Université Paris-Saclay hosted the Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) from 11 to 13 May 2022
Europe’s main political forum for innovation and regional development, the 12th edition of the Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) was held at Université Paris-Saclay as part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The theme of this year’s edition was ‘Towards a leading Europe in breakthrough innovation: unleashing the potential of regions’.
The Week of Innovative Regions in Europe (WIRE) is an annual forum which takes place in one of the countries presiding the Council of the European Union. A key event in the European calendar, it gives a central role to regions to discuss broad political strategies in innovation and regional development.
Held as part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, this year’s forum was jointly organised by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, the European Commission and Université Paris-Saclay.
The theme of this year’s edition, ‘Towards a leading Europe in breakthrough innovation: unleashing the potential of regions’, echoed the importance of breakthrough innovation for the growth and future of the European Union. Breakthrough innovation constitutes a major factor in increasing the competitiveness of the European Union. With round table discussions and presentations from stakeholders in breakthrough innovation, the event also looked at opportunities in the European ecosystem, and helped to establish an overview of best practices and the missing tools.
On Wednesday 11 May, Sylvie Retailleau, President of Université Paris-Saclay, Benjamin Delozier, Head of the Competitiveness, Innovation and Business Development Department at the French Directorate General for Enterprise, Claire Giry, Head of Research and Innovation at the French Ministry for Higher Education, Research and Innovation, and Joanna Drake, Deputy Director General, DG Research and Innovation at the European Commission, opened the event to approximately 200 participants.
The opening plenary session ended with an inaugural conference on ‘Europe and its regions at the crossroads. Seizing the opportunities of a new wave of breakthrough innovations – A policy perspective’.
Over the course of the three-day event, participants from across Europe explored and debated a wide range of questions, including: what are the characteristics of breakthrough innovation? How can we support the deployment of breakthrough innovation in regional ecosystems? What are the key factors in helping and deploying breakthrough innovation in civil society? How can we succeed in the transition from start-up growth to scaling-up, even if there is a high risk for private investors? What are the existing or lacking tools, on European, national and regional levels? What is the role of SMEs? What are the strategic challenges for the industrialisation of local areas, for the implementation of the European Green Deal, and for the cohesion of all stakeholders in regions, EU member states and the European Union?
The videos of the conferences will soon be available on www.wire2022.eu!