Open Innovation group selects new vice-chair

The Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group (OISPG) has selected Markku Markkula as its new vice-chair.

Markkula, who is also the new president of the European Committee of the Regions, joins OISPG ahead of this year’s Open Innovation 2.0 (OI2.0) conference that will be held in Espoo, Finland. According to the Digital Agenda team in the European Commission, which supports the group, Markkula is particularly involved in the organisation of the 2015 high level event, which focuses on the power of crowds; experimentation and prototyping; quadruple helix innovation in practise; and open engagement platforms for innovation. OI2.0 particularly plays into the Commission’s priorities of innovation ecosystems, OI2.0 scale-up and regional innovation systems.

The OISPG is led by Professor Dr Martin Curley, director of Intel Labs Europe, and who also acts as chairman of the OISPG, and Bror Salmelin, advisor for Innovation Systems at DG CONNECT, and who manages the group. In addition to becoming vice-chair of the OISPG, Markkula is also a member of Espoo City Council.

The Commission says it expects the OISPG to further increase its role in “publishing reports and articles relating to regional innovation development, as well as organising more events and workshops related to living labs, smart cities, online platforms for innovation.”

Portal previously provided details on the upcoming OI2.0 conference.