EIT Digital welcomes EIF and EU-40 MEPs to its Silicon Valley hub

News

22/07/2016

Digital

San Francisco - Led by Mr Lambert van Nistelrooij MEP, a delegation of MEPs visited EIT Digital's Silicon Valley hub today as part of an ICT innovation and entrepreneurship tour.

14 MEP members of EIF (European Internet Forum) and of EU40 (a cross-party network of young MEPs) have been on a study tour to Silicon Valley upon the initiative of the delegation lead, Lambert van Nistelrooij MEP (EIF Programming Committee co-chair). Under the theme of ‘ICT Innovation & Entrepreneurship: The Road to the Valley', the program of visits offered EU policy makers a hands-on experience of state-of-the-art technology development, top-level research and development sites and Silicon Valley's famous entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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"The Silicon Valley tour as a whole has been instructive in developing our thinking on how to harness Europe's entrepreneurial and innovation potential. Meeting with the EIT Digital team and seeing firsthand the impact of having a centralized, pan European organization bridging the gap between EU and US markets has been inspiring. They are helping simplify entry to the European market place for US investment and buyers and making sure the best of European digital innovation and talent is visible internationally." Mr van Nistelrooij commented.

Sorin Moisa, MEP, an EIF and EU40 Member added: "One of the lessons Silicon Valley has to offer Europe with regard to innovation is that the perfect can indeed be the enemy of the good. That the scientific 'fullness' that we often seek in Europe could be better balanced against consumer preferences and good business cases. That software is at least as important as hardware. That flat hierarchies allowing individual freedom allow creativity to flourish. That failure can mean learning and progress and should not be socially condemned. We have many great innovative ecosystems in the EU to which we can - and will - bring back ideas from this great experience. I was also very happy to experience firsthand the significant presence and contribution of European creativity to 'the miracle' of Silicon Valley.‎"

US market access for European companies requires an engagement model with main US industry players for sales, funding and collaborations. EIT Digital promotes European companies' innovations in the US, and facilitates access of US organizations to key partners across several EU countries with focus on universities and research centers with leading-edge technologies and expertise. EIT Digital also promotes collaboration on standards that result in economic and societal benefits for Europe.

EIT Digital Silicon Valley Director Marko Turpeinen explained: "We launched our Silicon Valley hub in 2014 to help strengthen the flow of ideas, talents, students, researchers, entrepreneurs, technology, start-ups, and investments between Europe and the US. We were delighted to welcome the EU40 MEP and EIF members to our Silicon Valley hub and give our perspective on how a coordinated, pan European approach to the US digital market is creating traction and building successful relationships and tangible business results."

About EIT Digital

EIT Digital is a leading European digital innovation and entrepreneurial education organization driving Europe’s digital transformation.

EIT Digital delivers breakthrough digital innovations to the market and breeds entrepreneurial talent for economic growth and improved quality of life in Europe. It does this by mobilizing a pan-European ecosystem of over 130 top European corporations, SMEs, start-ups, universities and research institutes.

As a Knowledge and Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, EIT Digital is focused on entrepreneurship and is at the forefront of integrating education, research and business by bringing together students, researchers, engineers, business developers and entrepreneurs. This is done in our pan-European network of Co-Location Centres in Berlin, Eindhoven, Helsinki, London, Paris, Stockholm, Trento, as well as in Budapest and Madrid.

EIT Digital invests in strategic areas to accelerate the market uptake of research-based digital technologies focusing on Europe’s strategic, societal challenges: Digital Industry, Digital Cities, Digital Wellbeing and Digital Infrastructure.

EIT Digital breeds T-shaped entrepreneurial digital talent focused on innovation through a blended Education Strategy that includes a Master School, Doctoral School and Professional School.

Value creation combined with an investor mind-set will allow EIT Digital to develop into a sustainable organisation via diversification of its sources of income.

San Francisco - Led by Mr Lambert van Nistelrooij MEP, a delegation of MEPs visited EIT Digital's Silicon Valley hub today as part of an ICT innovation and entrepreneurship tour.

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