Digitalization is a key driver of economic growth and industrial transformation in the 21st century and plays a central role in the European Union’s strategic objectives. At its core, it involves integrating digital technologies into business processes to boost efficiency, innovation, and competitiveness while ensuring strategic autonomy. 

One of the most important aspects of digitalization is its focus on artificial intelligence (AI). AI technologies offer businesses unprecedented opportunities for growth and competitiveness by enabling them to automate routine tasks, improve data analysis, and gain deeper insights into their operations. Digitalization is fundamentally redefining how industries operate, making them more agile, innovative, and competitive in the global market, and paving the way for a sustainable future for Europe. 

The European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs) play a vital role in this transformation and support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), mid-cap companies, and public sector organizations (PSOs) on their path to digitalization. EDIHs facilitate this transformation by offering a wide range of services to support companies on their “digital journey” and by fostering the development of a robust AI ecosystem.

The CITAH+ project, “Cross-Industry Transformation in Agriculture, Health, and Beyond,” builds on the successful work of CITAH (2023–26) as the European Digital Innovation Hub for the Weser-Ems region. CITAH+ serves as a central hub for regional knowledge transfer and promotes the cross-industry adaptation, adoption, and dissemination of innovative technologies, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and digitalization. Specifically, the following services are offered:

• Training and skills development: specific training and knowledge transfer on technological skills (particularly artificial intelligence and interoperability in the field of smart farming), as well as their subject-specific applications and regulations (reports, guidelines, standards),
• “Test-before-Invest” projects: Pilot projects in which the feasibility of digital solutions based on the latest technological developments is tested to improve products, processes, or services, enabling customers to make informed decisions about whether further investment in a specific area is worthwhile,
• Consulting on access to funding for digitization measures,
• Events that promote and facilitate networking among stakeholders from the healthcare and agricultural sectors with IT companies to form strategic alliances and ecosystems.