On March 25^th, 2024, the decision-making body of the GlaCerHub project, the Hub Board, convened at FunGlass & TnUAD to discuss the progress of the implementation of the GlaCerHub project. The meeting was chaired by professor Dušan Galusek, the project coordinator and Director of the FunGlass Centre.

Peter Hošták, the HubOffice manager, alongside other project managers (A. Chrastinová/FunGlass, M.Matejová/FunGlass, B. Skoupý/CEITEC), provided updates to the Hub Board members regarding the status of project activities.

Attention was primarily directed towards the development of the joint R&D strategy of theGlaCerHub, which aims to cover key collaboration aspects between participating Centres of Excellence (CEITEC, FunGlass), industrial stakeholders, local governments, and the 3rd sector involved in the project. Additionally, discussions focused on the creation and implementation of a training program tailored for industry professionals, post-graduate students, academic researchers, entrepreneurs, regional government officials, and relevant civil society actors or graduate students. The representatives of INVENIAM, Jesus Purroy and Petr Vinduška presented their proposal for a technology transfer platform to the project partners and researchers at FunGlass and CEITEC. This platform will serve as a tool for screening opportunities and facilitating the exchange of knowledge,technologies and innovations among the partners.

The Hub Board is already considering the strategies to ensure the longevity and sustainability of the project's activities. One of them is the establishment of local Hub Chapters of both Slovak and Czech partners. These chapters will aim to build strong relationships with local partners and stakeholders  and to offer networking opportunities for them to connect with each other, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing at the local level. The meeting place of these local chapters will be the GlaCerHub SK/CZ Melting days. The first events will be held in May 28 (CZ) and June 12-13, 2024 (SK).

At the end of the meeting, Peter Hošták opened a brainstorming session in which the participants could think and discuss the value propositions of GlaCerHub and Local Chapters for the glass-ceramic ecosystem.

Hub Board – consists of the representatives of all beneficiaries and associated partners of the GlaCerHub project. A meeting of Hub Board members is held twice a year. The next meeting is planned for September 2024 and will be hosted by CEITEC BUT Brno, Czech Republic.