Over 500 representatives of science and technology parks from all over the world gathered in Luxembourg on 12-15 September 2023 for the 40th World Conference of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP). The Luxinnovation team reflects on the highly relevant main theme, “Megatrends in innovation ecosystem” of the event hosted by Luxembourg incubator Technoport.
Lena Mårtensson
The IASP is a leading global network of innovation ecosystems worldwide. Its 40th World Conference attracted a tight network of participants from 55 different countries. “The IASP conference is a continuation of what we experience every day in Luxembourg: working with a diverse and dynamic community of people from all over the world,” comments Sasha Baillie, CEO of Luxinnovation.
The IASP conference is a continuation of what we experience every day in Luxembourg: working with a diverse and dynamic community of people from all over the world.
Technoport has been a member of the IASP for several years and presented a winning bid to organise the prestigious world conference in Luxembourg in 2023. This year’s edition focused on megatrends, defined by the association as long-term driving forces that can be observed across the world now, and will most likely a have global impact. “Keeping pace with technological developments means taking the right decisions about how to navigate megatrends,” Technoport CEO Diego Di Biasio pointed out at the start of the event. The following discussions focused on topics such as energy, innovative healthtech solutions, the ageing population, growth and sustainability, food security, globalisation and talents for the future.
“We want to remain what we are.” Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot opened the conference with the famous Luxembourgish motto, highlighting that this means “openness – not nationalism – and the capacity to reinvent ourselves and combine the old with the new”. The minister pointed out that cooperation, and the willingness to learn from others, are part of Luxembourg’s DNA.
Many of the speakers called for cooperation between countries to deal with this uncertainty, and for an interdisciplinary mindset.
“Innovating is an activity fraught with uncertainty, and as the world becomes increasingly complex, uncertainty grows,” says Inna Perepelytsya, Senior Advisor Start-up Acceleration and one of the Luxinnovation team members who attended the event. “Many of the speakers called for cooperation between countries to deal with this uncertainty, and for an interdisciplinary mindset. Most challenges that we face today cannot be put into one single ‘box’ such as fintech or greentech but need to be considered from a wide point of view.”
A shared objective of the IASP members is to create dynamic environments where innovation can flourish and generate new answers to the challenges posed by various megatrends. One discussion topic was the establishment of innovation districts, which are usually based on existing innovation territories such as university campuses, research centres or innovative industrial plants. “These territories evolve into innovation districts when they start being used for diverse purposes and become more populated and denser,” says Martin Guérin, Senior Advisor – Start up Acceleration at Luxinnovation. “Of course, broadband internet is a must-have, and connections to public transport and multimodal mobility are key success factors.”
This closeness of people and organisation also helps create ecosystems that are resilient to crises.
The geographical proximity of scientific and technological institutions is one key element for success, but not the only one. “Several speakers stressed the importance of the physical presence of talents and passionate people in the same place in order to create an environment conducive to innovation,” says Senior Market Intelligence Analyst Mohamed Toumi. “This closeness of people and organisation also helps create ecosystems that are resilient to crises.”
Laurent Probst, Partner at PwC Luxembourg, gave a presentation about the concept of digital multi-science parks, i.e. service-based platforms encompassing online services covering, for instance, communities and talents, funding opportunities, events, incubation and project pipelines. “This concept is interesting for Luxembourg as it could provide inspiration for how to connect the different science and tech park locations, within the country but possibly also across our borders,” says Ms Baillie.
One topic that attracted the interest of the Luxinnovation staff was that of the transition towards sustainable energy solutions. “Professor of Energy Process Engineering Bradley Ladewig, who holds the Paul Wurth Chair at the University of Luxembourg with a focus on hydrogen, highlighted the immediate need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pointed out that we already have all the technologies that we need. Now, it is a matter of implementing them,” says Julie Gaspar, Market Intelligence Analyst at Luxinnovation. “The speakers on this topic highlighted the need to disseminate knowledge, in particular to companies that are not at all aware of the benefits of hydrogen, and underlined the importance of public-private partnerships to create real ecosystems around the use of hydrogen.”
Her colleague Giordano Viola, who also works as a Market Intelligence Analyst, focused on the energy transition of legacy industry. “The speakers pointed out that science parks can become low-carbon demonstration areas and simplify companies’ transition to climate neutrality.” However, they also underlined that one of the biggest challenges is the change of consumer attitudes. “Greener solutions can be more expensive than conventional ones and have a substantial impact on the whole supply chain, so the optimisation of regulations and wide communication on the environmental cause are essential,” he recalls.
The IASP conference also provided participants with an opportunity to discover Luxembourg and its innovation ecosystem. Luxinnovation was one of the players that attracted much interest. “We received delegations from Brazil, Canada, Thailand and Argentina, for instance, who were interested in knowing more about Luxembourg’s innovation ecosystem and discussing cooperation opportunities with Luxinnovation,” says Head of International Relations Jenny Hällen Hedberg. “None of the people that I hosted had been to Luxembourg before, so the event has really put us on the map in the science park world. We also organised a very well-attended side event on the Luxembourg start-up ecosystem.”
We need to constantly think of collaboration and diversity when we address the opportunities and challenges of the future.
The conference ended with Mr Di Biasio symbolically handing over the baton to Konza Technopolis which will organise next year’s IASP World Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. “Having the conference here in Luxembourg has been a great experience, and it is fascinating to see that we are all grappling with the same challenges,” said Ms Baillie during the closing session of the event. “The keys to overcoming them that were highlighted over and over again were cooperation – in particular in times of regional fragmentation – diversity and interdisciplinarity. None of us have all the answers, but together, we are building a much better view of what the solutions are. We need to constantly think of collaboration and diversity when we address the opportunities and challenges of the future.”
