Key highlights from the EU Clusters Talk on 21.05.2025

The EU Clusters Talk on 21.05.2025, in which representatives of the Cluster Sofia Knowledge City participated, was about “Smart Support: AI Tools for Effective Cluster Management”. Artificial Intelligence is changing the way we collaborate, plan, and innovate - and this webinar explored how these powerful technologies can be applied by cluster organisations across Europe to stay competitive and impactful.

The topics include the Use Cases for AI in Clusters, the European & Global AI Tools (SeTA, eTranslation, GPT@EC, and tools from OpenAI, Hugging Face, etc.), Regulatory Insights (The AI Act and practical guidance) and Funding Opportunities (New EU calls supporting AI-driven innovation). 

It was emphasized that АI adoption should not be driven by hype but by real organisational needs. Very useful and important for the clusters was the presentation of Antonio Novo - President of the European Clusters Alliance and Managing Director of the Cluster IDiA. His view on the main areas in which AI could be successfully used in cluster management, which in our opinion applies to all organizations and companies, was interesting and very useful.

Below are listed the potential use cases for AI presented by him:

1. Administrative Automation & Productivity

• Automated document generation and/or improvement (e.g. draft minutes, contracts, newsletters)
• Smart scheduling for meetings, reminders and follow-ups
• Workflow optimisation via AI-driven task tracking and priorities

2. Personalised Member Engagement & Support

• Member’s deep knowledge database based in documentation and exchanges
• Recommendation engines suggesting events, funding calls or partners
• AI-powered chatbots for 24/7 FAQs, onboarding and service requests

3. Strategic Funding & Partnership Matching

• Grant-opportunity alerts customised to cluster specialisms
• Partner-fit scores matching members to other clusters, companies, research collaborators, investors…

4. AI-Enhanced Innovation & Project Management

• Idea-generation tools (e.g. GPT-based brainstorming, concept mapping)
• Progress monitoring via automated milestone tracking and reporting

5. Intelligent Market Research & Competitive Analysis

• Automated data scraping of industry news, patent filings and tender portals
• Trend-spotting algorithms to highlight emerging sectors or technologies
• Benchmark dashboards comparing industry performance.

6. Data-Driven Scenario Planning & Risk Mitigation

• “What-if” simulations (e.g. supply-chain disruptions, policy shifts)
• Predictive risk scoring for strategic decision-making
• Early-warning systems using anomaly detection on KPIs

7. Dynamic Communication & Outreach

• Content generation for newsletters, social media and press releases
• Targeted campaign design using audience segmentation
• Image generation based in the proper context information
• Multilingual translation and localisation for wider reach.

8. Streamlined Event Planning & Delivery

• Virtual-assistant support during hybrid or fully virtual events
• Post-event analytics (engagement heatmaps, satisfaction insights)

9. Talent & Skills Development Facilitation

• Skills-gap analysis across membership
• AI-curated training paths linked to EU upskilling programmes

Detailed information about the webinar as well as a recording of the presentations can be found on the ECCP website.