Eudoxa

In the wake of the EU’s 50 year celebration, it is important to pay special attention to the future of European research. Does science lead to innovation? Not necessarily, the research structures do affect the results of disciplinary diffusion and societal adoption.

The convergence of technologies leads to a greater need for cross-disciplinary interactions in academia. Will this spur previously unknown combinations for original innovation, or an unproductive mesh? It depends on if such endeavours are made when necessitated by the research at hand. The interactions and exchange between regional, national and European research constellations need to be simplified in order to promote clear communication between government research agencies, universities and private financiers.

The trick is not to reduce complexity, which often provides beneficial diversity, but to provide simple and transparent guidelines. The private sector needs to get involved not only with finances but also with strategic efforts and ideas, and encourage the knowledge of generalists as well as specialists. Innovation today is design and experimentation that provides feedback to research, which the private sector is skilful at supplying.

The public's participation in both science and innovation is essential for achieving technological sovereignty. Not only as a decoration, but as a very real factor as seen in the introduction of information technologies, that to a large extent were dependent on private inventors tinkering. It is of greatest importance to provide Europe’s young researchers with clear career paths that are coherent throughout Europe, but also with responsibility and autonomy, in order for them to see an attractive future at European institutions given the global competition. This is particularly important for European academia which much too often is conserving old ideas rather than creating new ones. To achieve scientific and technological breakthroughs society needs to pose itself rather hard questions on the desired societal impact of emerging technologies, and know fully well that premature regulation might disrupt entire fields of research or move research to be conducted away from Europe.

Europe has excellent opportunities to lead in both science and innovation, if it makes use of its full strength in creativity and constructively applied diversity, and allows knowledge to flow freely.

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