‘Look up at the stars and not down at your feet’

Professor Stephen Hawking has provided an inspirational innovation message to delegates at the ‘Open Innovation 2.0’ conference in Dublin, Ireland.

Addressing attendees in a video message at the event attended by Pan European Networks, Hawking said that for innovation to happen “courage and confidence would be critical”.

Hawking announced: “The nature of innovation is evolving at a very fast pace and the EU Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group has been observing the practice of innovation for the last number of years. They argue that a paradigm has arrived, one they call Open Innovation 2.0, which will involve mass elaboration on the scale never seen before and deep collaboration and networking across value chains based on a concept and co-created and shared value and often leverage exponential technologies.”

Hawking said he hoped that, as a result of the conference, a manifesto could be agreed towards creating a “more sustainable economy and society”, taking Europe on the course of a “sustainable trajectory”.

He concluded by citing words he previously used at the State of the Universe symposium in Cambridge during 2012: “Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Be curious.”