EU technology institute begins work

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 16 Sep 2008 at 10:38

The new European Institute of Innovation and Technology has held the inaugural meeting of its governing board, as it begins its mission to drive technological innovation in Europe.

The institute is being backed by £238 million of EU funding, with a mandate to pool the expertise of universities, industry and technology companies in order to spur advances within Europe.

Speaking at the Institute's opening ceremony in Budapest, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso claimed the new centre would ultimately be judged not merely on innovative ideas but the ability to take them to market:

"It will make bets on innovative technologies and projects," he said. "Not all of these will pay off - but that element of risk is essential to success.

"In order to fulfil its mission, the EIT must remain faithful to its goal of taking ideas to the market in the form of innovative products, services and business models.

That is why the business perspective has been hard-wired into the EIT from the first. It is no accident that more than half of the Governing Board has business experience."

As part of its early mandate, the institute will focus on making headway into global problems such as climate change, renewable energies and development of the next generation of information and communication technologies.

However, Barroso was at pains to note it would pursue these purposes without any political mandate: "I would like to end by underlining that the EIT will focus on its mission without any political or bureaucratic interference. To do this, we have handed it an unprecedented level of autonomy."