UAS network UAS4EUROPE submits an "Innovation Action Plan" to the EU Commission with measures for the transfer of research results into European innovations
At the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands in Brussels last Friday, representatives of the EU Commission, the European Parliament, industry and universities of applied sciences came together at a High-level event to discuss the EU's future research policy. Prior to the meeting, the UAS4EUROPE network was invited by the EU Commission to present a Innovation Action Plan with concrete measures, because European research policy agrees on one point: universities of applied sciences have a key role to play in the realisation of a European Research and Innovation Area.
In her statement, EU Research Commissioner Mariya Gabriel emphasised that universities of applied sciences bundle regional areas of strength in teaching and research. They thus make a significant contribution to the development of a pan-European "deep-tech" eco-system that enables technology transfer to all sectors of the economy. According to Gabriel, Europe must focus more on the next generation of innovators in future and invest in creating a start-up-friendly environment. To this end, education, research and innovation must be more closely linked, with universities of applied sciences ideally combining these three functional areas and are therefore important players in shaping a future Europe.
"We are delighted that Europe has recognised the great importance of universities of applied sciences and that our ideas for shaping a future European research and innovation area are being listened to by European research policy. Universities of applied sciences are the connecting element between the higher education sector, society, business and industry. They link the results of basic research with application-oriented research and aim to turn research results into marketable products and services," said FHK President Raimund Ribitsch following the high-level event. "The fact that the universities of applied sciences and their researchers and students have been able to develop this sensitivity for application is due to the systematic anchoring of a practice-oriented profile in teaching and research, which is an inherent strength and unique selling point of the universities of applied sciences. When designing future research programmes, Europe wants to place even greater emphasis on linking the various sectors and promoting cooperation between them. It has been recognised that a greater involvement of research institutions such as the universities of applied sciences is needed in order to remain internationally competitive as a high-tech location," says Ribitsch.
About UAS4EUROPE
UAS4EUROPE is a joint initiative of swissuniversities, Hochschule Bayern e.V., EURASHE, University Colleges Denmark, Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (ARENE), Hochschulen für Angewandte Wissenschaften Baden-Württemberg e.V., Hochschulallianz für den Mittelstand and Österreichische Fachhochschul-Konferenz (FHK). The initiative is committed to strengthening and increasing the visibility of universities of applied sciences (UAS) in the European research landscape. UAS4EUROPE represents 2.3 million students, more than 60,000 researchers and more than 450 universities in 24 European countries.