The Horizon 2020 development project, the largest of EPSE’s projects to date, was completed at the end of last year. However, the final reporting, accounting and audits by the EU representatives lasted several months after the end of the project, and it was not until the second half of this year that EPSE completed the project in its entirety. The project was not only educational for EPSE, but also an important step towards internationalization. The pandemic that erupted in the middle of the project contributed to slowing down the project’s planned results, but internationalization is still off to a good start.
Mobile EPSE™ pilot containers and laboratory development
Horizon 2020 enabled EPSE to develop and build Mobile EPSE™ pilot containers, as well as do piloting in actual customer sites. According to EPSE’s CEO Jouni Jääskeläinen, the project also contributed to the development of the team. Everyone at EPSE is proud of the results made in the project. In addition to the piloting, the H2020 funding was used to develop the laboratory’s operations and make major equipment investments.
Work for consultants
For other SMEs wishing to receive EU funding, Jääskeläinen suggests that it is worth taking a consultant’s help with a success fee to prepare the actual application. The application is bureaucratic and the process quite cumbersome, and small businesses often cannot afford to dedicate a particular person to do it. In addition, professionals know how to present the company’s strengths in the application. Jääskeläinen gives another piece of advice to accounting: the EU’s audit work on project accounting is meticulous and companies should familiarize themselves with and train their staff in correct practices right from the start. EPSE also came across surprises at the end of the project, as not all costs had been recorded accurately enough in EPSE’s own systems.
Internationalization and new EU funding
With regard to internationalization and scaling, the H2020 project has clearly embarked EPSE on the next stage, in which EPSE will seek new forms of EU funding. The experiences gained from the H2020 project shall help tremendously. One funding has already been applied for, and further information will be received during the spring. Another funding application has been completed and is being filed in the next few days.
This article was written by Anni Honkonen.