On November 13–15, the whole EXCITE consortium team — including BHV cluster representatives — visited Spain’s Basque Country (Euskadi), hosted by the GAIA cluster. This was the most tangible, hands-on and interesting project event across the full two years.
The BHV delegation was led by Minvydas Latauskas, cluster and projects manager; I joined the team on the second day myself. The mission’s purpose was clear: to see what a mature, export-oriented industrial ecosystem looks like — one similar in size to Lithuania’s, but which has for years successfully invested in digital transformation and cybersecurity.
Days 1 and 2: Basque Open Industry
We spent the first two days at “Basque Open Industry” — one of the leading industrial forums in Southern Europe. The programme included:
- more than 150 exhibitors — advanced manufacturing, robotics, medical devices, additive manufacturing (3D printing) companies;
- one-on-one B2B meetings with GAIA cluster members and their CYBASQUE sub-cluster, which specializes in cybersecurity;
- a presentation on Basque EDIH (European Digital Innovation Hub) — how public-sector investment is combined with the private sector for advanced manufacturing, smart electric grids, flexible robotics, medical devices and cybersecurity.
These topics are especially close to BHV members — a good number of our cluster’s companies work in cybersecurity, health tech and industrial IT solutions. Conversations with the CYBASQUE team turned into concrete ClusterXchange exchange applications within a few weeks.
Day 3: SME Assembly, the EEN conference, and AS Fabrik
On the final day we took part in two major events. First, the European SME Assembly, an annual event organized by the European Commission for small and medium-sized enterprises. Alongside it ran the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) conference — a platform Lithuanian businesses often use to find partnership contacts in EU markets.
In the evening we visited Bilbao AS Fabrik — an advanced-services incubator working on Industry 4.0 and digital-economy solutions. AS Fabrik operates on a principle similar to our own BHV: a technology hub where industrial companies, researchers and startups meet. We brought back plenty of ideas and insights to Vilnius.
The Basque Country — why this matters for Lithuania
The Basque Country, with roughly two million inhabitants (similar to Lithuania), generates 22.8% of all Spanish industrial output. Manufacturing accounts for 23% of the region’s economy — one of the highest-productivity regions in Europe. The key achievement worth studying: regional business-and-science collaboration, coordinated through clusters (including GAIA, CYBASQUE, FERROFORMA), for twenty years now.
For Lithuania, this is a good example and a good benchmark — not a miracle, but an achievable goal.
— Marius Pareščius, President of the BHV cluster
Source and official EXCITE consortium report on the mission — “Silicon Saxony joins mission to explore the Basque industrial ecosystem”, European Cluster Collaboration Platform, 21 Nov 2023.