10-11.10.2011 - The 3rd EIS in Warsaw

3. EUROPEAN INNOVATION SUMMIT
„Towards a European Innovation Eco-System”
11-14 October 2010
European Parliament, Brussels
Novotel Centre, Warsaw

The 3. European Innovation Summit, “Towards a European Innovation Eco-System” was held 10-13 October 2011 in Warsaw and Brussels as a flagship event of the Polish EU Presidency. The EIS was organised by the Knowledge4Innovation Platform, while the co-organisers on the Polish side were the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Technology Partners Foundation (a founding member of Knowledge4Innovation).

The European Innovation Summits, which have been organised since 2009 at the European Parliament in Brussels by the Knowledge4Innovation platform, are deemed one of the foremost European events in the area of science, research and innovation (due to their high level and impact on defining future European science policy and innovation strategy priorities). 

This year marked the first time part of the event is held outside the European Parliament. The programme was divided into two events:

• The RDI Strategies Tailored to National and Regional Contexts – Principles, Areas and Partners conference in Warsaw (10-11 October) – devoted to issues relating to the adaptation of national science and innovation policies defined and implemented at the EU level to the corresponding strategies and initiatives at the national and regional levels; the Warsaw event was included in the official calendar of Poland’s EU Presidency.
• The Towards a European Innovation Eco-System conference in Brussels (12-13 October), devoted to the presentation of the conclusions and recommendations from the Warsaw event.

The 3. European Innovation Summit gathered over 200 delegates, including high-level representatives of the national authorities of Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as the European Parliament, European Commission and other European institutions.

The most important topic of the Summit was restoring Europe to the position of global innovation leader. One of the principal barriers to this pointed out by the speakers was the lack of cohesion of the European innovation system, its insufficient integration and the lack of sufficient support for developing various forms of cooperation, particularly between the research sector and business.

Innovation requires accepting the challenges and risks which it involves and understanding the specific characteristics and complexity that characterise the sectors that have the greatest impact on it level, specifically education and scientific research. Both the representatives of European institutions and Polish authorities stressed the significance of innovation and the role it plays in strengthening the national and European economy and pointing the way out of the current recession.

The speakers underlined the need to ensure knowledge is transformed into innovation which is then implemented on the market with consideration of the potential for regional specialisation of innovative solutions.

The TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS Foundation took part in preparing and leading several panel discussions:

• Richard Granger, President of the TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS European Office, chaired the Operational Requirements and Delivery Mechanisms debate (within the Policy Mix for Research and Innovation session), summarised the summit’s results and presented its most important conclusions and recommendations;
• Prof. Klaus-Heinrich Standke, President of the TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS International Board of Experts, chaired the RDI Strategies tailored to national and regional contexts session.

The conclusions and recommendations of the 3. European Innovation Summit will be presented by TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS European Office President Richard Granger during a special session organised by Knowledge4Innovation and the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education as part of the Innovation Convention, being organised by the European Commission on 5-6 December in Brussels.

Information on the 3. EIS and the conference programme are available at:
www.knowledge4innovation.eu/EIS/SitePages/eis2011_home.aspx
and
http://pl2011.science.gov.pl/events/3-rd-European-Innovation-Summit-Towards-a-European-Innovation-Ecosystem_-Research-and-Inno/description.html

THE KNOWLEDGE4INNOVATION PLATFORM

The European Parliament’s Knowledge4Innovation (K4I) Platform, of which the TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS Foundation is a founding member, is an initiative intended to stimulate and increase the effectiveness of innovation activity in Europe by enabling innovation and innovation-support organisations operating in the knowledge-based economy to exchange experience and best practice.

K4I was established in January 2009 as a non-profit, independent multi-stakeholder platform. Its members are organisations and institutions from the European public, private and academic sectors whose aim is to promote innovation and rational business activity. They include social and public organisations with influence over science and technology policy, scientific research organisations, technology parks and representatives of industry (e.g. JIIP – the Joint Institute of Innovation Policy, VTT, Tecnalia and Joanneum).

The main form of K4I’s activity is the organisation in the European Parliament of meetings (the most important of these being the annual European Innovation Summits) with EP representatives and other persons from the areas of science, business and politics aimed at promoting actions to increase the competitiveness and innovation level of the European economy and to discuss the priorities and develop recommendations on the European innovation agenda.

For more information on the Knowledge4Innovation platform, see: www.knowledge4innovation.eu

THE CONFERENCE WAS CO-FINANCED OUT OF EU FUNDS WITHIN THE 7TH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME.