One Stop Liaison Office of the Region of Central Macedonia, in collaboration with the SPIRA+ Network — comprising the Technology Transfer Offices of the Centre for Research & Technology Hellas (CERTH), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), International Hellenic University (IHU), University of Macedonia (UoM) and the University of Western Macedonia (UoWM), coordinated by CERTH — organize a thematic workshop:

“Innovation in the Logistics Value Chain: Technology Trends for Central Macedonia and Demonstration of Emerging Solutions”

📅 Wednesday, 11 March 2026
🕒 13:30–16:30 (Athens Time)
📍 YMCA, 1 Nik. Germanou Str., Thessaloniki
(Room 303, 2nd Floor)

About the Workshop

The workshop aims to present, review and validate key findings on emerging technologies, trends and future prospects in the Logistics sector. These insights were developed by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Mechanism (One Stop Liaison Office) of the Region of Central Macedonia.

The objective is to explore how these technological developments can be practically leveraged by logistics and supply chain businesses operating in Central Macedonia.

Participants will also have the opportunity to attend live demonstrations of innovative solutions and technologies presented by researchers from the SPIRA+ Network institutions (CERTH, AUTH, UoM, IHU, UoWM), showcasing applications directly aligned with industry needs.

Foresight Exercise

The presentations will conclude with an interactive foresight exercise, where participants will envision and co-design the logistics and supply chain ecosystem of 2035.

The workshop will be held in Greek.

Should you need more information please contact: smantzanakis@ris3rcm.eu

As innovation has a profound impact on many aspects of political, economic, social, and
geostrategic environment worldwide, the Region of Central Macedonia closely follows the
developments, trends and variables that favor and support it or negatively affect its development.
Stakeholders, private and public sector executives and citizens, explored through a
participatory and dynamic process (Thematic Participatory Workshop) the variables that will
affect the innovation and entrepreneurship environment of the region by 2040, identified their
dynamics and evaluated their interaction. The findings were the input of the working group
for the development of five scenarios that will determine the future of innovation in Central
Macedonia over the next fifteen years. Building upon scenario-driven insights, seven strategic
policy recommendations have been formulated to systematically strengthen regional resilience
mechanisms and prepare communities for diverse conditions across different alternative
futures (five scenarios): Development, Collapse, Transformation and Discipline.
The seven examined Megatrends that directly or indirectly affect the region and may affect
innovation developments are Climate Change & Environmental Degradation, Resource
Depletion, the Demographic Problem, Urbanization and Growth of the Middle Class,
Technological Explosion, Hyperconnectivity and Cybersecurity, the Dawn of the Global
South and Polarization. Digital transformation, changes in the employment model, digital
nomads, the rise of populist parties and woke agendas, trust in institutions, urban farming, a
shift in urban agriculture, pressure on social welfare systems and the health sector, geopolitical
turmoil, brain drain, crowdfunding, tightening of the legislative framework for the protection of
intellectual rights and personal data, strict environmental regulations and greenwashing will
be some of the effects of these forces.

In a narrow context, scanning the future identified four Drivers of Change that have a significant
impact on the area of innovation and require the attention of policymakers: (a) Political Unrest
and Confused Democracy, (b) Employment 4.0: Transition to new work conditions, (c) The
Era of Convergence: Digital Superiority and Skills, and finally (d) Social Values as a Lever
for Legislative Change."
However, the innovative environment in the future can be identified through a wide range of
scenarios. The need to develop a set of distinct scenarios led to the study of uncertainties
that affect the environment in an unpredictable way, interact with each other drastically and
play a key role in understanding the conditions that will be created in the future of innovation
in the region, and in choosing five uncertainties that their developments over time define the
futures we chose, as most likely to shape the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in
the region of Central Macedonia. The five Uncertainties highlighted by the working group are:
[1] Political and Geopolitical Uncertainty: Buckle up, turbulence expected
[2] Business Uncertainty: Anticipated Outcomes and Corporate Transformations
[3] Regulatory Frameworks for Innovation: Ethics Considerations, Strategic Directions
and Development
[4] Navigating the Era of Disconnection: Addressing Workplace Loneliness and Social
Uncertainty [5] The Impact of Climate Change on Tourism.

This study was realized for the Region of Central Macedonia, GR and was co-funded from the European Union (ΕΣΠΑ 2021-2027)