Organizers

• Mechanical Faculty, University “St. Cyril and Methodius”, Skopje - www.mf.ukim.edu.mk
• National Center for Development of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Learning - www.ncdiel.mk   
• Cluster House, Nis, Serbia – www.clusterhouse.rs
• Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Macedonia - http://economy.gov.mk/

Co-organizers

• Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts -  www.manu.edu.mk
• Business Start–Up center, Mechanical Faculty, University “St. Cyril and Methodius” - Skopje– www.bsc.ukim.edu.mk

The initiator of the first conference held in Nis 6 years ago was “Cluster House” from Serbia. In 2014, the conference was held in Turkey where 250 professionals from 17 countries have attended it and in 2015 the conference took place in Romania with over 150 guests from 16 countries: Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Russia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Bulgaria, Denmark, Cyprus, Austria, Germany, Spain, Albania, Hungary, Great Britain and France.

During the 7^th conference that is to be held in Macedonia the presence of over 250 participants from 20 countries is expected. During the conference it is planned to have array of brokerage events B2B, B2C, C2C, meetings with businessmen and other events related to the development of business opportunities in the country and the region. During the conference bilateral agreements will be signed between various clusters of neighboring states. There are two main sections planned: (1) Section for cluster managers and representatives of the companies, and (2) Academic section with focus on academics and researchers.

Main goals of the conference are:

• Strengthening the role of clusters in the creation of sustainable economic development of the Balkan and Black Sea region (BB region).
• Improvement of existing national and regional cluster policies in the BB region.
• Improvement of the inter-cluster connectivity (B2B, B2C, C2C) in the region, promotion and internationalization of clusters in order to strengthen innovation and competitiveness in the region through the cluster approach.
• Participation in public-private dialog and building partnerships in the strategic development area of the clusters in the region.
• Better understanding and cooperation between academic institutions (University and R&D institutions) and the business community in the region.

Clusters and their members from the Balkan and the Black Sea region, as drivers for economic development, will be able to present their success stories and good practices. Special focus this year will be devoted to wine, tourism and textile. Wine Cluster Learning Trip will be organized during the third conference day.

Please find more information at the conference website.