Knowledge and skill needs and challenges of innovation ecosystems in the Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European space sector

Abstract

Background The European space sector is on the rise, introducing a rapidly growing market with a lot of expanding opportunities for innovative space products, applications and services, even in non-space sectors. In this article, we investigate the skill levels of innovation intermediaries that provide support to innovators (i.e., start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs) in the Central-Eastern (CE) and South-Eastern (SE) European space sector. Our objective is to identify: (i) the available competences and (ii) the missing skills (potential areas for improvement) of innovation intermediaries in the EU space sector. Methods Our methodological approach consists of (i) desk research complemented by semi-structured interviews to introduce a baseline framework of innovation intermediaries’ desired knowledge and skill levels, as well as (ii) an online survey, addressing the case of innovation intermediaries and innovators, respectively. We first solidify the baseline framework with the expert feedback from the semi-structured interviews and then proceed to the analysis of the online survey responses, to capture and discuss the perceived needs of both innovation intermediaries and innovators. Results By analysing of 15 semi-structured interviews and 104 survey responses, several interesting insights for the future of European space innovation have been identified and are highlighted in the present manuscript. Conclusion We conclude that innovation intermediaries in the space sector have the adequate capacity to effectively train and support innovators in improving, primarily, their organisational skills and soft skills. Trainers are also competent at assessing the investment readiness levels of innovators, their pitching skills, and they can provide tailored business support services to innovators. In parallel, space innovators need to receive better training to improve their business modelling skills, better support the management of Intellectual Property, and understand key technologies and market characteristics of the space market.