Thursday, 25 April 2013
12 – 14.00h

Europe’s competitiveness and prosperity depends on its ability to promote innovation. But Europe invests too little in innovation, they say, and competitors like South Korea and China are striving to overtake it. The European market is still too diverse and hesitant when it comes to innovation. Therefore the Innovation Union was presented as a flagship initiative of the Europe 2020 strategy. Its programme is ambitious and wide-ranging and requires commitment in a large number of fields: Not only the education system will need adjustments to make the EU future-proof, but also research and science, enterprise and social policy.

Which role does innovation play? How do we make the EU more innovation-friendly? What obstacles are there? How do we plan to promote innovation? How can the existing creative potential be used more efficiently to safeguard growth and prosperity in Europe in the long run?  And last, but not least: Does the European Union itself require a new set-up to achieve these goals?

David Harmon, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn, Research, Innovation and Science, European Commission, Gerhard Huemer, Director Research and Innovation, European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and Dr Ben Dankbaar, Professor of Business Organization, Radboud University Nijmegen, will discuss the prospects of the Innovation Union.

The event will be moderated by Richard Tuffs, Director of the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN).

For more information and to register, click here.