VentureLab Twente invites you to the following event (for application, see below):
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Frans van Vught, Owner at FVV Consultancy, the president of the European Centre of Strategic management of Universities and the former president and rector of the University of Twente
THE EUROPE OF INNOVATION, COMPETETIVENESS AND GROWTH
Like in many other parts of the world, also in the European Union (EU) ‘innovation’ is seen as a crucial response to the current global economic crisis, and higher education and research institutions are assumed to be major actors in this context. Since the beginning of this century the EU has set its own ‘innovation agenda’. In this agenda knowledge is seen as the new strategic production factor. As a consequence the EU has become more active and assertive in its efforts to influence the behaviour of higher education and research organisations.
At their meeting in Lisbon in 2000 the EU political leaders decided on a process to boost the EU’s competitiveness and growth. The ambition was to create a new European society that by 2010 should be the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of new economic growth but also with more and better jobs, greater social cohesion and a sincere focus on sustainability. The first ten years of the EU innovation strategy (2000 – 2010) show that the Lisbon Process has not reached its goals. On a number of key performance indicators, the EU clearly lags behind the USA and Japan.
According to a recent study by the European Commission (EC) the EU suffers of the following ‘innovation weaknesses’:
- severe underinvestment in research and education
- relatively low higher education attainment and participation levels
- limited scientific and technological excellence
- weak knowledge exchange between academia and industry
- poor framework conditions regarding financing costs of patenting
In a new effort to respond to these challenges the EU has recently embarked upon a new ten-year innovation strategy, called the Europe 2020 Strategy on Innovation (2010 – 2020). The general objectives of this second general EU innovation policy are to close the innovation gap with the USA and Japan, to better integrate research and innovation processes and to create more knowledge-intensive products and services. The EC’s recent smart specialisation strategy offers some guidance and inspiration here, advising regions to set a limited number of strongly integrated priorities in their research and innovation strategies. For example, the UT’s focus on fields such as nanotechnology and technical medicine should be reflected in strong ties with the regional industry.
It may be expected that in the coming years the European higher education and research institutions will increasingly be involved in this second EU innovation strategy. Given the gloomy financial perspectives for higher education and research in the various national higher education systems in Europe, the new EU budgets will be highly attractive.
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