FOREWORD · a great potential for synergies and complementarities between the EIT, KICs and other...

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FOREWORD

I am pleased to present the report on the EIT Conference, ‘Fostering

Innovation and Strengthening Synergies within the EU’, held in Dublin

on 29 and 30 April 2013 under the auspices of the Irish Presidency of

the Council of the European Union. This event attracted over 280

participants and about 100 on live stream online. As the EIT strives

to become a reference Institute for the fostering of enterpreneurial

innovation in Europe, it becomes increasingly important to learn from,

and share experiences with, interested stakeholders.The Conference

in Dublin was a key opportunity to do so ahead of the launch of the

new call for Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) the EIT is

preparing to launch in 2014.

Presented by the three current KICs Chairmen and CEOs, questions

were addressed included how best to integrate the knowledge

trainagle; what changes the EIT’s KIC brings to the European landscape through excellent

partnerships, funding models and project portfolio; how outputs and inputs are measured; which

bottom-up engagements are possible with regions, other national and EU instruments; and how

synergies can be created and further explore. The EIT tried to showcase its activities and achievements

in Dublin by providing participants with an in-depth understanding of current and future EIT KIC ’living

partnerships’, identifying lessons learnt during the implementation of their ambitious agendas.

Additionally, the Conference served as a discussion forum for representatives from all sides of the

knowledge triangle, as well as innovation policy makers and practitioners,in order to help the EIT build

bridges for its future activities.

The EIT is particularly grateful for the institutional support it received. First and foremost, thanks go to

the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union for including the EIT Conference as an

associated conference within its presidency programme, and for Minister Sherlock’s endorsement of the

EIT concept and results, but also to Xavier Prats-Monné, Deputy Director General for Education and

Culture at the European Commission, and MEPs Maria Da Graça Carvalho and Lambert Van Nistelrooij

for their warm words of support and strong encouragement.

The EIT would also like to express its special thanks to its host, Trinity College Dublin, and its provost,

Mr Patrick Prendergast, for providing world-class premises, intellectual and practical contributions from

ever-helpful staff. Last, but certainly not least, the EIT wishes to thank wholeheartedly all speakers,

contributors and participants at this two-day event for making it informative and enjoyable. A special

word of gratitude goes also to the Chairman of the EIT Governing Board, Alexander von Gabain, and to

many Board members who supported the event with their presence and inspiration during one of the

most successful EIT Conferences to date.

José Manuel Leceta

EIT Director

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CONTENTS

DAY 1 - PRESENT AND FUTURE KICS: WHAT MAKES A KIC A KIC? .................................. 4

1. OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE .............................................................................................................. 5

a) Welcome and Introduction..................................................................................................................... 5

b) Opening Addresses ................................................................................................................................. 5

2. INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPICS OF THE FIRST DAY .......................................................................... 7

3. PLENARY SESSION 1 – ACHIEVING IMPACT THROUGH EXCELLENT PARTNERSHIPS .................... 8

4. PLENARY SESSION 2 – ACHIEVING IMPACT THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE FUNDING MODEL ...... 10

5. PLENARY SESSION 3 – ACHIEVING IMPACT THROUGH AN INNOVATIVE PROJECT PORTFOLIO

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6. PLENARY SESSION 4 – MEASURING IMPACT: MONITORING IN THE EIT AND ITS KICS ............ 13

DAY 2 – BEYOND THE KICS: ENGAGING WITH THE STAKEHOLDER COMMUNITY ......... 16

7. PLENARY SESSION 5 – SYNERGIES AT EU AND NATIONAL LEVEL .................................................. 17

8. PLENARY SESSION 6 – ENGAGEMENT WITH EUROPE’S TALENTED INNOVATORS, AND

CREATING NEW TALENT .................................................................................................................................. 20

9. PLENARY SESSION 7 – ENGAGEMENT WITH EUROPE’S REGIONS................................................... 22

10. OFFICIAL CLOSURE ................................................................................................................................... 25

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DAY 1 - PRESENT AND FUTURE KICS: WHAT

MAKES A KIC A KIC?

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1. OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE

a) Welcome and Introduction

Mr Patrick Prendergast, Provost of Trinity College

Dublin and Member of the EIT Governing Board,

officially opened the conference and welcomed the Irish

Minister for Research and Innovation, the distinguished

speakers, and the numerous participants to the conference.

He emphasised how the title of the conference captured the

mission of the EIT, namely to foster innovation by

strengthening synergies across the European innovation

landscape. Using Trinity College Dublin as an example, he

went on to add that universities, as key players in the innovation ecosystems, must create the right

space and conditions for ground-breaking research to happen. They must also build innovation

pathways to connect to industry and enable this research to be made avalable to society. This adds a

new dimension to universities’ traditional missions of education and research, namely to open up

opportunities for entrepreneurship.

Mr Prendergast also stated the importance of creating knowledge to remain competitive. Indeed, the

ability to create knowledge at a faster rate and higher level than competitors opens up opportunities

for innovation, and, ultimately,for creating growth, jobs and improvements insociety. This knowledge

comes in all forms, be it technological, cultural or creative. What matters most is that this knowledge

or research is world class and competitive. In order to remain competitive today, one needs to work

beyond national borders. We need to work within multi-disciplinary teams that bring together

colleagues from different organisations, countries and mindsets. Mr Prendergast concluded by stating

that the EIT was born out of the EU’s wish to enable this vision on a European scale.

b) Opening Addresses

Mr Sean Sherlock, the Irish Minister for Research and

Innovation outlined Ireland’s overarching priority during its

Presidency of the Council of the European Union, that is, to

seek ways of supporting sustainable jobs and growth in

Europe, and restoring economic stability and

competitiveness in the European economy. He stated that

entrepreneurial qualities must be promoted and that the

right environment must be provided so that high quality

research, development and innovation can flourish and bear

fruit. Mr Sherlock emphasised that above all, it must be

ensured that academia and researchers engage proactively with the enterprise community.

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He went on to add that, despite its relative youth, the EIT hadalready proven itself as a highly

successful model for fostering innovation. Its three KICs are engaging in a wide range of activities that

are resulting in real outputs, such as entrepreneurially-focused graduates,new products or

services,new companies, and enhanced processes, to name but a few. The impact of the existing KICs’

activities will continue to grow as the EIT matures, as KICs further develop their working methods, and

best practicesspread across the EU. Minister Sherlock concluded by stating that he is looking forward to

watching the EIT’s continued development over the coming years, the establishment of new KICs,the

further embedding of current activities, and the expansion of the EIT philosophy and working methods

across Europe.

Mr Xavier Prats Monné, Deputy Director General,

DG Education & Culture of the European

Commission, emphasised the EIT’s distinctive mission

within the European innovation landscape and the fact

that the Institute is not just another instrument or

programme within the Horizon 2020 framework. He

remarked that fostering innovation and strengthening

synergies is not easy, yet it is imperative, particularly

at a time of budget constraints. He went on to say that,

in order for the EU to get back on track, it is needed to

focus on innovation and growth, as well as on people. He added that the EIT will contribute to the

overall aims of Horizon 2020 in three specific ways: 1/ the integration of the knowledge triangle, as the

EIT is the only instrument which brings the education dimension to Horizon2020; 2/ the KICs’ thematic

focus and their alignment with the societal challenges to be addressed by Horizon2020 as this creates

a great potential for synergies and complementarities between the EIT, KICs and other instruments;

3/ the Institute’s unique approach to innovation, by doing things differently than in traditional

instruments. New mechanisms for delivery of innovation had been created and emphasis had been put

on the delivery of results. He concluded by highlighting that the EIT and KIC concept had already

shown its value.

As a member of the ITRE committee of the European

Parliament, Rapporteur for the Specific Programme

Implementing Horizon 2020, and Chairwoman of the

Friends of the EIT network in the European Parliament,

Ms Maria da Graça Carvalho, also addressed the

audience at the opening of the conference. According to

Maria da Graça Carvalho, innovation is key to placing the

EU back on track, generatinglong-term sustainable

economic growth, tacklingsocietal challenges and further

improvingEurope's standard of living. The EIT strives to

become a reference model for fostering innovation in Europe. She stressed how this conference

represented an opportunity to share experiences with the broader European innovation community

ahead of the launch of the new call for the EIT's Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs),

following the adoption of the EIT’s new legislative package currently under negotiation with the

European Parliament and Council.

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2. INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPICS OF THE FIRST DAY

Mr Alexander von Gabain, Chairman of the EIT Governing

Board, reiterated his gratitude to the Irish Presidency of the

Council of the European Union and to Trinity College Dublin,and

underlined how important it is for the EIT to engage with its

stakeholder community. He remarked on Europe’s well known and

excellent higher education institutions, research centres and

businesses, and highlighted the fact that, despite this excellence,

the lack of collaboration between all three actors was hindering

innovation. Indeed, this is directly linked to the EIT’s mission,

which is to integrate the knowledge trianglethrough its KICs. He

stated that the true dilemma is the silo mentality,and stressed that

innovation needs an open mind. Mr von Gabain also presented the

audience with the EIT’s strategy, mission and objectives, as well

as its innovation factories, Knowledge and Innovation

Communities (‘KICs’), and their impact and good practice examples

on the European innovation landscape.

Mr von Gabain concluded his speech by emphasising the future direction of the EIT, which would see a

deepening and widening of the KICs via the proposed new themes to be launched in 2014 and 2018,

and via the proposed budget increase that is backed by the European Commission.

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3. PLENARY SESSION 1 – ACHIEVING IMPACT THROUGH EXCELLENT

PARTNERSHIPS

At the first session of the Conference, the panelists

have discussed how each of the current three KICs has

found a unique approach to best integrating the

knowledge triangle in order to achieve impact. Critical

mass is related not only to the number of partners in

each of the research, higher education and business

fields, but also to their collective strength. As such, the

organisation and structure of a KIC is a crucial element

to achieve optimum impact and contribute to the EIT’s

mission.

After a brief introduction from the moderator, Ms Ann Mettler,

Executive Director of the Lisbon Council, Mr Lambert Van

Nistelrooij, Member of the Committee on Regional

Development at the European Parliament, explained the

political background that favoured the setup of the EIT. He

emphasised that the KICs are the forward runner examples

aligning other initiatives shaping Regional Innovation Centres and

making significant changes in the Regional Innovation Policies.

Mr Ian Short, Member of the KIC Governing Board,

Climate-KIC and Chief Executive at the Institute for

Sustainability presented the Climate KIC pyramidal model,in

whichgovernment and public bodies complement the

knowledge triangle dimensions, typical of each KIC. The main

themes of the Climate KIC are organised around Platforms

(e.g. the Sustainable City System) that represent the ground

where the KIC partners bring together the large set of

demand-side proposals, and implement KIC activities. The

Moderator:

Ann Mettler, Executive Director, The Lisbon Council

Panellists:

Lambert Van Nistelrooij, Committee on Regional Development, European Parliament

Ian Short, Member of the KIC Governing Board, Climate-KIC

Karl-Friedrich Ziegahn, Chair of the KIC Governing Board, KIC InnoEnergy

Magnus Madfors, Member of the Executive Steering Committee, EIT ICT Labs and Director of R&D

Policy, Ericsson

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main reason for a partner to access the KIC and its platforms is to gain access to a world-class

network.

Mr Karl-Friedrich Ziegahn, Chair of the KIC

Governing Board in KIC InnoEnergy mentioned the

example of students participating ininnovation projects,

which lead to to the creation of start-ups within the KIC

InnoEnergy. He stated that this is the best example of

knowledge triangle integration. KIC InnoEnergy is

organised like a company and the integration of partners

and co-locations is monitored through scorebards and

KPIs. Each core Partner makes an annual contribution of

EUR 1 million, partly in cash and partly in kind, to

participate inthe partnership. Professional support, excellent partners and excellent organisation are

the key elements needed to start a successful KIC. Equally important is prompt agreement on KIC

objectives, and the setting of clear and transparent rules for governance.

As an industrial partner representative, Mr Magnus Madfors,

Member of the Executive Steering Committee at EIT

ICT Labs and Director of R&D Policy in Ericsson,

explained that the interest behind joining the partnership was

to bring academics closer to technology strategy markets and

work together to build the future. As he emphasised, EIT ICT

Labs aims to createa very dynamic environment for knowledge

triangle partners, researchers and students;an environment

which attractstop talentallows itto grow. The KIC also aim to

focus on bringing results of previous scientific advances and investments to the market. As for

education, the focus will be on areas where products and long-term solutions are mostly needed.

Simplicity, flexibility and transparency are, according to Magnus Madfors, the guiding principles for a

KIC.

Q&As - Remarks and Conclusion

The panellists have explained to the audience on how

to ensure partnership of small entities in KIC

InnoEnergy if the threshold is so high. It was

highlighted that the high threshold is for core

partners only. Small companies receive great support

from the KIC and can access the partnership with a

lower contribution,depending on their role in the KIC.

Industrial partners can have access to new talent,

while SMEs are mainly attracted to the KIC by the

possibility of implementing their initiatives

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It was also discussed how do the KICs deal with tensions between partners in the three pillars, and

was emphasized that tensions can be good as this mean competition. KICs create an ecosystem where

knowledge and results can be shared by other partners, and this releases tensions. Mr Van Nistelrooij

also concluded that the EU needs to align the different initiatives. Smart specialisation regional

strategies will contribute to this alignment and fund more bottom-up initiatives, designed in line with

the KICs.

4. PLENARY SESSION 2 – ACHIEVING IMPACT THROUGH AN

INNOVATIVE FUNDING MODEL

The session was built around the questions of: How

do the funding models of the EIT’s KICs leverage

funding otherwise not available for innovation and it

aligns its existing investment across the EU to

stimulate innovation in an efficient and lean

manner? In addition, how does the EIT funding

model ensure that partners are committed to the

KIC by requiring concrete financial contributions?

The EIT representative, Mr Jari Ahola, Head of Unit

Services and Finance, introduced the general EIT

framework funding model, including the current levels of

funding shared between EIT funding, KIC funding and

complementary funding. He also described how the EIT

funding model catalyses innovation and thus ensures the

desired leverage effect. He also emphasied that the EIT

should not be regarded as a traditional grant giver

institution to projects. Mr Ahola concluded that the EIT is

committed to fund the KIC for 7 years and the KIC is

committed to deliver results and outputs. After Mr Ahola`s presentation the KIC reflected that around

30-40 % of the KIC`s funding is arriving from contributions from private companies.

Moderator:


Panellists:

Jari Ahola, Head of Unit Services and Finance, EIT

Richard Templer, Director of Education and Director of UK Co-Location Centre, Climate-KIC

Constant Smits, Chief Operations Officer, EIT ICT Labs

Bart de Beer, Chief Financial Officer, KIC InnoEnergy

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The three panellists representing their respective KICs

provided an overview of their KIC-specific funding models.

Mr Richard Templer, Director of Education and Director

of UK Co-Location Centre at Climate-KIC introduced the

innovative nature of EIT funding as a first example where EU

considered as a seed investor. Mr. Templer also stressed that

the KICs are aiming to make an experiement in trying to make

Europe more innovative and entrepreneurial again. He

explained what the EIT funding allows the KICs to do and

emphasized that all three KICs embeds the innovation pipeline into the community and widens

opportunities for the partners.

Mr Constant Smits, Chief Operations Officer at EIT

ICT Labs illustrated how the leverage effect is achieved

through the carrier/catalyst concept. Funds are collected in a

demand-driven way via a call for proposals.Furthermore,

ecosystems developed by the KICs contribute to bringing in

additional funding. Mr Smiths also explained that on a yearly

basis EIT ICT Labs launches call for proposals for partners

that have to explain on how they can be fit into the EIT ICT

Labs catalyst concept.

Mr Bart de Beer, Chief Financial Officer at KIC

InnoEnergy stressed that as room to maneuver for

commercial operations KIC InnoEnergy is established as

a commercial company. He explained that from 27

shareholders equity contribution are collected aiming to

reach self-sustainability. Other revenue sources include

the KIC Innoenergy highway incubator,where KIC

InnoEnergy has an equity share, royalties from

innovation projects, patents) educational activities

participation fees, donations e.g. alumni foundation).


The panellists answered to the audience that the KICs have about 30 % of private sources out of the

non EIT funding is. It was also discussed that the EIT is not research-oriented and although various

funding instruments are available, it is important to highlight that each funding instrument has a

different role. One of the roles of the EIT is to offer a very good network through the KIC ecosystems.

the panellists explained that the EIT funding is used for among others education programmes,

innovation programmes, business creation and mobility.

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5. PLENARY SESSION 3 – ACHIEVING IMPACT THROUGH AN

INNOVATIVE PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Mr Alexandre Caldas, Head of Unit Partnerships

Management at the EIT introduced the session explaining

the specific features of the KICs, which are competing for

excellence and world-class innovation in the long term. He

explained that every year the KICs select and plan their

activity portfolio that fits with the pursuit of long-term

strategic goals. He also stressed that KIC projects are not co-

funded like traditional funding schemes but the KICs need to

leverage the EIT contribution in order to have an output

which quadruples the support received by EIT, by pooling together additional resources. He explained

that the KICs and the EIT monitor the achievements through a set of Key Performance Indicators

(KPIs) that cover the three pillars of the knowledge triangle and its integration.Mr Caldas concluded

that there is not a single KIC model that can achieve these targets.

Mr Daniel Zimmer, Innovation Director at Climate-

KIC, stated that striking a balance between technology

push and market-driven innovation is important in

Climate- KIC. As the Climate KIC market base is not yet

fully developed, the KIC has set up specific tools, such as

Pathfinder Projects, to explore potential markets, as well

as Climate-KIC Market Accelerator,which tries to create

new demand and markets. Mr Zimmer concluded that,

Climate-KIC portfolio tries to find the right combination

between open innovation and more classical innovation approaches, and between collaboration and

competition between partners; this compromise,in the case of

Climate-KIC,is best achieved through the selection of a

partnership that allows the highest level of knowledge sharing.

Mr Constant Smits, Chief Operations Officer at EIT ICT

Labs explained at this session as well the EIT ICT Labs catalyst-

carrier model, which applies to the education, research and

business pillars. Within this model, top-down defined catalyst and

Moderator:


Panellists:

Alexandre Caldas, Head of Unit Partnerships Management, EIT

Daniel Zimmer, Innovation Director, Climate-KIC

Constant Smits, Chief Operations Officer, EIT ICT Labs

Arne Lorenz, Chief Operations Officer, KIC InnoEnergy

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action lines are filled in with bottom-up proposed ideas selected through calls for proposals. Activities

will contribute to Key Performance Indicators.

EIT ICT Labs action lines are mainly focussed on ICT areas where Europe can be considered one of the

global leaders. EIT ICT Labs is also looking for collaborations and networking opportunities with

organisations outside Europe.

Mr Arne Lorenz, Chief Operations Officer at KIC

InnoEnergy referred to previous KIC presentations and

stressed KIC InnoEnergy’s main principles and peculiarities. He

emphasized the need for KIC partners to change their mind-set

and adapt to an environment which differs strongly from

traditional funding instruments. KIC InnoEnergy projects are

not made for turning money into knowledge but for turning

knowledge into money (i.e. they are not research projects but

innovation projects). Selecting the proper business cases,

involving the right people with entrepreneurial skills, and

managing and measuring the performance of projects are key elements of KIC InnoEnergy and are

applied to all the knowledge triangle activities.


Panellists explained to the audience the evaluation process on selecting the partner proposals. It was

also explained that cross-KIC initiatives have not yet been fully explored,although cooperation and

common agendas already exist in some areas, such as EIT Labelling in Education, and Outreach and

other areas of possible synergies in areas where specific interests thatoverlap (e.g. Smart Cities) have

been found. EIT will incentivise further the cross-KIC activities.

6. PLENARY SESSION 4 – MEASURING IMPACT: MONITORING IN

THE EIT AND ITS KICS

Moderator:


Panellists:

José Manuel Leceta, Director of the EIT

Mary Ritter, Chief Executive Officer of Climate-KIC

Willem Jonker, Chief Executive Officer of EIT ICT Labs

Diego Pavia, Chief Executive Officer of KIC InnoEnergy

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Mr José Manuel Leceta, Director of the EIT

illustrated the strategy behind the design of the EIT

Performance Measurement System, with its strategic

objectives in the three Areas: Enabling Innovation/Value

Creation, Positioning, and Operational Excellence.

Focusing on Enabling Innovation and Value Creation,

these are mainly aggregated from the outputs of the

activities of the KICs, based on the Pillars of EIT strategy;

the figures for the forecast output until the end of 2013

are encouraging and show that the KICs are effectively

pursuing an impact strategy in the long term. A Working Group of the Governing Board is actively

building the strategy of considering the three aspects of financing, monitoring and evaluating impact in

order to guaranteethe accountability of the EIT results. The credibility of the data is guaranteed by

means of a robust process of consolidating the definition and assuring the result through monitoring

relevant deliverables.

Ms Mary Ritter, CEO of Climate-KIC

highlighted the diversity of the partners within

Climate- KIC, the way they are managed. She

expalined that the partners working in the

knowledge triangle integration in accordance with

the defined strategy, and are looking for the

output of the KICs’ activities. The measure of

such output is the proof that they all are

supporting that strategy. She explained that

from this strategy specific objectives are derived

that are measured via a Scoreboard that

incorporates the KICs’ Core KPIs. The objectives are deployed through eightplatforms, delivering

important results in various KPIs in accordance with the platform and strategic objectives. She also

highlighted that measuring impact is very complex, in particular with regard to societal impact, and

KPIs are used are proxies to a more genuine impact evaluation. Through the monitoring system of

Climate KIC it is also possible to trace the return of investment of education in terms of new

companiescreated or projects created by their students,as well as how many are joining other SMEs to

help them grow.

Mr Willem Jonker, CEO of EIT ICT Labs

pointed out that “Target and Focus” is the

motto of EIT ICT labs for 2013 and that the

crucial question is how to measure Impact.

He stressed that first it must be known what

one aims to achive in order to measure the

impact. He summarised that at EIT ICT Labs

the mission is to educate and innovate. By

combining the two, education has to address

innovation elements and innovation cannot

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go without teaching people about how to adopt innovation. He presented leading indicators such as

promising inventions, talent inflow, business and higher education interest. He also mentioned some of

the KPIs used in universities on how to measure if one is good talent supplier (e.g: salaries of

graduated students, employer demand, impact on society). Mr Jonker finalised that KPIs are about

quality not about quantity, and they should not become a ’numbers’ game. He remarked that KPIs are

good but they are tools and intuition should be always used as well.

Mr Diego Pavia, CEO of KIC InnoEnergy explained

how the Performance Measurement Scoreboard (PMS)

was created and is used at KIC InnoEnergy. He

mentioned that the PMS is important in aligning the

business motivation of all organisations with the partner

level in order to pursue the impact of societal challenge.

He addressed the audience by key masseges regarding

KPIs. He stressed that the KPIs are the proof of the

pudding on ’walking the talk’, to show that promised

results are delivered. He also emphasized that the KICs

are very ’strange animals’, since the topology is very distributed for instance, hence it is very important

to find right KPIs that align all innovation actors towards a common objective. He stressed that the

KPIs at KIC InnoEnergy are extremely good to align the effectiveness of the resources. He suggested

to furture KICs to build up the right flow of steps from impact to the PMS, because it will be the

promotion element to get the best and the excellence buying in into the business model. Mr Pavia

also explained to the audience the main differences between KPIs in a private company and the ones

used on KIC level.


After a dynamic discussion and Q&A session with the audience, Ms Mettler concluded that simplicity is

described as one of the guiding principles of the KICs but they are also very complex organisations and

constitute a huge management challenge, which she appreciated. She as well remarked that the

pressure on the KICs to do things faster is high but it also has to be acknowledged that to tackle

societal impact a proper time is necessary.

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DAY 2 – BEYOND THE KICS: ENGAGING WITH

THE STAKEHOLDER COMMUNITY

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7. PLENARY SESSION 5 – SYNERGIES AT EU AND NATIONAL LEVEL

Mr José Manuel Leceta, Director of the EIT

introduced the sessions of the second day of the

conference and streesed that the EIT is built on the

principles of collaboration and cooperation. The current

KICs are already actively

engaging with other EU

instruments and are

establishing a dialogue with

innovation stakeholders. The

session on synergies at EU and

national level showcased some of the synergies already underway and asked

the question of how these synergies can be further amplified. The session

moderator, Mr. Hegarty, opened the session and the whole second day of the

conference bystating that the three sessions of the day would focus on what

is beyond the KICs in the broader EU environment. The session gathered

together four speakers who ensured that the participants received a deeper

insight about existing synergies on an EU and national level.

Ms Mathea Fammels, Acting Head of the Policy and

Communications Unit set the scene for the panel discussion with a

presentation of the EIT’s perspective. She explained that synergies are

one of the guiding principles of the EIT and its KICs and stressed that the

EIT builds on the joint strengths and capabilities of excellent existing

organisations from the knowledge triangle and brings together the

existing research base by accelerating the take-up and exploitation of

research outcomes. Ms Fammels highlighted that the EIT serves as

catalyst model that is conducive to synergies because of (1) the EIT’s

smart funding model (25% / 75 %), and (2) the bottom-up alignment of

topics and funding around the KICs. With the integration of the EIT into

the Horizon 2020 family from next year on, the overarching structure of

Horizon 2020 will become the framework that facilitates synergies at EU

level. Ms Fammels concluded by highlighting also the enablers that can

Introduction to the topics of the 2nd day

José Manuel Leceta, Director of the EIT

Moderator:

John Hegarty, Director of the Innovation Advisory Partners

Panellists:

Mathea Fammels, Head of Unit Policy and Communications, EIT

Marja Makarow, EIT Governing Board Member

Erik Neumann, Project Lead, Software Campus

Imelda Lambkin, National Director for Framework Programme 7 (FP7), Enterprise Ireland

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foster synergies, such as common policy visions, strong coordination mechanisms and governance at

programme level, and potential barriers at technical level.

Ms Imelda Lambkin, National Director for

Framework Programme 7 (FP7) at Enterprise

Ireland, presented the national and, in particular,

the Irish perspective with regards to synergies with

the activities of the EIT and the KICs. She explained

that Ireland, as a young, vibrant and energetic

country in the sense of research,development, and

innovation investment had a period of decade of

intensive investments targeted at improving the

country’s research excellence and makingit

internationally competitive. As a result, actors in the

areas of education and industrial development investments in Ireland, work together nowadays to

achieve scale, and they look for leverage of national investment through international funding sources.

She posed the key question of whether the national system is properly designed for the next round of

KICs.

Ms Marja Makarow, EIT Governing Board Member,

brought not only the EIT Governance aspect to the

fore, but also the national perspective,by presenting

existing synergies in Finland that are similar to the

EIT’s concept. She explained the system of the Finnish

SHOKs,which are Strategic Centers for Science

Technology and Innovation, and drew parallels with the

KICs. SHOKs were set up to implement cooperation

between the business sector and scientists, to

accelerate innovation, to create world class expertise in

critical mass and to generate world class knowledge and use this knowledge tothe benefit of society.

She also stressed the similarity with KICs, with regard to areas of operations, such as health and well

being, energy and environment, ICT, and the funding model (60% from TEKES, Public Funding Agency

for pre-commercial research and development and 40% is from the partners). She concluded with

some recommendations and observations, resulting from an international evaluation of the SHOKs that

could be beneficial for the EIT’s existing and future KICs.

Mr Erik Neumann, Project Lead from Software Campus of EIT ICT Labs, introduced the

concept of the Software Campus and its national aspect. He explained that the Software Campus is

about bringing together with IT knowledge and placing them in leadership positions. He explained that

the Campus settles onto an academic qualification and complements it with an additional leadership

qualification, mentoring and networking opportunities, and involvement in academic IT projects. He

stressed that in line with integrating the knowledge triangle, the Campus is educating researchers to

become business leaders or entrepreneurs.

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He also introduced the broad national partner network

from academia, industry, research and governance,

where EIT ICT Labs plays a central role by managing the

whole initiative. He concluded by emphasising the

support of the German government,which has proven

very valuable insetting up the Campus in the arena of

the German IT Summit. He pointed out that an arena

fostered by the EIT could be highly valuable to form

such national initiatives and to provide a place where

relevant players can talk and get together.


Mr Neumann answered questions from the audience on how the consortium could benefit from the

Software Campus and who could apply for their programmes. Ms Makarow also responded to the

participants by explaining that in the post-Nokia era in Finland, many researchers and innovators were

captured in new start-up companies and contributed to the growth of the new EIT eco-system the KICs

would like achieve. She also stressed that nor entrepreneurship or education is on the agenda of

SHOKs in the same way as it is in the EIT and its KICs. However the SHOK Colocation Center for

instance is part of Alto University, that is putting efforts into activating students in the area of

entrepreneurship. Ms Fammels also intervened at the Q&A session, stating that it was too early to

come up with a long list of examples of national initiatives given that the EIT and KICs were still very

young. She did refer, however, to Mr Neumann’s presentation on the EIT ICT Labs project, and also

mentioned some other similar initiatives from the two other KICs, i.e. KIC InnoEnergy and Climate-KIC.

Mr Hegarty, the session moderator concluded that engagement with other instruments seems to be a

complex phenomenon and referred to it as a challenge to the EIT. He also appreciated the great

initiatives that are happening at national level and that are fostered by the EIT and its KICs.

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8. PLENARY SESSION 6 – ENGAGEMENT WITH EUROPE’S TALENTED

INNOVATORS, AND CREATING NEW TALENT

During its initial period, the EIT has proven its appeal to students,

researchers and entrepreneurs from different backgrounds and

world regions. Through actual testimonials, this session presented

the role of the EIT in engaging with talented individuals and

supporting the development of an entrepreneurial mind-set. Of

particular importance were community building and the role of the

CLCs in bringing people together.

Ms Veronica Campbell, Dean of Graduate Studies

in Trinity College presented the initiative of Trinity

College ’Innovation Academy’, which focuses on

innovation and entrepreneurship training, collaboration

and community-building for PhD students. The innovation

academy is a joint undertaking between three Irish

universities. It has received a five-year grant from the

Irish Higher Education Authority and delivers a

postgraduate certificate in Innovation and

Entrepreneurship for PhD students. The mission is to

equip PhD graduates from all disciplines, who are experts in their fields, with additional transversal

skills, and build a multidisciplinary group of entrepreneurs, doctoral candidates, academics and

industry. The programme is structured around modules;five students have

already completed the modules, and another 230 students are in the process

of going through the programme.

Mr Pep Salas Prats, an entrepreneur incubated for 12 months at KIC

InnoEnergy`s Barcelona co-location centre as part of the KIC InnoEnergy

Highway, briefly presented his company “ENERBITE”, which offers insights

and knowledge on consumers’ own energy consumption in order to give

advice on how to change their behaviour and save energy and money. He

explained that he had learned about the KIC and the start-up support they

are providing 18 months earlier and that, after 6 months, the KIC took a

Moderator:


Panellists:

Andreas Reinhardt, Student, Climate-KIC

Pep Salas Prat, Entrepreneur, KIC InnoEnergy

Kai Kuikkaniemi, Researcher, EIT ICT Labs

Veronica Campbell, Dean of Graduate Studies in Trinity College

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share in the company. He underlined how vital the KIC support had been in providing investments and

the right people to help.The particular added value had been the size and quality of KIC InnoEnergy’s

network of talented people whowere essential for creating relationships and bringing together people

from different countrieswho share the same interests. He explaned it to the audience that without the

support of the KIC InnoEnergy, the company would have not have grownin the way it did, nor could it

have taken advantage of the full range and expertise of the co-location centres.

Mr Kai Kuikkaniemi shared with the audience his experience as a

researcher at Helsinki Institute of Innovation and Technology. He

underlined the importance of the co-location centres in EIT ICT Labs,

which represent invaluable support, as they are different from many other

financing schemes. He was incubated at the Helsinki CLC for six months.

Kai had the opportunity to move around all CLCs in EIT ICT Labs and

connect with people with the same interests – in his case the Smart

spaces community. He pointed out, however, that more effort still needed

to be made with a view to building bridges between the different

thematic areas and communities of the KIC, before starting to collaborate

between the KICs on cross-KIC activities.He concluded that the start-up

was already there before but the iterations were absolutely necessary to

grow the company – it was essential to be supported by EIT ICT Labs.

Mr Andreas Reinhardt shared with the

audience his experience of participating in the

Climate-KIC educational activity called ’the

Journey’, which is a five-week summerschool

bringing together a multidisciplinary group of

students, - ranging from designers toarchitects to

engineers with a can-do mentality. They all share

the same passion for wanting to do ’something

that matters’ to tackle climate-change. He

explained that ’the Journey’ was based on

contextual learning across the different co-

location centres and their specialities and entrepreneurial training. A particular highlight/outcome of

the summer school is the formation of the Climate-KIC Alumni Association (CKAA), which in the

meantime has become a registered legal entity and affiliate partner of Climate-KIC. The challenge now

is to keep the entrepreneurial spirit going within the community, once students move on to their

’normal’ jobs and others set up their own businesses.


This session highlighted the crucial importance of innovation and entrepreneurship training,

multidisciplinary team-work and community building. The testimonials confirmed that KIC activities in

the field of entrepreneurial education,entrepreneurship and business creation were providing a clear

added value and that the co-location centres played a vital role in connecting people and building a

diverse community of entrepreneurs and innovators across Europe.

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9. PLENARY SESSION 7 – ENGAGEMENT WITH EUROPE’S REGIONS

The EIT, through its KICs, has a unique way of approaching

regions. The existing KICs already have a strong presence

in regions as a result of their co-location centres and

Climate-KIC’s Regional Innovation Centres (RICs). The SIA

presents outreach as one of the key objectives for the EIT

during 2014-2020. Regions are exceptional partners in

order to strengthen the presence of the EIT throughout

Europe and ensure a widespread dissemination of its lessons

learnt and experiences. This session has put the focus on

how the current regional engagement is succeeding and what future measures can and should be

taken with regards to focus on use of other EU funds and focus on regional strategy alignment to the

EIT.

Mr Xavier Prats-Monné, Deputy Director General

DG EAC, European Commission, highlighted the

challenges regional engagement faces with and how

the European Commission addresses them. One of the

challenges he pointed out is that it has to be made

sure that the EIT functions as a European Institution

together with the KICs that work for excellence and at

the same time beneficial to all European citizens.

Moreover, he underlined that critical mass would be

essential for the regional engagement but the EIT will

never have that critical mass to address the issues of

regional disparities that are inherent to the European projects. The third challenge Mr. Prats Monné

introduced is that today the EIT is still in its initial phase and it would be too ambitions to assume that

the EIT and its three current KICs can cover all the European regions. Mr Prats-Monné also

emphasized the importance of outreach and dissemination for the regional engagement and he

concluded by pointing out that engagement with regions has to be a two way street.

Moderator:


Panellists:

Jana Kolar, EIT Governing Board Member

Xavier Prats-Monné, Deputy Director General DG EAC, European Commission

Manuel Perez Alonso, Chairman, Entrepreneurial Scientists Association

Aled Thomas, Regional Implementation and Innovation Communities (RIC) Director, Climate-KIC

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Ms Jana Kolar, EIT Governing Board Member,

also emphasized that at this moment not many

regions are directly involved in the EIT through the

KICs, and this is a great challenge to address. She

stressed that we have to acknowledge the fact that

innovation is basically a very regional feature with a

strong local component and this is what the EIT

through KICs does. She expressed her hope that the

number of regions participating in the EIT`s and

KIC`s activities will expand as the number of KICs

will be growing in order to strengthen their impact.

She has emphasized that in every region regional pockets of global excellence can be found and

appreciated the pro-active approach from regional policy makers from countries, like Ireland or Austria,

that are already strengthening the capacities of the regions via local funding instruments to help them

to be able to take part in current or future KIC`s activities.

Mr Aled Thomas, Regional Implementation and

Innovation Communities (RIC) Director at

Climate-KIC has presented how they have created and

developed the regional structure of Climate-KIC. He

explained that from the very early stage, it is recognized

that regions, which are integrated part of the KIC, could

bring added value and they can upscale the impact of

Climate-KIC from the start. Mr Thomas stressed that the

RIC concept is very much at the heart of what the

whole Climate-KIC is doing and he emphasized the roles

and responsibilities of the regions and cities towards the Climate change mitigation. He mentioned

that the RICs are challenge led a systems that serve as a broad model of social and technological

change. He stressed that the mission of the RICs is to play a leading role in the transformation of the

European Regional Innovation Policies on practice in Climate change. Mr Thomas concluded that all

regions across Europe have to invest a mimimum % of their funding in 3 key areas, innovation,

development of companies and transition to low carb economy and we really need a clear framwork

on how to take that forward within Europe and this is where the RIC plays a crucial role.

Mr Perez Alonso, Chairman of the Entrepreneurial

Scientists Association, introduced to the audience his

project concerning the knowledge transfer and

entrepreneurship in order to help the gained academic

knowledge to be placed into practice. He initiated a

network of Spanish Network of Entrepreneurs in Science

and presented the project to the audience including

scientists and entrepreneurs who could be interested in

starting-up a company. He has shared the outcome of the

first Spanish Congress of Entrepreneurs in Science that was held in November 2012 and where more

than 350 participants including 50 % young scientists and 80 companies presenting their experience,

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hinted that there is a high potential to develop that good science is not necessarely translated into

companies.


Mr Thomas answered the audience on what the key areas in practice are at RIC level and he

emphasized that RIC provides opportunity to people from academia, business and regional local

governance, who are interested to develop skills on how low carb energy innovation works in practice

by giving them chance for mobility across Europe and sectors. Ms Kolar explained to the participants

that it falls into the scope of the responsibility of each KIC, as legally autonomous entities, on what

strategy they do use when it comes to increasing the number of regions. Mr Prats-Monné confirmed it

with stressing that the entire added value of rationality is that KICs function as legal entities with their

own strategies.

Mr. Hegarty concluded by summarizing the session and highlighted one key point that is `Innovation is

a local phenomenon` and solution for key issues rest locally.

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10. OFFICIAL CLOSURE

The EIT Director, Mr José Manuel Leceta, outlined

future steps with regards to the next round of the KIC Call.

He gave a brief presentation on the Strategic Innovation

Agenda (SIA) and its priorities, which includes (1)

consolidation of the three existing KICs, (2) creation of new

KICs for 2014-2020 (3) enhancement of EIT impact via

knowledge sharing and (4) enhancement of EIT impact via

simplification and monitoring. He also introduced the

indicative roadmap for the Future Call for the KICs that

includs two major steps, namely (1) organisation of thematic seminars and (2) presentation of the

selection criteria and the guidance document. The EIT Director welcomed the support of the European

Commission, the EIT Governing Board and the EIT staff involved in the working group for finalising the

next wave of the KIC Call. He also stressed that guidance information will be made publicly available

prior to the launch of the Call, such as the EIT’s Financial Rules, a Framework Guidance including

criteria, procedures for financing, monitoring and evaluation of KIC activities, and selection criteria for

future KICs. Mr Leceta concluded by inviting the participants to the upcoming EIT events in 2013;

further information about these can be found on the EIT website. With his final words of sincere

appreciation he addressed the host, Mr. Patrick Prendergrast and thanked him for his tremendous

support in organising the Conference along with the EIT staff. He expressed his gratitude for the

participation of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the EIT Governing Board

Members and ended the conference by assigning a motto to the EIT’s mission:’innovation powered to

people’.

Mr Patrick Prendergrast, Provost of Trinity

College and EIT Governing Board Member, also

thanked the participants for attending the EIT

Conference. Without attempting to summarise the whole

conference, he highlighted some key messages from the

two days of discussions. He stressed that innovation can

indeed transform Europe, which is currently going

through a difficult and challenging time. He was also

appreciative of the genuine measures being taken, such

as those by the EIT,to address those challenges and offer hope for young people to take control their

lives and their careers and build a future for themselves. He admitted that the aim that the EIT is

about to transform all of Europe is an ambitious one but one that still must be attempted. . He

confirmed that the EIT is going from stength to strength to strength, and concluded by saying that the

way the KICS join three angles of the knowledge triangle togetherinto a partnership is one of theEIT’s

magical elements. Mr Prendergrast ended the EIT Conference with a quote from William Butler Yeats,

that `Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire`.With this, he expressed his hope

that the EIT will continue to add fuel to that fire of entrepreneurship in Europe.

FOREWORD · a great potential for synergies and complementarities between the EIT, KICs and other...

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