WIRE Conference 2020: Innovations are Grounds to Economic Progress
November 9, 2020 – The impact of innovation on regional development was discussed at the WIRE Conference 2020, which was held for the first time online.
The Faculty of Economics in Split was a host to the most significant international convention dedicated to innovations and regional development, "Week of Innovative Regions in Europe – WIRE 2020". The main topic at the conference was the impact of innovations on the development of regions, with special reference to opportunities innovations can bring to less developed regions and their significance for recovery of the corona crisis.
Source: WIRE Conference 2020
Croatia recognizes the importance of R&D investment
"This conference is taking place in the right moment because the European Commission is coming close to an end with developing the program Horizon Europe, which is the basis for the strengthening of European research areas. As a part of that program, among others, the idea is to start the platform which will gather experts of European universities, who will exchange ideas and learn from one another all in one place," general director of the European Commission Board for research and innovations Jean-Eric Paquet has stated and emphasized how every region of the EU plays a significant role in promotion and development of innovations.
Paquet has pointed out how European Union invests more in the development of start-ups than the USA on the annual level and that Croatia for the past few years recognizes the importance of investment in research and development as a lever for the economic prosperity of the region. He emphasized how all national governments inside the EU, and especially local communities, should invest additional efforts in the development of the R&D system, with a special outline on excellence.
The goal of the European Union is, on an individual member state level, to achieve investments of over 3% of national GDP to research and innovations, what is, for now, the case only in Finland and Sweden. By encouraging education in STEM fields, the preconditions are made for the development and appliance of innovative solutions.
The importance of investments
Representatives of the European Commission, experts from several European universities and scientific institutions, the most successful representatives of the European business community, and local and regional self-government have all agreed that quality governance is key to implementing EU policies and facilitating access to excellence, with special emphasis on remote regions.
"The European Union needs to invest more in innovation if it wants to be competitive. However, reaching the target of three percent of the national GDP for investment in innovation research has become more difficult to achieve due to the corona crisis. It is, therefore, necessary to give due importance and support to the spread of innovation within the EU, as opposed to the current focus on research excellence,” said Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, Professor of Economic Geography at the London School of Economics.
Source: WIRE Conference 2020
The conference has been opened by the Croatian Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs, who pointed out the importance of mobility of scientists, individuals, and companies and emphasized the need for necessary reduction of the gap between certain countries.
Reducing of difference in the degree of innovations between countries starts in the local environment, through universities, and then by using different programs and financial resources of the European Union – has been pointed out at the conference. It is necessary to focus on regional differences through the opening of different hubs which will strengthen up innovational ecosystem, whereas connecting stronger members of the EU with those less developed will contribute to creating new innovations.
A 10-year tradition
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the conference was held online for the first time. It gathered more than 700 participants and over 60 lecturers, experts from different European universities and scientific institutions, but also the most successful representatives of the European business community and local and regional self-government.
Since 2010, the WIRE Conference annually gathers stakeholders from the research and innovations sector, creators of the European Union’s politics, regional and national authorities, centers of knowledge, clusters, innovative companies, and all other stakeholders that develop or want to develop innovations to improve the community they are living in.
The conference is organized with support from the European Commission, General Administration for Research and Innovations, Ministry of Science and Education, Split-Dalmatia County, and the City of Split.
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WIRE Conference 2020: Focus on the Innovation of Less Developed Regions
November 2, 2020 – The most important international conference for innovation and regional development entitled "Innovative Regions Week in Europe - WIRE 2020", will be held from 4 to 6 November 2020. This year, the WIRE conference will be held online and broadcast live.
The conference is organized by the Faculty of Economics in Split, with the support of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, and it will discuss the impact of innovation on regional development.
A special focus will be on the opportunities that innovation can bring to less developed regions and their importance for recovery from the corona crisis.
Using innovation for development
As organizers announce, this year’s 11th edition of the WIRE conference will highlight the possibilities and opportunities offered by research and innovation in tackling some of today’s greatest challenges such as climate change, water protection, healthy food production, and the creation of smart cities. The conference aims to encourage the construction of an innovation ecosystem that will reveal the potential of each region in the European Union and use creative approaches for successful regional acceptance of innovation.
There will be a debate on policies that should work for a balanced flow of highly skilled workers across Europe. It will also open the topic of why some regions have a large brain drain, while other regions attract more people, and how to stimulate innovation by exchanging intellectual capital.
The conference will be attended by the Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs and other dignitaries, such as Jean-Eric Paquet, Director-General of the European Commission's Research and Innovation Directorate, who will talk about the importance of funding science and innovation in Europe. The emphasis will be on the consequences of a pandemic for countries like Croatia.
Speakers include Roberta Capello, professor of regional economics at the Politecnico in Milan, and Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, professor of economic geography at the London School of Economics, who will address the importance of innovation in less developed regions.
The WIRE conference aims to inspire and encourage the community to use innovation to influence the development of its region and society as a whole, with the European Union's continued support for economic, social, and territorial cohesion.
Conference participants can expect a series of interesting lectures and discussions by experts from several European universities and scientific institutions. The most successful representatives of the European business community and representatives of local and regional self-government will talk, among other things, about how local entrepreneurial ecosystems, such as start-ups, can influence the development opportunities of remote and less developed regions, how innovation can be used to exploit marine resources in a sustainable way, and several other topics.
Improving the communities
Week of Innovative Regions in Europe has been organized since 2010, and since then annually brings together stakeholders from the research and innovation sector, EU policymakers, regional and national authorities, knowledge centers, clusters, innovative companies, and all other stakeholders who develop or want to develop innovations to improve the community they live in.
The WIRE conference is a platform that allows participants to discuss in one place about research, innovation, challenges, and opportunities in European regions, with a direct view of current and future European Union funding programs.
The conference is organized with the support of the European Commission, the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Science and Education, the Split-Dalmatia County, and the City of Split.
The host of this year's WIRE Conference edition is the Faculty of Economics in Split. The conference is being organized online for the first time due to the pandemic and will be broadcast live on the official website from 4 to 6 November. Participation is free, and participants only need to register.
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