European Digital Innovation Hubs in Lithuania: opening up digitisation opportunities for business

Lithuania has three European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), whose main objective is to help SMEs integrate digital innovation more effectively into their operations.

These centres provide training and advice to company employees, test digital technologies before investing in them and contribute to the development of new products and services. This is a unique opportunity for those facing challenges in the introduction and use of new digital technologies and in the digitalisation of company processes. The services are provided to companies as State aid or as de minimis aid.

National significance

EDIH4LT, one of the 3 European Digital Innovation Hubs focusing on Central and Western Lithuania, has been operating in Lithuania for the past 2 years and is delivering tangible results.

Genomika, a young but internationally renowned developer of advanced genetic technologies, was faced with the need to structure and protect large volumes of genetic data. The company’s processes for analysing genetic test data have so far lacked a standardised solution for data storage, processing and traceability.

Together with the EDIH4LT digital innovation centre team, the company has developed and implemented a standardised system with procedures to ensure the seamless storage, analysis and reproducibility of the data stream.

According to Dr. Lukas Žemaitis, co-founder of Genomika, the developed processes and described procedures have been implemented in the Confluence platform, which has solved the problems of data storage, backup, documentation and recording of experimental results.

“Large-scale genetic research processes are long-term and involve large volumes of data, so only clearly structured information can ensure the reliability of the data and the experiments. The system developed for the company ensures data availability and reproducibility regardless of staff turnover, computer system failures, or human error,” says Dr. L. Žemaitis.

According to Dr. Mindaugas Bulota, coordinator of the European Digital Innovation Centre for Central and Western Lithuania (EDIH4LT) and head of the KTU National Innovation and Business Centre (KTU NIVC), the development of genetic technologies in Lithuania opens up significant opportunities not only for the health sector, but also for the whole country.

“From an economic point of view, the development of genetic technologies promotes the growth of the biotechnology sector and the diffusion of innovation. In Lithuania, this field is developing rapidly and innovations based on genetic research can be exported, thus making a significant contribution to strengthening the country’s competitiveness in the international market. Investing in research and commercialisation of genetic technologies strengthens the country’s scientific potential, provides highly skilled jobs and attracts international projects. It is very gratifying that with the help of the Digital Innovation Centre, companies such as Genomika are able to improve the efficiency of their processes,” says Dr. M. Bulota.

Also, with the help and advice of EDIH4LT experts, a representative website was created for Genomika, which helps to present the company’s activities more effectively to the general public, establishes contacts with partners and strengthens communication with existing customers. In addition, by integrating the latest technologies and with the consent of the users of the website, the possibility of collecting data and providing valuable insights to improve the company’s performance was introduced.

Changing the routine of medical laboratories

SMO in Kaunas, worked with EDIH4LT experts to address one of the main challenges facing modern medical laboratories – improving the efficiency of routine, time-consuming work. Despite medical advances, many routine laboratory activities are still performed by humans, which limits the speed and efficiency of processes and increases the likelihood of errors. In order to automate these processes, EDIH4LT experts from KTU have implemented automation algorithms and developed an innovative RPA (Robotic Process Automation) platform that simplifies the coordination of research.

According to Ignas Galminas, CEO of SMO, the innovative platform not only integrates patient registration, sample documentation and logistics processes, but also automatically updates the status of tests, transmits the results to the customer and generates invoices.

“The system is currently in the testing phase, but it is already estimated that it has reduced the time needed to coordinate laboratory processes by around 30%. The system has allowed us to do away with the need to use different applications to carry out the process – prior to the automation, we used at least 6 different software tools at different stages. The current system allows everything to be done on a single platform”, said I.Galminas.

Increased efficiency and lower costs

Innovations such as the SMO laboratory automation platform and the Genomika data analysis system are becoming real-life examples of how the European Digital Innovation Centres initiative is contributing to the digitalisation of Lithuanian business. These hubs enable companies to grow and compete in the global marketplace, while fostering a culture of digital transformation and efficiency.

In order to further strengthen the competences of companies’ employees, the EDIH4LT Centre invites the representatives of Central and Western Lithuanian companies to gain knowledge on how to effectively develop an e-commerce website. The training will take place on 7 November. Vytautas Narbutas, head of the digital technology agency Tandemum, will share the best practices of e-shop development, including effective strategies and common mistakes that hinder successful e-shop development.