration with European EDIHs strengthens AI and digitalisation for SMEs