Conferentie Kennis voor Groei- Europese strategieën in de wereldeconomie(en)

A conference on innovation and growth in the knowledge economy in Europe is being held in Toulouse from 7 to 9 July.

Research

CNRS

The first event organised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Research during the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union is a conference on "Knowledge for Growth - European Strategies in a Global Economy".

This conference is being organised in conjunction with the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE). It aims to identify the most relevant methods to stimulate innovation in Europe and to set out the main thrust of a European strategy for the promotion of the rapid growth of knowledge. Despite ambitious targets at the beginning of the decade, Europe has not been able to improve its ranking in the global knowledge economy, in which new players have emerged.

The congress will bring together the different players charged with implementing this strategy (international experts, research and development specialists, researchers, company directors, politicians), among whom :

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  Annette Schavan, Federal Minister of Education and Research - Germany
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  Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Technology
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  Cristina Garmendia Mendizabal, Minister of Science and Innovation - Spain
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  Tonis Lukas, Minister of Education and Research - Estonia
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  Jean Tirole, Director of Toulouse School of Economics
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  Manuel Trajtenberg, National Economic Council of Israel
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  Ellen de Brabander, Merial
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  Jean-Charles Pomerol, Chancellor of the Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris
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  Wolfgang Herrmann, Chancellor of Technische Universität Munchen
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  Andrea Cuomo, ST Microelectronics

The conference has two main aims :

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  to take stock of recent contributions on the topic of the knowledge economy and identify the foundations of national and European strategies for the promotion of innovation-based growth ;
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  to develop an operational approach to policies of innovation and research at regional, national and European levels, within the context of the new European Research Area.

During these three days, five plenary working sessions are planned :

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  "innovation and growth in the knowledge economy: a challenge for Europe" ;
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  "new practical innovation in companies and global networks" ;
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  "promotion of excellence in Europe: the interactions between public and private investment" ;
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  "multi-level innovation policies: contribution of the European Research Area" ;
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  "promotion of R&D and excellence in Europe: an integrated and open approach".

Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher Education and Research, will conclude the conference on 9 July 2008 at 2.30 p.m.

Press release