1. Regions for Economic Change Fostering Smart and Sustainable Growth in Cities and Regions «Key Enabling Technologies and Skills for Globally Competitive Clusters» Brussels, 23-24 June 2011 Dr. Gernot Klotz Executive Director Cefic Research & Innovation gkl@cefic.be

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5. Innovation essentials Innovation is much more than R&D (not “Research plus”) Innovation is a chain that is as strong as the weakest link Value chain ≠ innovation chain Implementation of ideas into practical value for whole society Urgency / speed and competitiveness of EU region Double money does not produce double innovation What it is: 5 Given the challenges and the urgency innovation policies have to address critical elements of the value chain

6. European Model and Innovation 6 1 st class research landscape Network of big companies and SMEs Well developed markets (common market) Proximity of knowledge and industrial value chain Ability to deal with complexity Need for a well- articulated European innovation model that:  builds on own strengths  keeps / create / bring back value to Europe  in a quite short timeframe

7. Challenges Demands: industry to talk Quality: broad scientific & technical skills set base, business skills, personal skills Critical mass: excellence and quantity Incentives: scientific excellence vs. teaching Mindset: eurocentric vs. global competition 7

8. Higher Education - Industry collaboration Research Identify best practices Create synergies Define concrete recommendations Support broad deployment Right workforce for Research AND Innovation "Industry" Education Collaboration with relevant education networks and associations http://www.cefic.org/Documents/PolicyCentre/Skills-for- Innovation-in-the-European-Chemical-Industry.pdf 8

9. Key message 9 New approach needed – skills are competitive factor Cooperations, synergistics effects Not best practices but systematic and numbers Education objectives to be integrated in the European strategic programmes and instruments (CSF, ESF and ETP’s) Europe including the regions have to significantly speed up Europe is the cluster!

10. 10 " I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better " Georg Cristoph Lichtenberg German physicist 1742 - 1799

11. Broad use of solar panels 11 MADE IN ASIA