By SETsquared Surrey The most recent Business Innovation Programme, held online on 6th, 7th and 10th September 2021, comprised three half-day workshops designed to help early-stage SMEs with their business model. The sessions combined theory and practice and focused on three main themes: Build, Model and Test. The purpose of the Programme is to encourage […]
By the University of Surrey Organisations face mounting pressure to know and disclose materials provenance in their supply chains. Consumer demands have led to organisations joining multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) such as Fairtrade (Lafargue et al., 2021). Legislation has forced firms to disclose supplier and other information in an effort to demonstrate transparency (Rogerson et al., […]
The Blockstart SME Training Programme provides blockchain use cases for your business and supports in design and development of digital medical devices. By BioRegio STERN What is blockchain technology and how can it be implemented in the healthcare, logistics and agrofood sectors? Many companies are not aware of the advantages of blockchain technology. To find […]
Blockchain for agrofood: between dream and deed By Oost NL Image: Blockchain voor agrifood: tussen droom en daad - Lan van Wassenaer, Koos van der Meij en Corné Kempenaar Blockchain is seen as one of the digitisation tools to improve the transparency, efficiency and competitiveness of agrofood and the position of farmers in agrofood chains. […]
Join Martin Aarnoudse, a blockchain specialist from OVSoftware, to bust some blockchain myths and learn how the organisation helps introduce small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to the technology. As an emerging technology, blockchain is often misunderstood. Numerous myths have cropped up that may deter business from pursuing blockchain solutions, so our experts are clearing […]
The University of Surrey is a partner in the Blockstart Programme that connects SMEs in healthcare, agrofood, logistics and supply chains to expertise in Blockchain technology. Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) are rapidly reshaping how society can benefit from digitalisation. Blockchain technology offers great potential for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); it can cut costs and […]
By Windesheim and Hogeschool Rotterdam According to the overall setup of the Blockstart consortium, the role of universities is to bring in state of the art knowledge on blockchain and business consulting. So how are Windesheim and Rotterdam contributing? Windesheim and Hogeschool Rotterdam (HR) are Universities of Applied Science. The Professorship of Supply Chain Finance […]
Blockchain is seen as the silver bullet that can solve any problem in any business. But when we talk about the healthcare sector and see the wasteful spending of more than $1 Trillion, blockchain becomes the silver bullet that can help save a large chunk of that $1T and create a lot of value for the healthcare sector, as well as opportunities for new businesses to capture the market.
The Blockstart Project is on a mission to help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in North-West Europe (NWE) confront their challenges with the most effective, efficient solutions blockchain can offer. To guarantee the sustainability of the missions undertaken in the Blockstart Project, Medicen Paris Region took the initiative to organise a webinar on how to improve traceability […]
With funding from the INTERREG Blockstart Project, poultry farmer Nijkamp from Raalte examined whether blockchain technology could provide a solution for reliable data in the poultry industry. He was assisted in this by logistics students from Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. Robert Nijkamp’s company is based in Raalte: “We are a poultry farm with free-range […]
Partner Spotlight: ChainPoint February 26, 2021 Blockstart brings small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and a partner network of experts together to help European SMEs make the most of blockchain technology. SMEs often don’t have access to the R&D and strategic business resources necessary to profit from emerging technologies, such as blockchain. This is where Blockstart’s […]
January 29, 2021 Looking back at 2020 2020 was a good year for going digital. As the pandemic took hold early on, the world had to adjust its plans for the year and find new ways to make progress from a distance. Fortunately for Blockstart, our partners are no strangers to finding digital solutions. We used […]
December 16, 2020 Blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT) are rapidly re-shaping how society can benefit from digitalisation. Blockchain is one of the newest innovations of our generation. To put it simply, blockchain is for value sharing, what the internet became for information sharing. Today, over 30 billion devices are interconnected within IoT (Internet of […]
June 17, 2020 Blockstart, as a project, is not just about providing opportunities for businesses to learn about what blockchain technology is, it is also about helping businesses understand how integrating a blockchain solution would change their business, address current business challenges and create new opportunities for growth. The starting point is ensuring that a business […]
Identified SME challenges in logistics, agri-food and health April 7, 2020 Nowadays, information is the true lifeblood of businesses. Global supply chains have been extremely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted the importance of real-time and accurate information flow. Various buyers just found out that part of their supplies is manufactured in China. […]
Setting up a French task force to lead in blockchain March 31, 2020 With blockchain emerging as a key technology worldwide, France has decided to take all possible steps to become a leader in this area. An impressive task force of national experts from all fields (entrepreneurs, regulators, manufacturers, non-profits and public stakeholders) has been created, coordinated […]
The Dutch National Blockchain Course February 25, 2020 The Dutch National Blockchain Course is an online course that explains what blockchain really is. Blockchain is nearly always linked to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin. However, this technology has many other applications. By making supply chains more transparent, goods like coffee and chocolate can genuinely be traded fairly. The Dutch […]
Blockchain and IoT: Beyond the hype February 25, 2020 IoT - the Internet of Things - refers to the system of countless devices around the world that are connected to the internet, collecting and sharing data as an established part of our everyday life. But this is only the beginning. Blockchain technology could enhance IoT, […]
Developing effective support for SMEs February 4, 2020 From the 28th to the 30th of January, the Blockstart project partners came together in Zwolle, hosted by Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, for the third partner meeting. The agenda included associated partners as well as expert speakers, who shared invaluable insights on the development of blockchain technologies and use […]
Providing examples of blockchain solutions in healthcare January 7, 2020 On the 10th of December, Blockstart partner, BioRegio STERN, organised an information event on "Blockchain - Solutions for Healthcare". The speakers Michael Munz, Digital Innovation Manager at 51nodes GmbH from Stuttgart, and Dr Heiko Roßnagel, head of the Identity Management team at the Fraunhofer Institute […]
SMEs could use blockchain to overcome challenges November 11, 2019 Heerlen, November 2019 – Blockchain has the potential to transform three of North-West Europe’s top five sectors with a combined turnover of €600 billion (agrofoods, logistics, health) by tackling their shared transnational data challenges. From tracking shipments real-time across organisations, sharing sensitive medical records […]