On 26 September 2023, more than 170 people attended the joint Final Event of the COSME-funded pilot-projects “STARS” and “ReStartSMEs”, titled “Advanced Technologies for Resilience and Competitiveness of European more Traditional SMEs. Lessons learnt and Recommendations for Policy Makers from the COSME-funded flagship projects ‘STARS’ and ‘ReStartSMEs’”.

We are delighted to  present a video that offers a concise summary of the STARS project. STARS  (STrategic Alliances boosting Railway Smes) was a project focused on the  recovery, transition, and resilience of European SMEs working in for the  passenger and freight mobility. The project successfully harnessed advanced  technologies to address, adapt to, and enhance Europe's response to a multitude  of challenges, while boosting companies' competitiveness.

Check out our second release of STARS tutorial and webinar series recordings, perfect for learning and increasing your knowledge and understanding of the latest trends in advanced railway technologies.

Cybersecurity for Railway Services and Procurement

5G for Mobility

Software Solutions for Efficient Railway Operations

Cybersecurity of Connected Objects

Using Data for Improving Safety in Rail

"Hyperfreight" A New Concept for Freight Transport

Missed our last webinar? Full recordings of our STARS tutorials and webinars are now available!

Digital Twin and Predictive Applications

Testing the Track with Modern Means

Next Generation of Freight and Passenger Wagons Connections Systems

Innovations enabling Condition-Based Monitoring and Maintenance

Additive Manufacturing Technologies

Simulation Suites Used in Rail Systems Design Activities

I-Trans hosted the project's 4th physical meeting, where Eleni Magklara, Project Advisor from EISMEA, visited the consortium in Valenciennes.

Blockchain technology started in 1991 to store and secure digital data. Blockchain is an open ledger that several parties can access at once.

The main components of blockchain technology are a digital ledger and a network of computers (« Mining nodes »). Each node has a copy of the digital ledger updated continuously based on the transactions. In blockchain technology, the transaction between any two users goes into this digital, decentralized ledger. One of its primary benefits is that the recorded information cannot be modified, as Blockchain is an immutable public digital ledger: each new record becomes – in fact – a block with a unique, identifying hash. Linking the blocks into a chain of records forms a blockchain.

All the transactions in blockchain technology are transparent, meaning that every node in the blockchain network is informed about every transaction and updated accordingly.

Blockchain helps in the verification and  traceability of multistep transactions needing verification and traceability.

This trust is built on blockchain’s enhanced security, greater transparency, and instant traceability. Beyond matters of trust, blockchain delivers even more business  benefits, including the cost savings from increased speed, efficiency, and automation. By greatly reducing paperwork and errors, blockchain significantly reduces overhead and transaction costs, and reduces or eliminates the need for third parties or middlemen to verify transactions.

The STARS project has been developed and coordinated by the DITECFER railway cluster from Italy, gathers 16 railway-related partners in Europe and has the support of 30 key European organisations. It is co-funded by the COSME programme of the EU.

The project aims at representing a booster in terms of production performances and innovation capabilities for SMEs thanks to the uptake of Advanced Technologies that can make such change possible.

Advanced Technologies have proved to give competitive advantages and will build the “Future Mobility.” In addition, several of the technologies will foster the future of the Railway & Multimodality industrial meta-ecosystem.

STARS Hack&Match Event #2 Big data for railway processes, products and services | RULES OF THE COMPETITION

Inspiring plenary sessions, informative workshops and targeted 1:1 meetings promise knowledge gain and new business contacts.

This is the dedicated Hack & Match Networking Space of the STARS project.

Via the Hack & Match Events dedicated platform (access here to register and remain informed) and on-site in various cities, traditional SMEs of the railway sector will match with actors of the Advanced Technologies scene (e.g. specialized Research & Technology Organisations, tech-savvy SMEs or Start-Ups, Blockchain Providers or Railway Clusters) from a large number of European countries.

After two days of meetings in Teknopark Istanbul, the STrategic Alliances boosting Railway Smes (STARS) consortium is ready to start with the project activities together with the #SMEs!

During these days we have been working on technical and business assistance activities that the SMEs of the sector will receive for the implementation of Advanced Technologies.

In addition to the Hackathon events in which solutions to traditional SMEs problems will be sought.

The peer review in Prague reunited key actors sharing experiences and learnings one year after the start of the  STARS projects.  

The topics discussed were:

• Technical Assistance to SMEs - facilitated by our Project Coordinator DITECFER.
• Involvement for SMEs -  In-move by Railgrup and Berlin Partner were the facilitators for the topic “Involvement of SMEs” guiding the group through the collection of relevant information, identifying underlying challenges and ideating possible solutions.
• Training Opportunities - Facilitated again, under the leadership of DITECFER.

The meeting shaped the deployment of upcoming activities. 

Start your journey towards our strategic alliances!

STARS4TRACE is the service designed for the STARS project which enables railway SMEs to exchange digital assets representing physical goods in a way which promotes a transparent and auditable business.

All 17 partners participating in the project met in Charleroi (Belgium) to shape, prepare, and coordinate the Strategic Alliances' launch among the SMEs of the European countries involved. A total of 150 SMEs will benefit directly from the Strategic Alliances.

The meeting was hosted by CETIC - CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES.

Are you an SME in the Railway and Multimodal domain wishing to boost your products and services through the use of advanced technologies? Join us by answering the STARS  Project expression of interest survey and creating opportunities for your organisation. Following the survey, the project will select 150 SMEs that will receive direct assistance from us. Therefore, the more information you provide us, the better and more tailored assistance you can receive.

6 December 2021 EISMEA  highlights the context of the STARS project and some short description of the objectives and status.