Placing people at the centre
According to Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, innovation in Europe needs to focus on the ‘triple helix’ of university, industry and government.
Addressing delegates in a pre-recorded message at the ‘Open Innovation 2.0’ conference at Dublin Castle in Ireland (attended by Pan European Networks) Vassiliou outlined how international co-operation is now more important than ever to succeed in encouraging innovation. She added that it was now time to put innovators back on centre stage and encourage the development of a European entrepreneurial spirit.
“The open innovation that we all want to see grow across Europe is a kind that will result from close co-operation between business, research and higher education institutions and it is the kind that will help us solve the challenges of today and tomorrow, such as globalisation, energy efficiency and full employment.
“Innovation policies in Europe, as traditionally designed, have not been as decisive as expected. Investment in research, despite being necessary, has not automatically led to innovation. We must overcome the European paradox where we have start-of-the-art education, an excellent research base and dynamic industry, and yet we are lacking behind our competitors when it comes to our innovation capacity,” the Commissioner told conference attendees.
“For innovation to thrive, Europe needs a real change of mind-set, where the human capital is put back at the centre. We need to promote a more entrepreneurial culture in Europe and to support the emergence of the right ecosystems for innovation to surge.”
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) was set up by the EU as an independent body to “increase…sustainable growth and competitiveness” while “reinforcing the innovation capacity of the EU member states”. It will also help develop the “entrepreneurs of tomorrow”.
The organisation, which is under the auspices of Vassiliou, will see a major increase in funding under Horizon 2020, to an estimated €3.2bn, up from €308.7m between 2008 and 2013. Under the next framework programme, several new Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) are expected to be formed to help tackle the grand societal challenges facing Europe.
“Today we are seeing new platforms and co-operation models emerging, new forms of innovation that are more efficient and more sustainable. To encourage more of this kind of innovation, we at the European Commission are working to promote co-operation across borders and across sectors. The EIT, which was set up in 2008, is providing an important link between education, research and industry. With its KICs, the EIT is helping to develop interconnected ecosystems of innovation to address societal challenges such as ICT, sustainable energy, climate change and in the future, raw materials and health, in addition to others.
“After an initial phase and promising results, we are proposing to scale up the EIT’s activities and to allocate a substantial amount to its development. Moreover, to encourage the innovative talent in individuals, we have placed education at the centre of our Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs. We are urging all countries in Europe to give priority to investing in education that stimulates creativity, knowing that behind every innovation are real people.”
Vassiliou concluded by restating the importance of placing Europeans at the centre of innovation noting that conversation and dialogue were key in developing original ideas and, subsequently, new goods and services.
“If we are to win the race for innovation, we must focus on people as creators of innovation. Indeed, talent and human capital have become the key differentiating factor and the key competitive advantage.
“EU initiatives are just part of the picture. Conferences are also important occasions to share ideas that can support real change and it is the combination of these different initiatives that will enable us, as Europeans, to excel in innovation.”
Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou
