8 1 / 2024 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS

Relocation for its anniversary : Research summit has a new name and location

For ten years now , the research summit has been a major summit for stakeholders from science , business , and politics . From the beginning , the joint mission of the partner organisations – the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , the Stifter verband , the Commission of Experts for Research and Innovation , and the Volkswagen Foundation – has been to create more visibility across Europe for Germany as a centre for innovation . This means positioning Germany as a location with a research and innovation system that combines economic value creation , political decision-making , and regulation processes and involves wider civil society .

“ Funding with the courage to take risks , and an innovation policy that establishes a culture of implementation in research and industry , are absolute musts .”

Georg Schütte

Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation

Image : Philip Bartz | VolkswagenStiftung

BY GEORG SCHÜTTE *

We have partially reinvented the summit in its anniversary year . With a new title “ Summit for Research and Innovation ”, in 2024 it leaves its usual event location in the political centre of Berlin / Germany and will be a guest in Hanover / Germany at the world ’ s biggest industrial trade fair . “ Innovations in Europe – catalysts , competencies , and cooperation using the example of AI ” is this year ’ s discussion topic .

Certainly no one needs to be convinced that innovative and disruptive artificial intelligence ( AI ) is relevant . AI applications have become mainstream since ChatGPT . Yet ChatGPT is not a German creation , and it ’ s not even a European one . ChatGPT is the product of an American company , Open AI , which has only been focusing on AI since 2015 .

What is , however , Europe ’ s and Germany ’ s role in the most dynamic transformation of our time ? Could European AI ecosystems be those in which futures are developed in a technologically and societally sustainable way ? And how do current developments affect the European and German research and innovation systems ? These are the aspects we need to address .

Holding the summit as part of the Hannover Messe increases the likelihood of our discussions having even more impact . After all , the Messe brings together technological , scientific and entrepreneurial knowledge and the most relevant products used to transfer ideas and technology between the fields of science and business . We want to build on this treasure trove of knowledge together .

From the perspective of a large research supporter such as the Volkswagen Foundation , when science , policymaking , and business engages in dialogue it is important to look closely at what frameworks this transfer needs in order to be productive and successful . For science , this means not restricting the freedom

to independently develop basic research and acquire inter- and transdisciplinary knowledge , while also structuring adaptability much more efficiently than is presently the case . Regional , national and Europe-wide agreement on funding instruments is a decisive factor in this regard .

Funding with the courage to take risks , and an innovation policy that establishes a culture of implementation , a culture of “ movers and shakers ” in research and industry , are absolute musts . The “ Research and Innovation Summit ” on 22 April 2024 in Hanover could provide significant momentum for these developments .

* Dr Georg Schütte is an Honorary Member of the Leopoldina Senate and Secretary General of the Volkswagen Foundation . From 2013 to 2018 he was a member of its advisory board and from 2009 to 2019 State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research .

Research and Innovation Summit 2024 ( German only )