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TRANSDAIRY: Project Launch in Lebanon

Berytech and ELCIM will be facilitating a living lab, scouting for technologies and managing grant vouchers to support innovators in the creation of spin-offs in the dairy value chain.

Berytech and ELCIM at the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) organized a web-conference to launch TRANSDAIRY in Lebanon, a new project funded by the European Union under the ENI CBC Med Programme, to empower technology transfer, innovation and entrepreneurship in the dairy value chain and grow this ecosystem in the Mediterranean.

TRANSDAIRY uses the innovation and living lab methodology to bring stakeholders together including researchers, industry players, SMEs, representatives from the public sector, and entrepreneurs to exchange best practices and implement Key Enabling Technologies and solutions applied to the Dairy Value Chain. 

The online event, which took place on Wednesday, March 24, 2021, allowed the different partners to introduce the project, its context and different components.

The Introduction

In her welcoming note, Soha Nasser – Berytech’s Agri-food Specialist and event moderator, presented a brief overview on the importance of technology in the dairy industry for the Lebanese economy.

Alejandra Olay Cheu, Project Manager at University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli – the lead partner of the project in Italy, presented the project for participating countries, the benefits for the different stakeholders and the open innovation collaborative platform, the TRANSDAIRY website, that people can use to interact with each other.

Ramy Boujawdeh – Deputy GM at Berytech talked about Berytech’s role in the project, the importance of technology in advancing the dairy value chain, and the importance of involving frugal technologies in these sectors to help farmers and the entire sector to advance on different levels including productivity.

Naji Abi Zeid – Director of ELCIM presented IRI, its different entities, laboratories, and quality control labs, highlighting the role of its specialized centers – the Euro Lebanese Center for Industrial Modernization and the Center for Innovation and Technology, in bringing their experience in technology transfer , innovation support and projects and vouchers management to the service of the Project.

The Panel

Following the partner introductions, Soha presented the project, elaborating about TRANSDAIRY and explaining the concept of a living lab. She gave practical examples of the ICT and bio/nanotechnologies that are needed in the dairy value chain. She mentioned the benefits of being part of this living lab and the activities set out for the project:

Assessing the technology level in the dairy value chain,
Matchmaking activities when offer and demand are present and
Supporting innovation when there is demand and no offer.

Next to the introduction, Berytech and ELCIM hosted a discussion panel gathering different stakeholders of the dairy value chain, in addition to academia and technology experts, focusing on how technology can improve the dairy value chain. The discussion panel was moderated by Ms. Sandra Sarkis – ELCIM ‘s agro-food expert and manager of the Lebanon Softshore Cluster (LSS), who introduced the different panelists highlighting their various experience from their respective work involvement.

Shady Asmar – Plant Manager at Dairy Khoury, and Joelle Hajjar – Co-Founder and Production Manager at Go Baladi, talked about challenges for producers, the importance of incorporating technology, and what the sector is facing in Lebanon.

Maya Kharrat Sarkis – Director of ESIAM – USJ, and Ali Zein – Founder and CEO of IdeaToLife, discussed what technology can bring to this sector, the solution that could solve these problems from a bio-nano tech and ICT perspective.

The Next Steps

Berytech and ELCIM at IRI will be facilitating a living lab, scouting for technologies and managing grant vouchers to support innovators in the creation of spin-offs in the dairy value chain.

During the next few months, the teams from Berytech and IRI while setting up the Living Lab in Lebanon, will be recruiting for members to join as well as prepare for the focus groups organized to learn more about the sector.

If you work in the Lebanese dairy industry or are interested to learn more about how you can get involved in the TRANSDAIRY Project, you can find out more by visiting the website here.