Professor Welsch contributes to 2024 KoWi Annual Conference on EU Research & Innovation Funding
The 2024 KoWi Annual Conference on EU Research & Innovation Funding with its about 350 participants is at the heart of KoWi’s event schedule every year. The Annual Conference provides an excellent forum for exchanging information and experiences regarding EU Research and Innovation Funding. This year, it was hosted by the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) and the Technical University Munich (TUM) between 4 – 6 June 2024 in Munich.
Professor Carsten P Welsch has been a member of the KoWi Advisory Board since 2016. The board meets annually to review the activities of KoWi and make recommendations on its strategic development. The Annual Conference was hence an ideal opportunity to connect with KoWi experts, as well as the German and international community of EU advisors and liaison officers.
In addition, Professor Welsch had the pleasure of joining a high-level panel on knowledge valorisation, moderated by the KoWi Head Dr Torsten Fischer and involving Dr Michiel Scheffer, President of the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), Prof Gerhard Kramer, TUM Vice President, and Prof Dorit Schumann, President of Trier University.
The driving question of the panel was: Are we already on the right path to a European Innovation Area? The panel discussed knowledge valorisation in an all-round view on innovation policy. It recognized that knowledge valorisation plays a central role in the research policy debate in Germany and the EU and that there is already a wide range of funding and support for the valorisation of research results, especially in Horizon Europe. It became clear in the discussion that knowledge transfer and the assessment of research impact across various dimensions will affect research and research policy even more in the future. During the conference, KoWi announced their new website focusing on this important area.
The Annual Conference also featured a number of hands-on workshops on diverse topics ranging from Research Security and MSCA Joint Doctorates all the way to Research and Innovation Partnerships. Additional panel discussions focused on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in research and research management, as well as what the European Charter, HRS4R and ResearchComp all do for the career development of researchers.
A get-together on the first day and an evening reception, hosted by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Arts in the Pinakothek of Modern Art on the Wednesday, completed an impactful program that stimulated many interesting discussions.
More information can be found at www.kowi-bundestagung.de
Information: The EU Liaison Office of the German Research Organisations" (KoWi) is the joint service platform of all major German science organisations. KoWi is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and part of the scientific self-administration in Germany. KoWi maintains offices in Bonn and Brussels and their experts have 30 years of experience in supporting researchers, administrators and institutions on all aspects related to EU-funded research.