Bridging academia with markets: how Europe could monetise its intellectual capital

How can the relationship between research and technological innovation be strengthened?

Time and location: 20 January 2026 13:00-14:00 Bruegel, Rue de la Charité 33, 4th floor, 1210 Brussels
Format: Public, Hybrid, On the record, Livestreamed
Contact: Anastasiia Zaitseva

Speakers

Ann-Sofie Ronnlund

Member of Cabinet, European Commission, Cabinet Zaharieva

Giorgio Ventre

Professor, University of Naples Federico II

Scientific Director, Apple Developer Academy

Agenda

Check-in & lunch

12:30-13:00

Agenda

Discussion

13:00-13:45

Chair: Mario Mariniello, Bruegel Non-resident Fellow
Ann-Sofie Ronnlund, Member of Cabinet, European Commission, Cabinet Zaharieva
Giorgio Ventre, Professor, University of Naples Federico II; Scientific Director, Apple Developer Academy

Agenda

Q&A

13:45-14:00

When considering Europe’s alleged underwhelming performance in the technological sector, one consideration regularly comes up. European researchers may be able to achieve excellent research outcomes, on par with the best universities and research centers worldwide. Yet they often fail to translate it into market-ready innovation and globally competitive companies. In this event, we examined the current state of the issue, starting from concrete case studies, and proposed strategies to address it. We addressed question such as:

Is the EU gap research-markets due to structural or contingent reasons?
What is the role of innovation ecosystems?
How important is public and private funding?
What is the role of large corporations and how can they help avoiding regulatory capture?
Is there a momentum for Europe to be exploited, given the current state of research in the US?