European Commissioner Carlos Moedas speaking at the book launch in Brussels, 15 May 2017.
The Research, Innovation and Science Policy Experts (RISE) group published its book ‘Europe’s Future: Open Innovation, Open Science, Open to the World’ on 15 May 2017. The volume was presented to Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, at a workshop in Brussels hosted by the Centre for European Policy Studies. Prof. Luc Soete serves as Coordinator of the RISE group.
Congratulating the group, Commissioner Moedas said: ”This publication is an immense achievement. Your efforts have accomplished something very significant for the EU. Let me tell you why I think it is so important. First, it shows us how critical the three O’s are. Second, it makes them more concrete. And third, it gives us direction. But most importantly, if you leave with one idea, it should be this: Your work has already inspired our work for the future.”
Moedas then stressed the need for public engagement, saying: “we need to invest in science communication. Communicating science is important, now more than ever. Not just because we need to showcase the great work we are doing. But also because of the threats we face; the rise in populism, extremism and euro-scepticism. We’re living in an era of distrust and confusion. And these kinds of threats are attacking the role and the legitimacy of science. For me, science is the only way we can reconnect citizens with the EU project. We have one of the best and largest R&I programmes in the world. But very few outside our community know about it!
Just a few weeks ago, NASA made the headlines with the announcement of the discovery of seven new exo-planets. It was all over the media throughout the world. But they forgot to mention that the discovery was made by European researchers. Dr. Michael Gillon, who led the team which made the discovery. He is a Belgian scientist, funded by the European Union. Spreading the word on EU discoveries, like the 7 new exo-planets, is exactly what makes EU citizens cherish and be proud of the EU.”
The workshop featured two panel discussions. The first asked how to increase the impact of research and development on productivity, and featured among others UNU-MERIT board member Prof. Mariana Mazzucato. The second panel debate looked at regulation, innovation and open spaces for experimentation, and featured among others Prof. Nicholas Ashford of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. See the full volume below (228 pages) or download it here (2.7MB).
