NRW.innovativ Summit
The first NRW.innovativ Summit took place on November 30, 2022 with a diverse group of stakeholders from NRW's innovation ecosystem to take a "trip around the world " to learn about challenges and success stories from the most exciting global innovation ecosystems (such as Miami, NEOM , South Africa, and Malaysia/India). For this purpose, experts were present on site to share their first-hand experiences and insights. Based on the success factors of these innovation ecosystems - such as the promotion of lighthouse projects and the targeted training of specialists. The panel of experts also discussed which issues North Rhine-Westphalia has the greatest need for action on.
Mona Neubaur , Economics Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, emphasized: “Close exchange with you is essential in order to recognize and exploit potential in our state. Only together can we further strengthen and sustainably promote the innovation ecosystems in North Rhine-Westphalia. That’s why we will continue to focus on intensive dialogue and networking between all those involved in the future.”
In a survey, the summit participants derived the most relevant success factors for North Rhine-Westphalia from the respective innovation ecosystems as relevant success factors. The greatest need for action is:
- Stimulating innovation activities through lighthouse projects
- Regulatory support for a “risk-taking culture”
- Creating an optimal testing environment for innovation
- Targeted training of specialists
“Lighthouse projects primarily mean impulses that promote innovation. We have seen that the introduction of a digitalized identity card in India has created many applications that can be used millions of times." says Nils Dülfer , Managing Director of IMP³ROVE. “That’s why these networking meetings are so important. We want to find out what impulses are needed to advance new ideas but also give politicians the chance to listen to the right actors,” Dülfer continued.
Networking meetings will continue to be a central part of the NRW.innovativ event calendar in the coming year. In addition to regular cluster dialogues, such as the “Clusters meet…” format, there will be an exchange of experiences between the North Rhine-Westphalian regions in 2023 to identify common innovation potential. Information about future NRW.innovativ events can be found here: Events
Sources: NRW.innovativ
Impressions from the summit
