First steps towards a European Innovation Dialogue
More than 100 participants attended the two day programme, addressed by 25 speakers including several Members of the European Parliament, officials from the European Commission and innovation actors from the field. The first day of the conference featured panel presentations on three major innovation related themes: ‘A New Entrepreneurial Culture for Europe’, ‘From Knowledge Creation to Jobs and Growth’ and ‘The European Dimension of Innovation Financing’. During the second day in the European Parliament, the debate focused on the question whether and how to establish a permanent structure for the European Innovation Dialogue. Member of the Parliament Szabolcs Fazakas at his opening speech said that it was a perfect timing and place for a new initiative such as the European Innovation Dialogue in order to address the shortcomings of the European innovation ecosystem as the budget and legal framework for Europe was to be decided in the European Parliament. Member of the Parliament Jorgo Chatzimarkakis went as far as to say that the alarm bell needed to be rung and that innovation was still to a high extent underestimated. Member of the Parliament Edit Herczog added that the topic of innovation should be moved to the centre of the EU discussions to be respected. “Innovation is a horizontal issue” she said. “A cross-divisional approach is needed and therefore the European Innovation Dialogue is in the fundamental interest of Europe in order to get out of the negative mindset”. There was broad consensus concerning the gaps that still exist in Europe’s innovation policy, and this view is shared by policy makers and innovation stakeholders alike. Major innovation aspects were presented and discussed by Maurice Mergeay, Business Angel Network Vlaanderen, Geoff Gregson, University of Edinburgh, Christian Weinberger, DG Enterprise and Industry, Stylianos Katsoulakis, DG Education and Culture, Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Softwide, Manfred Stöger, Fraunhofer Venture Group, Olli Löytynoja, Ouluinnovation, Marc Schublin, European Investment Fund, Guy Crespy, CapInTech, Tilo Bachmann, European Patent Office, Lutz Heuser, SAP Research, Bernhard Van Wendland, DG Competition, Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft, Manfred Beschel, DG Regional Policy, Jean-Francois Aguinaga, DG Enterprise and Industry, Jean-Michel Barbier, TechFund Capital Europe, Pauliina Pikkujämsä, Technopolis. Further important contributions were also made by Markus Pieper, Member of the European Parliament, Claudia Funke, McKinsey&Company, Michèle Rousseeuw, CORDIS, Edit Herczog, Member of the European Parliament, Szabolcs Fazakas, Member of the European Parliament, Renate Weissenhorn, DG Enterprise and Industry, Jorgo Chatzimakakis, Member of the European Parliament. The expert presentations and further information are available on the conference website: http://www.innovationdialogue.org(si apre in una nuova finestra)
Paesi
Belgium