Innovation is the answer - The time to act is now!
The IE.F's most recent event was an inspiring panel discussion "Don't stop innovating: Europe's path to tech leadership" co-hosted with the Jacques Delors Centre and ESMT Berlin!
The event included welcome remarks by Johannes Lindner, Co-Director of the Jacques Delors Centre, a keynote speech by Enrico Letta, former Prime Minister of Italy, and a panel discussion moderated by our IE.F Managing Director Clark Parsons.
The panelists brought up various challenges and opportunities for innovation in Europe, drawing from their backgrounds in business, academia, and politics.
Enrico Letta argued for a 28th regime, which would simplify running businesses in Europe as well as for a savings and investment union to improve cross-border funding of startups and scaleups in the EU.
René Obermann, Chairman of Europe at Warburg Pincus, Chairman of the Board of Airbus and Member of the Board of the Innovate Europe Foundation (IE.F), sees growing interest in European cloud solutions but the lack of a capital markets union and the current regulatory landscape makes scaling in Europe much harder than elsewhere. Here, a better understanding between politicians and businesses for their respective points of view is key.
Dr. Annika von Mutius, Co-founder of Empion and Board Member of the KI Bundesverband pointed out the power of smaller AI models based on domain-specific knowledge and urged politicians to consider innovation as a holistic approach.
Lars-Hendrik Röller, Professor of Economics at ESMT Berlin and Chair of the Berlin Global Dialogue emphasised the importance of laying a strong ground work and building the infrastructure for tech innovation instead of relying on large government strategies.
The panel discussion ended on an optimistic note: Europe has a great tech talent and a solid industrial basis. The time to harness these advantages is now!