It Takes (Pillar) Two to Tango: Are industry and academia in step?
It was 90 minutes of thoughtful discussion and constructive debate from speakers at Orgalim’s webinar: “It Takes (Pillar) Two to Tango: Collaborative Research in the Next Horizon Europe.”
The exchange brought together representatives from industry, academia and the European Commission to discuss the future governance of collaborative research under FP10 and its relationship with the proposed European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). Speakers explored how Europe can strengthen innovation, close the competitiveness gap with global rivals and ensure that excellent research is translated into industrial deployment and societal impact.
Some of the key contributions from our speakers included:
Ulrich Adam, Director General, Orgalim:
Pillar Two is where excellent research can move in step with technological development, industrial needs and ultimately deployment in the market and in society. It is where collaborative research happens at scale. It brings companies, universities, research organisations and other partners onto the same dance floor across borders, disciplines and value chains. At a time when Europe is seeking to strengthen its competitiveness, resilience and technological leadership, a strong and well-funded collaborative research programme is more important than ever.
Matthias Björnmalm, Secretary General, CESAER:
Europe needs ambitious and well-funded programmes, collaborative research at scale and governance arrangements informed by excellence, expertise and a clear understanding of the outcomes we are trying to achieve. We are facing growing pressure to close the innovation gap with global competitors while preserving its strengths in excellence, openness and trust. Universities of science and technology play a central role in this effort by generating frontier knowledge, training talent and building long-term capacity through collaboration with industry and society.
Manuel Aleixo, Cabinet Expert, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation:
The Commission’s proposals for FP10 and the European Competitiveness Fund are designed to place research and innovation at the heart of European competitiveness. While maintaining continuity with Horizon Europe, the proposals seek to improve coherence between research, innovation and industrial deployment, helping innovators move more effectively from knowledge creation to market impact. We are aiming to provide much better possibilities in the innovation-to-investment journey.
Laure Dulière, Manager for Energy, Climate and Innovation, Orgalim, and Louise Drogoul, Senior Adviser for Innovation and Sustainability, CESAER:
Presenting a joint vision from industry and academia, Laure and Louise highlighted the need for two strong and distinct programmes that work in complement. While FP10 should continue supporting collaborative research and innovation, the Competitiveness Fund should help ensure successful deployment and market uptake. The key challenge is creating an effective interface between the two. They summarised by explaining that the EU needs both programmes: a strong FP10 where innovation and research happen, and a deployment instrument under the Competitiveness Fund that helps bring results to market and that both industry and academia need more coherence, not more confusion. With this in mind, FP10 and the ECF should remain distinct, but they must not be disconnected.
Lisa Ericsson, Head of KTH Innovation and CEO of KTH Ventures:
Europe does not lack excellence, talent or entrepreneurial ambition. The challenge lies in scaling innovation and turning breakthrough research into globally competitive companies and value chains. Universities have a critical role to play, not only through research and education but also by creating spin-offs, supporting deep-tech entrepreneurship and strengthening regional innovation ecosystems. As such, FP10 can be more than a tool for generating knowledge for existing industry and actually support future industries to be created.
Magnus Madfors, Head of Technical Regulations, Ericsson:
Europe has excellent research and excellent framework programmes but where we fail is in bringing our innovations successfully to market. Collaborative research remains one of Europe’s strengths, but research alone is not enough. To improve competitiveness, Europe must become better at deploying and scaling the innovations it develops. Research, standardisation, intellectual property, regulation and market uptake must all work together as part of a broader innovation ecosystem.
During the discussion, speakers repeatedly stressed the importance of strong stakeholder involvement in programme design and implementation. Industry, universities and research organisations all highlighted the value of being involved early in priority setting, ensuring that future research programmes remain aligned with Europe’s technological, industrial and societal needs.
Closing the event, Ulrich Adam underlined the scale of the challenge ahead and the importance of continued collaboration across the research and innovation ecosystem, repeating the messages that we need speed, and to bring our innovation and knowledge to the market, and streamlined industrial deployment. A strong Pillar Two, with a stable and ambitious budget and the right governance model, is one of the keys for Europe can address this challenge.
The Orgalim team would like to thank Federica Boledi for moderating the discussion and our partners at CESAER for their collaboration in organising this event.
You can watch the full recording of the webinar on our YouTube channel below.