The Marshall plan aims at boosting the Walloon economy. It is structured in 5 competitiveness poles (aeronautics, logistics, health, mechanics & food). ICT is a transversal issue. CETIC is actively involved especially int the aeronautics and logistics domain to manage problems related to the design and certification of embedded systems and a service-oriented platforms.
The competitiveness poles were defined to develop focused synergies in our main domains of expertise in order to reach competitiveness at international level. Such a policy was often neglected in the past.
This approach is an answer to the dynamics of the world economy which is centered on network of excellence and innovation, partnerships, and clusters. In Wallonia as in most of European countries, the setup of competitiveness poles aims at reinforcing the attractiveness of a region and to develop employment through an increased economic dynamism and better synergies between actors.
The current 5 poles are :
Skywin : aeronautics & space
Biowin : health
Wagralim : food
Logistics in Wallonia : transport & logistics
Mecatech : mechanic engineering
The development of those poles is supported by project calls enabling actors (enterprises, universities and research centers) to collaborate on concrete synergies that can generate economic value and increase the competitiveness of the Region.
So far, 4 projects call were launched by the Walloon Region :
December 2005, first call, for labelling the competitiveness poles
October 2006, second call, for selecting new projects
September 2007, third call
February 2008; special call for “sustainable development against global warming”, opened both to Walloon poles & clusters.
