Linking Education and Innovation: a priority for Europe’s future!

During the first EU Education and Innovation Summit on June 23, we could not have predicted the level of interest from both the #education and #innovation sectors. Attendance at Summit was sold out shortly after registration opened, and the number of live viewers on Twitter and Facebook exceeded 500,000 and more than 1.5 million respectively.

Let me share with you some of the lessons learned from this huge participation, and also from the discussions that took place in the Summit.

Hidden demand for connecting education and innovation.

In the EU, we have been working on creating the European Education Area since 2017, renewed in 2022 with the European Strategy for Universities. This new strategy included, for the first time, several actions specifically dedicated to innovation, such as ‘incubators’ in Universities, Erasmus+ traineeships in startups, innovators at school, European Talent Fair, and 50 centres of Vocational Excellence.

Education and Innovation Summit suggests that there is a significant 'hidden' demand for such efforts. We must strengthen ties between the worlds of education and innovation. All innovative actors, from businesses to universities, as well as European, national, and regional education authorities, should take these actions.

There is interest from both students and university professors and academics. 

Because startups are becoming more viable places to pursue research careers that were formerly limited to research labs and large enterprises. Startups are also becoming a popular alternative for students nearing the end of their undergraduate studies, rather than considering careers as civil servants or workers of large corporations.

This 'hidden' demand is not that secret after all, as there are many examples of scientists (e.g., Malo Huard, a researcher at Paris-Sud University who founded the Milvue company) and students starting their own enterprises (e.g. Ines Kutzli and Inna Zhuravlova creating BanaBooms startup from the university of Hohenheim, and supported by EIT food).

European Network of Innovative Higher Education Institutions (ENIHEIs)

The Summit's first outcome has been the establishment of the European Network of Innovative Higher Education Institutions (ENIHEIs). It consists of 37 innovative universities from the EU's 27 member states.

This network's role will be threefold: it will serve as a role model for other universities across Europe, it will share best practices with the education community, and it will act as a counterpart for the European Commission in outlining concrete measures at the intersection of education and innovation. The report containing recommendations and best practices will be presented at the Education Summit and the European Innovation Council Summit on December 1 and 7, respectively.

New European Innovation Agenda

Similarly, the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA), which was adopted on July 5, is situated at the crossroads of science, education, and innovation. It comprises a comprehensive talent flagship as well as efforts in funding and innovation ecosystems in which educational institutions will play a critical role. 

Because the NEIA's focus is on deep-tech innovations and startups, it includes initiatives such as the deep-tech talent initiative, which aims to train one million Europeans in engineering and STEAM fields required for the next wave of innovation.

Among these new skills, we shall pay special attention to scientists who are thinking about starting their own startups. Because the startup world is significantly different from the world of research labs. In the traditional research field, scientists apply for grants. In the startup sector, the scientist will need to speak with 200 individuals before receiving money. And it's possible that you'll have a beer with one investor and they'll turn you down, but then they'll chat to a friend, and a week later you'll hear that their friend wants to invest. For this reason, the New European Innovation Agenda has the intention to build deep tech innovation valleys in up to 100 regions across Europe to ensure that all the innovation actors within the ecosystem are well interconnected.

Bringing education and innovation communities together!

Another important lesson learnt at the Education and Innovation Summit was the significance of ensuring that the New European Innovation Agenda (NEIA) new activities are led by both education and innovation communities.

The innovation community decided to form a Coalition of the Willing (CoW) on July 6 in order to assist the Commission in implementing the NEIA's 25 actions. This new coalition unites the EU Unicorns Group, the European Innovation Ecosystem Leaders Group, the Women Founders Group, and the Women VC Group.

As a first step toward ensuring that both communities collaborate, this new CoW will begin working with the ENIHEI at Startup Ole, an event organised by the University of Salamanca, on September 5 and 6.

I am committed to supporting the collaboration between both communities, as it is the only way to meet the enormous demand for combining education and innovation.