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EURADA meets Wallonie Enterprendre: A Training Day in Liège

Article written by EURADA Secretariat

For the first time last September, EURADA began a tradition that is likely to last: in-person visits of the entire secretariat to members of the EURADA network.

On September 26, the EURADA secretariat met early at the Brussels Central Station to take a train to Liège, in the French-speaking region of Wallonia in Belgium. Liège is known for its cultural diversity, industrial history and for having several culinary delights, of course, led by the famous Liège waffle. For EURADA, Liège is also the headquarters of one of our Belgian members, Wallonie Entreprendre (WE).

Wallonie Entreprendre is the public regional promotional institution for the Belgian region of Wallonia. It was born on 1 January 2023 from the union of three economic tools, SOGEPA, SOWALFIN and SRIW. The merger of the three companies created an efficient and valuable solution able to provide support to all the stages of a company’s life offering tailored solutions. The main focuses of WE are awareness-raising, support and financing, and they cover over 11 different thematic areas of expertise, including energy transition, deep techs, industrial policy, innovation, internationalisation, transmission, business turnaround, social entrepreneurship, etc.

Wallonie Entreprendre joined EURADA in the late 2010s and since then we have been working together to ensure the empowerment and economic development of the Wallonia Region. During the morning, the EURADA secretariat attended a meeting with the WE staff to immerse themselves in the corporate culture and the business methodology of the company. The representatives of the EU Affairs and the Technology Transfer Departments presented their work, reiterating the importance of involving local stakeholders and presenting all 13 business units simultaneously operating.

It was an insightful session to discover the concrete work and needs of our members and how EURADA can offer customised support to maximise the benefits of our network.

After the lunch break, IddUp, a marketing and communications agency with years of experience in the sector, delivered a tailored training session on communication to provide the EURADA secretariat with tools to anticipate future communication challenges. The IddUp workshop proved to be exceptionally valuable for the team, particularly because EURADA serves as the Work Package leader on Communication in European-funded projects. During the session, the secretariat learned the crucial role of digital communication and the tips and tricks to create a presence in the digital environment promoting the EURADA activities and goals as well as tools and strategies to enhance our communication skills and strengthen the ability to effectively lead and guide the projects where EURADA is taking part.

Once the training was over, the whole secretariat had the pleasure of having a guide to visit the unique streets of Liège, who showed us the city's rich history and its character and immersed us in the traditions of the city. Our tour concluded with a delightful tasting of the traditional Liège waffle, which added a satisfying ending to our exciting day.

This training day at the premises of one of our members proved to be enriching for EURADA staff. The Secretariat would like to kickstart a new consolidated tradition of site visits and training at the premises of all the members of the network to reinforce our cooperation.