Innovation Europe > News > Innovation EU Vol2-1 > EIT - Exploiting every opportunity

Where will the European economy stand in the next decades? Lagging behind? Out of the game? Or fully equipped for global competition? Now is the time to set the course and to put the strategic measures in place that will ensure that Europe will be a competitive player in the world economy in the years to come.

The European Union has done so, and recently outlined its vision for the next decade in the EU 2020 strategy, put forward by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. The message is clear: smart growth is your ticket for the future, and Europe needs to put significant additional effort into developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation. Such an effort will need to rely on a modernisation of our education systems and teaching methods, enhancing research performance and putting an end to barriers hindering a free flow of knowledge across the innovation web. It will also necessitate nothing less than a change in mindsets when it comes to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial opportunities.

A tall order? Probably yes, but that should not prevent anyone from taking the first step in the right direction. One of those steps has been taken with the recent establishment of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The goal of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is to enhance Europe’s innovation performance by building upon the capacities in research, higher education and innovative business that exist across the EU and beyond.

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology will act as a bridge builder between innovation actors, thereby reducing barriers and opening up new alleys for all forms of innovation, be it social, procedural or technological. In doing so, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is expected to “top up” the positive impact of various other measures in the knowledge triangle of higher education, research and business/innovation.

Knowledge and innovation communities

More concretely, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is building these bridges through its Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). KICs are the operational level of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology and should be considered as test beds for a new kind of collaborative, entrepreneurial approach between excellent innovation actors within the knowledge triangle. People from universities, research centres, large and small businesses, and other relevant partners will work together face-to-face in integrated teams in a number of co-location centres in the KIC. The co-location centres are densely woven hubs, ensuring that KICs are not simply loose networks, but real focal points of integration based on excellence. They will operate towards explicit goals under clear leadership of the KIC management.

The three first KICs were designated by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology in December 2009 in areas of major societal innovation challenges: climate change adaptation and mitigation (Climate-KIC), sustainable energy (KIC InnoEnergy) and the future information and communication society (EIT ICT Labs). The KICs form part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology through contractual agreements, but also have a great degree of autonomy in defining their own legal structure, as well as their activities and organisational arrangements.

In order to make sure that these KICs operational and successful with the shortest delays, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is putting in place a number of support measures to ensure a rapid start and, later on, a smooth functioning. Besides its financial contribution to the KIC operation, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is also making sure that procedures are simple and output-oriented, since red tape is still too often in the way of innovation.

Impact and results expected from the KICs span the entire innovation web. KICs are expected to produce tangible outcomes in a number of areas that are of crucial importance for smart and sustainable growth in Europe.

These include, for example, the active contribution to ongoing developments in higher education, acting as a catalyst for improvements in curricula and learning and teaching methods. This education component will also need to go new ways by giving entrepreneurship education broader recognition in order to deliver the top entrepreneurial people that are needed to turn ideas into real business opportunities, both through new and existing private companies, SMEs and start ups.

Equally, KICs are expected to carry out and promote technical and non-technical research and technology leading to full exploitation of innovation opportunities.

Such results from the KICs are not only meant to have a direct impact for the KIC partners, but also – and probably even more importantly – to inspire others to emulate innovation models and best practices tested out within the KIC.

It is very much due to this more indirect impact that the European Institute of Innovation and Technology is expected to act as a game shifter in changing innovation mindsets and methods, and thereby the European innovation landscape in the longer run.

For more information, visit:

www.eit.europa.eu

Climate-KIC

Focus:

Addressing climate change requires a huge transformation of the global economy. Climate-KIC’s mission is to accelerate and stimulate the innovation for this transformation and ensure benefits for Europe. Climate-KIC aims at achieving excellence in four areas: assessing climate change & managing its drivers; transitioning to low-carbon resilient cities; adaptive water management; and zero carbon production. These fields were selected for their mitigation-adaptation potential as well as innovation and job creation opportunities.

Co-location centres:

• London (UK), Zürich (Switzerland), Berlin metropolitan area (Germany), Paris metropolitan area (France), Randstad metropolitan area (The Netherlands).
• Regional Innovation centres: Central Hungary, Lower Silesia (Poland), Midlands (UK), Hessen (Germany), Emilia Romagna (Italy), Valencia (Spain).

KIC InnoEnergy

Focus:

KIC InnoEnergy is a strongly integrated alliance of reputable players from the education, research and industry sectors. The partners have jointly developed a strategy to tackle the weaknesses of the European innovation landscape and aim to be the leading motor for innovation in the field of sustainable energy. KIC InnoEnergy envisions paving the way for an independent and sustainable energy system enabling a climate-neutral Europe by 2050, achieved by successful commercialisation of innovations.

Co-location centres:

• Karlsruhe (Germany), Grenoble (France), Eindhoven/Leuven (The Netherlands/Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Krakow (Poland), Stockholm (Sweden).

EIT ICT Labs

Focus:

EIT ICT Labs aims at radical transformation of Europe into a knowledge society with an unprecedented proliferation of internet-based services. EIT ICT Labs connects world-leading companies, globally renowned research institutes and top-ranked universities all dedicated to speeding up innovation to address grand challenges of our society. Committed to an efficient open innovation model, EIT ICT Labs will generate faster transformation of ideas and ICT technologies into real products, services and business, boosting Europe’s future competitiveness in all sectors of society.

Co-location centres:

• Berlin (Germany), Eindhoven (The Netherlands), Helsinki (Finland), Paris (France), Stockholm (Sweden).

 

For more information, visit: www.eit.europa.eu