EUREKA omnipresent at the European Innovation Summit 2011

In October 2011, for a third year, EUREKA, under its Hungarian Chair, was represented at the 2011 edition of the European Innovation Summit (EIS). This year, the Summit took place in two locations: in Brussels and Warsaw, as one of four flagship Polish EU Presidency events.

In Warsaw, EUREKA project participants were invited to join EUREKA’s technology exhibition. Polish participants present were from EUREKA success stories ModPolEUV, FLITE, HEALT HY WEANING and LOGCHAIN TRANSLOG SAFETY, as well as the recently completed Eurostars project SESS. Luuk Borg, the EUREKA Secretariat director, moderated a debate on the strengthening of the European Research Area (ERA). He oriented the debate towards answering the needs of R&D SMEs and fostering market-oriented innovation in Europe.

In Brussels, EUREKA project participants were invited to join EUREKA’s technology exhibition at the European Parliament building. Those present included 2011 Innovation Award winner OPTISOIL-CLEAN and participants from Cluster MEDEA+ MIMOWA; Eurostars BioSpeak; Eurostars Emo-Speech; ITEA2 DiYSE. ACQUEAU, the industry-driven EUREKA Cluster dedicated to water related technologies and innovation, also had representatives present.

EUREKA Chairman Sándor Erdő presented alongside European Parliamentarian and former EU Commissioner Danuta Hübner at the session ‘The Future of Innovation in Europe’. Dr Erdő spoke of the critical role that EUREKA has to play in the ERA and how the Strategic Roadmap developed two years ago was setting out to best position EUREKA as a key influencer in policymaking. Other speakers included representatives of the European Investment Fund, COST, CEFIC, Dow and the European Commission, ensuring a high-quality and animated debate.