The EU’s Innovation Agenda applies to us too

Published 10 February 2023

The EU Commission has presented the New European Innovation Agenda designed to strengthen European competitiveness through the green and digital transitions. At Lund University, we are well placed to take advantage of this and to raise our ambitions in deep tech innovation and solving today’s societal challenges.

The EU Commission’s Agenda will involve many financial investments in innovation. The more prepared and responsive we are, the better our chances of benefiting from these EU funds.

A few of the EU’s goals and flagship investments:

More innovation through investment in deep-tech start-ups (technologically intensive companies etc).
The creation of innovation networks in Europe made up of researchers/entrepreneurs that will also attract talent from outside the EU.
Increase the percentage of women who choose to start companies within deep tech. Not just more women educating themselves within the field of technology but going a step further to get more women to become entrepreneurs.

There are very good opportunities for the University to shift up in gear in line with these objectives. This means, among other things, that both LU Innovation (at the Research, Collaboration and Innovation Division) and the University’s wholly owned investment company, LU Holding, are also expected to support innovation that leads to the creation of new companies in the deep-tech field. It is an important part of how the University is working to solve societal challenges.

Lund University’s strength lies in the fact that we conduct research in deep tech and have an innovation system in place that supports companies establishing in the field. Now it is time to make these efforts visible and more widely known, even internationally!

The Innovation Agenda also affects other parts of the national innovation ecosystem. Recently, for example, Industrifonden, a foundation established by the Swedish state, announced that it will invest SEK 200 million in 2023 in cutting-edge technology in deep tech. In a market that is otherwise not as hot as before in terms of access to venture capital, this is welcome news.

A recent example of where we have been successful in obtaining EU funding is that we have just been awarded a European Commission grant of SEK 68 million to better adapt innovation processes in the cultural and creative industries, see below.

/ Kristina Eneroth

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