2 / 2021 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS 9
Best-in-class technologies as policy foundation
2021 Research Summit discusses guidelines for innovation policy
Gerald Haug , President of the Leopoldina ( middle ) and Andreas Barner , President of the Stifterverband , hosted the 7th German Research Summit in May .
Screenshot : Leopoldina
For the next federal government , research policy and innovation policy will be two central areas to work on . This was the unanimous conclusion reached by the experts from science , business and politics at the seventh Research Summit which took place virtually on 19 May .
At the invitation of Stifterverband
( the donors ’ association for the promotion of humanities and sciences in Germany ), the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation , the Volkswagen Foundation and the Leopoldina , German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the directors of major German companies , economist Lars Feld ML , information scientist Sebastian Thrun ML and other top-ranking experts came together to discuss two questions : Should German research and innovation policy be directed more strategically in order to guide transformation processes towards particular targets ? Which key technologies and infrastructure elements need to be reinforced in the future to ensure that Germany and Europe retain scope for manoeuvre in competition with the USA and China ?
Participants were in close agreement that Germany cannot rest on the laurels of the last two decades where science and innovation are concerned . Instead , they felt that innovation policy after the national election needs to aim for more coordination between the departments involved and greater flexibility in the conditions surrounding the promotion of promising but risky projects . Serious challenges were seen in such areas as the transfer of research results into commercial application and the acceleration of authorisation processes .
Technological sovereignty as the guiding principle , which increasingly dominates the debate on innovation policy , was the subject of lively discussion at the Research Summit . The warning that it could be misused as an argument for supporting less promising areas of technology was countered with expressions of hope that it could act as a wake-up call and make Europe a leading innovator in key technologies once again . ■ ART
German Research Summit ( German only )
Agreement with Russian Academy
The Leopoldina renews Memorandum of Understanding
The Presidents of the Leopoldina and the Russian Academy of Sciences ( RAN ), Gerald Haug ML and Aleksander M . Sergeev , signed a new Memorandum of Understanding between their two national academies at a virtual meeting on 19 February . It replaces the previously valid Memorandum of 23 May 2011 .
The RAN has been one of the Leopoldina ’ s seven international strategic partners since 2011 . Their cooperation has focused on supporting early-career researchers and providing policy advice for the G20 summits of heads of state and government . Between 2011 and 2014 , the national academies organised the German-Russian Young Researchers Forum series of events at various locations in Russia and Germany . This was one of the most important event formats that have been initiated during the 2011 / 12 German- Russian Year of Education , Science and Innovation .
The new Memorandum aims to strengthen the partnership between the two academies . The objective is for their cooperation to be broadened so that it better reflects their respective portfolios and can cover new topics . Plans are also in place to establish a German-Russian Council of Young Researchers and Innovators , which will take the form of a bilateral young academy and serve as a central organisation for supporting early-career researchers . The Leopoldina and the RAN will also organise an annual German-Russian Science Day , which will be a high-level forum for interdisciplinary discussions . This is due to be launched in October 2021 .
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Strategic Partnership Russia