Innovation conference looks to new KICs
INNOVEIT 2015 closes in Budapest © EIT European Institute of Innovation and Technology

Innovation conference looks to new KICs

The 2015 INNOVEIT conference of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology has closed in Budapest.

The conference highlighted Europe’s future innovators at the annual EIT Awards and demonstrated the power and role of the EIT’s five Knowledge and Innovation Communities. It also looked to the creation of two new KICs that will be established in 2016, namely ‘Food4Future’ and ‘Added-value manufacturing’.

The European Commission proposes to cut the budget of the EIT by €350m to help finance the European Fund for Strategic Investments. During the conference, Martin Kern, EIT Interim Director, said that if the cuts proposed by the Commission were to “become a reality”, there would be a “reduction in activities” of the organisation. Yet Peter Olesen, chairman of the EIT Governing Board, said it was also a new “opportunity” for the body.

During the event, the chief executive of Climate-KIC, Bertrand van Ee, emphasised that it was important to target “emotions” to help tackle climate change and “it all starts with making it part of the rhetoric”. He added that it was important to “build an innovative Europe” and “focus on partnerships”.

Dr Ursula Redeker, interim CEO of EIT Health, said that research and innovation “is what Europe needs to offer” and that a “unique platform to get people together and drive change” was on offer.

There will be a special feature on INNOVEIT 2015 in the next edition of Portal.