Second ITBridge study visit: Ukrainian clusters strengthen their position in the European market

December 18, 2025 y.

On November 4-6, 2025, the second Short-term cluster staff visit took place within the ITBridge project — a strategic initiative to strengthen EU-Ukraine cooperation in the digital sector.

A delegation from four clusters — Transilvania IT Cluster (Romania), Kharkiv IT Cluster, IT Dnipro Community, and Odesa IT Family (Ukraine) — visited Barcelona. The delegation was hosted by Cluster Digital de Catalunya.

Why is this cooperation important and how did the three-day visit go? Read on.

Why is cluster cooperation strategically important for Ukraine and the EU?

In the European Union, clusters form the foundation of innovation ecosystems. They bring together businesses, universities, research institutions, startups, and government partners, creating a shared space for technology development and scaling.

For Ukrainian companies, joining a cluster means access to partnerships, innovation services, international programs, expertise, and funding. For the country, it's a path to integration into European value chains and enhanced competitiveness.

ITBridge helps Ukrainian and European clusters build sustainable partnerships, develop competencies, and grow innovation ecosystems, opening new opportunities for the technology sectors of Ukraine and the EU.

Day 1. Spain's cluster ecosystem and a visit to Barcelona Supercomputing Center

The delegation met with four Spanish clusters and associations: Cluster Foodservice, Packaging Cluster, business cluster association Secartys, and Edutech Cluster.

The main focus was how they launch joint projects, build business services, engage companies in EU opportunities, and systematically develop their ecosystems.

A highlight of the day was a visit to Barcelona Supercomputing Center — one of Europe's leading centers in supercomputing and AI. Oriol Pineda (Head of Infrastructure Access Policy) and Anna Escoda (Technology Transfer Manager) explained how the center collaborates with startups: supporting R&D and helping them scale to international markets.

This model, where a research institution works directly with business, is interesting for developing Ukrainian innovation hubs.

Day 2. Smart City Expo World Congress, international networking, and ACCIÓ

The delegation spent the second day at Smart City Expo World Congress, where they connected with representatives from Google, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and PwC.

Among the key meetings was a conversation with Silvana Sanfeliu, member of the ITBridge Advisory Board and Head of Internationalisation & EU Projects at Fondazione Piemonte Innova. This is one of Italy's most renowned innovation clusters, specializing in digital technologies and smart solutions.

After the expo, the delegation visited ACCIÓ — the Catalan business competitiveness agency. During a meeting with Emma Vendrell (Head of International Projects) and Alberto Pezzi (Senior Manager of Clusters), Ukrainian clusters presented their capabilities and discussed areas for cooperation.

Day 3. Visit to Oracle and summary

To conclude the visit, the delegation met with the Oracle team. Joan Planella (Barcelona Office Managing Director & Sovereign Cloud EMEA Sales) spoke about AI and cloud technology development at the company. They also discussed corporate education and internship models — approaches that could be useful for Ukrainian IT companies.

Afterward, the ITBridge team — Kharkiv IT Cluster, Transilvania IT Cluster, Cluster Digital de Catalunya, IT Dnipro Community, and Odesa IT Family — held a strategic brainstorming session on the study tour outcomes and new opportunities that emerged from the visit.

What did this trip deliver?

The visit confirmed that Ukraine is already an active and equal participant in the European innovation ecosystem. Inter-cluster cooperation opens concrete opportunities for our companies:

• Deeper integration into EU value chains
• Access to partnerships with global companies
• Participation in joint consortia for Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, and Interreg programs
• Transfer of technologies and practices in education, R&D, and product development

Technology clusters are a platform for business growth, internationalization, and innovative solutions. ITBridge strengthens its role by building sustainable connections between Ukrainian and European IT clusters. This opens new opportunities for the entire industry.

The ITBridge project is co-funded by the European Union under the Single Market Programme according to grant agreement №101196018. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.