The overarching goal of ASCEND is to chart a path forward for Europe to seize the moment and take a lead in closing the European innovation gap by enabling the entire innovation ecosystem. To do so, it is necessary for Europe to reinvent and establish a new position in the world, through innovation.
To realise the overarching goal, we have identified the following objectives for the conference:
OBJ1: Facilitate a conference which builds momentum for action by gathering European – and international actors in the field of, among others, deeptech innovation and innovation ecosystems (WP1, WP2, WP3 and WP4).
OBJ2: Raise awareness of the EU´s role in the global innovation ecosystem to ensure it remains relevant and reestablish innovation leadership, particularly within deeptech innovation (WP2 and WP3).
OBJ3: Explore how Europe can build on its strenghts and identify actionable principles or directions for European Innovation that can close the innovation gap (WP2 and WP3).
OBJ4: Provide a platform for formal and informal discussions and networking with broad representation of stakeholders from the innovation ecosystem and the deeptech innovation ecosystem (WP1, WP2 and WP4).
OBJ5: Produce a post-conference report that delivers conference outcomes and further ongoing collaborations and initiatives to close the European innovation gap (WP2 and WP3).
The conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, 25th -26th November 2025, with a pre-conference event on the 24th of November 2025 at DTU Skylab, with a site visit, an informal dinner, and an introduction to the broader Danish deep tech innovation ecosystem. DTU Skylab is located at the main DTU Campus in Lyngby and is housed in a facility of 5500 square meters, complete with labs, workshops, auditoriums, open spaces and project rooms. It is a cross disciplinary learning environment used by various departments at DTU, which also offers soft funding, business acceleration, prototyping and a space to grow for deep tech start-ups and pre startup projects. The conference will take place in a physical format as as face-to-face discussions and debates between participants will enable engagement, insight, understanding and trust, and also facilitate and strengthen new – and exisiting networks..
The conference is expected to take place at Scandic Copenhagen, a spacious, flexible and modern conference venue in the heart of Copenhagen, adjacent to the Scandic Copenhagen hotel. This location combines the advantages of easy access regardless of the mode of transportation, and proximity to the city centre. The conference facilities will be tailored to the foreseen programme to provide an optimal experience.
Besides the introductory, background talks and speeches and plenum sessions, there will be 3 parallel tracks with associated sessions, designed and planned to deliver a forum for co-implementation of objectives (section 1.1 OBJ1-5). The 3 parallel tracks and their associated sessions will be co-arranged and co-implemented with relevant stakeholders and actors.
