Ebin Ephrem Elavathingal

Mälardalen Industrial Technology Center (MITC) is a leading innovation intermediary and applied research platform based in Eskilstuna, Sweden. As a neutral, triple-helix organization, MITC connects regional manufacturing companies, technology companies academia, and the public sector to drive industrial transformation through applied R&D, testbed development, digitalization, and sustainability initiatives. MITC was established to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish manufacturing SMEs by bridging the gap between research and practice. It serves as a collaborative arena where companies, universities, startups, and public actors co-create new knowledge, validate emerging solutions, and accelerate the adoption of smart, sustainable technologies in real production environments. MITC specializes in facilitating structured collaboration across organizational boundaries, promoting both innovation capability and implementation readiness. The center’s core activities include testbed development and access, digital transformation support, and technology matchmaking. MITC offers companies physical and digital infrastructure for experimentation, prototyping, and pilot production. Through targeted support, it enables manufacturing SMEs to adopt advanced technologies such as automation, industrial IoT, AI, and digital twins. At the same time, MITC acts as a structured interface between manufacturers and technology providers, using tested models to align solutions with real industry needs. Its innovation support also includes a strong emphasis on circularity, resource efficiency, and low-emission production strategies. ShiftLabs European Digital Innovation Hub,which is a Swedish national consortium of partners, collaborating to offer expertise and high-level services to manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in their digital transformation