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Open Innovation

The objective of Open Innovation is to enable ideas to circulate more freely. Image credit: Pexels/ startupstockphoto.com
The objective of Open Innovation is to enable ideas to circulate more freely. Image credit: Pexels/ startupstockphoto.com

Research and innovation are essential for a successful, modern economy, and they are at the heart of the European Commission's policies to boost jobs, growth and investment. However, while Europe excels in research, we are not good enough at investing in innovation at speed and scale, which is why the EU’s Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, has set the goal of Open Innovation. The basic premise is to open up the innovation process to all active players so that new ideas can circulate more freely and be transformed into products and services that create new markets, fostering a stronger culture of entrepreneurship.

Hackathons are events where people collaborate to develop new software. Image credit – Flickr/ Sebastiaaan ter Burg
ict | security | open innovation
25 July 2017

Police turn to hackathons as crime fighting goes digital

Police and law enforcement staff are turning to hackathons – collaborative events for developing technology – to come up with new ways of searching for clues within the terabytes of data that many people produce every year.

Researchers are looking for ways to connect drones together in swarms to capture sports events. Image credit — Flickr/ Ville Hyvönen
ict | open innovation
11 July 2017

Swarms of smart drones to revolutionise how we watch sports

Drone innovators are transforming the way we watch events, from football matches and boat races to music festivals. 

Lightweight helium balloons can tell us how gases in the atmosphere impact the environment below. Image credit: Philipp Maier/ORISON
space | open innovation
21 June 2017

Helium balloons offer low-cost flights to the stratosphere

Using off-the-shelf technology and innovative economics, lightweight helium balloons have started carrying remote-controlled laboratories to the edge of space and back, offering the business case for new types of science missions.

Current flu vaccines are not always effective as the virus constantly mutates. Image credit: Flickr/NHS Employers
health | open innovation
19 June 2017

Closing in on a universal flu vaccine

Unreliable yearly flu jabs could be a thing of the past as researchers close in on technology that will take down the deadly virus once and for all.

In an example of frugal innovation, Q.Rads heat homes for free while providing cloud computing services to companies. Image credit: Qarnot
ict | open innovation | energy
07 June 2017

Radiators powered by excess computing energy are heating homes for free

A company that produces radiators that heat homes for free by using spare energy from computer servers is part of a wave of businesses embracing the concept of doing more with less, an idea known as frugal innovation.

A touring art exhibition shows work that blurs the line between citizen and scientist. © Science Museum
science in society | open innovation
06 June 2017

‘Hacker culture’ and citizen scientists taking research beyond the lab

What makes a scientist? You might think of lab research, years of specialised training and technical jargon. But an exhibition now touring across Europe could change your mind. 

Prof. Luke Georghiou says that Europe needs more companies that are able to apply research. Image credit: Prof. Luke Georghiou
policy | open innovation | interview
29 May 2017

Europe’s companies often need a kick-start for innovation – Prof. Luke Georghiou

Europe needs to demonstrate to many of its companies the benefits of innovation, according to Professor Luke Georghiou, the vice-president for research and innovation at the University of Manchester, UK.

A new virtual reality programme shows what the user's hands are doing in real life. Credit: Gleechi/ Handcode
ict | open innovation
18 April 2017

From VR training to broadband on a plane – the future of innovation is in our pockets

Smartphones are changing the game for entrepreneurs and innovators, cutting out the need for expensive equipment and enabling them to place technologies such as virtual reality how-to manuals and broadband service for aircraft passengers directly into our pockets.

Parkinson’s disease affects more than 4.6 million people around the world and there is currently no cure. Image credit: ‘Lewy Body alphaSynuclein’ by Marvin 101 is licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
health | open innovation
10 April 2017

Brain cell transplants could help treat Parkinson’s disease

Replacing lost brain cells may help undo the damage caused by Parkinson’s disease, researchers believe.

Researchers are figuring out ways to determine if some medications cause side effects like kidney damage. Credit: ‘End-stage kidney - a -- low mag’ by Nephron is licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
health | open innovation
07 April 2017

Drug testing breakthrough sees side effects before they happen

Expensive large-scale trials on no-hoper drugs could become a thing of the past after a European research collaboration worked out how to tell if a medication is likely to cause side effects before they actually appear.

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