This is an introduction about one of the presentation March 26. That presentation is about European Commission’s smart specialisation strategy. The talk will discuss how the strategy aims to foster knowledge-based growth in EU regions by identifying areas of strength and prioritizing focus and resources in those areas. The strategy has three pillars – starting from existing local strengths, identifying key areas of strength to focus on, and creating partnerships across different stakeholders like research, policymakers, universities, and businesses. Researchers are encouraged to show how their work matches the smart specialisation priorities in their region to help secure funding and contribute to the regional strategy and value chains.