Turning ideas into prosperity: highlights of the 2024 Knowledge Valorisation event

On 10 December 2024, Brussels buzzed with curiosity as over 120 attendees and hundreds of online participants gathered for the second annual knowledge valorisation stakeholder event. Themed "Driving EU Prosperity through the Future of Knowledge Valorisation," it celebrated progress, marked the end of our awareness-raising campaign and explored fresh ideas to turn research and innovation into real-world impact.

Big Ideas, Global Goals

The day kicked off with a fascinating keynote about Japan’s approach to knowledge valorisation, proving that transforming research into practical solutions is a global priority. Participants emphasized the importance of partnerships between universities and businesses, with intermediaries taking centre stage. Tools like hackathons and open innovation platforms were highlighted as great ways to spark collaboration.

Innovation with a Heart

One standout session focused on socially responsible licensing, showing how to align commercial interests in the exploitation of intellectual assets with societal values i.e. in medical research. Another session, led by DG GROW, explored the link between intellectual property and standards, reminding everyone that strong standards are a backbone of innovation and global competitiveness.

Unlocking the Power of IP

Experts from the European Union Intellectual Property Office and European Patent Office shared how smart intellectual property strategies can supercharge growth for companies and universities alike. They stressed that IP is not just about protection—it is a magnet for investment and a key to scaling ideas into market successes.

Fresh Policy Perspectives

A lively debate moderated by Maria Cristina Russo, Director for Prosperity at DG RTD, featuring high-level representatives from Spain, France, Portugal, and Czechia shone a spotlight on how EU countries are stepping up since the 2022 Council Recommendation on the guiding principles for knowledge valorisation. From new funding tools to innovative reforms, the message was clear: there is a lot happening to boost competitiveness and close the innovation gap.

Celebrating Success

The conference wrapped up with two inspiring awards ceremonies. The CEN-CENELEC Standards and Innovation Award celebrated EU leaders in setting innovation-friendly standards. Meanwhile, the 2024 EU Sparks for Climate Hackathon award recognized novel and innovative citizen-driven solutions to climate change meeting societal needs.

Looking Ahead

The conference was not just about reflecting on achievements—it was a journey to ‘what’s next’. By bringing together stakeholders across the research and innovation ecosystem, the event reinforced the EU’s commitment to turning ideas into impact and driving prosperity across Europe.

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research & Innovation is organising an awareness raising campaign on knowledge valorisation to disseminate the latest policy developments on knowledge valorisation and to demonstrate how research and innovation results can be better transformed into societal and economic benefits. The awareness raising campaign started in spring 2023 and continued throughout 2024.

The Awareness raising campaign is structured as an inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders through three main types of events:

• Tour of capitals: national events co-designed with Member States to cater to the local R&I ecosystem
• Stakeholder events: the first one was organised on 26 October 2023; the second one took place on 10 December 2024. Both gathered a broad spectrum of speakers and over 700 participants in Brussels and online who discussed main challenges, opportunities and best practices for peer learning, while also encouraging collaboration. You can find out more about the first event on the webpage ‘Making research results work for society’
• Training sessions, covering topics related to intellectual assets management and standardisation

The campaign is centered around the recommendations in support of one of the strategic objectives of the Commission’s new ERA for Research and Innovation for the uptake of research and innovation results to foster economic and societal prosperity. This objective is translated in legislative recommendations adopted in the last years.

The Council adopted on 2 December 2022 the Recommendation on the guiding principles for knowledge valorisation. To support these guiding principles, the Commission adopted on 1 March 2023 the Recommendations on the Code of practice on the management of intellectual assets for knowledge valorisation in the European Research Area and the Code of practice on standardisation in the European Research Area. Further, on 1 March 2024 the Commission adopted the Recommendations on the Code of Practice on industry-academia co-creation for knowledge valorisation and on the Code of Practice on citizen engagement for knowledge valorisation.

The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness on the guiding principles and the  codes of practice and how they facilitate knowledge valorisation in practice by addressing all Research & Innovation actors: researchers, students, innovators and entrepreneurs, Horizon funds beneficiaries, research institutions, higher education institutions, standard development organisations, intellectual assets management professionals, intermediaries, and the business environment, as well as civil society associations and citizens, local and regional administrations, and policy makers.

To find out more about the Guiding Principles on Knowledge Valorisation and the Codes of practice implementing them and how they impact research and innovation actors, you are invited to attend the campaign events. They will gradually appear below with details regarding the agenda and practical aspects for registration.

The programme of national events typically includes:

• Presentation of the Guiding Principles on Knowledge Valorisation in the national context
• Presentation of the Codes of Practice implementing the Guiding Principles, giving hand-on guidance to research and innovation actors
• High-level policy debates on knowledge valorisation
• Showcasing of best practices
• Hand-on trainings delivered by partner organisations, centered around aspects related to intellectual assets management and standardisation