Conferences allow higher education institutions to share their research results and also discussions between different educational institutions fostering as such further collaboration and further research activities. (Henderson 2015). The European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (ECIE) is an academic conference that has been held annually for 19 years. The venue acts as a forum for scholars, researchers, entrepreneurs, and practitioners to explore the latest trends, research findings, and practical applications in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship.
This year over 34 nationalities were present. ECIE is committed to advancing the understanding of how innovation and entrepreneurship drive economic growth, competitiveness, and societal progress. Conference proceedings, published annually, give a wide range of insight into current research in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship.
The conference was held 26-27 September 2024 in Paris, France. The conference had excellent international presentations and posters, as well as a networking conference dinner. The chance to meet colleagues from around the world and the opportunity to discuss research ideas with was stimulating and resulted in new possible research collaborations.
![[Alt text: a person giving a presentation in front of a lecture hall.]](https://blogit.lab.fi/labfocus/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2024/10/798_2024_Innovation-conference-some-thoughts-1024x547.jpg)
Scanning the innovation track
The conference was divided into fifteen tracks the most interesting one being the innovation track. The conference days were constructed in such a way that three tracks ran simultaneously, and the attendants were also able to switch between tracks enabling participation in presentations and discussions of various research topics of interest.
The innovation track covered seven research papers: innovation strategies as a response to national constraints in Israel (Bar-el et al. 2024), technology audit: results of the assessment of technological maturity in of Brazilian innovation institutes (Hecklau 2024) open innovation capabilities and competences (Brusila-Meltovaara et al. 2024), ecological innovations of hotel companies: a case study of Poland (Sala 2024), innovating sustainability: digital marketplaces as catalysts for circular economy on the reuse of electronic devices (Lahtinen et al. 2024), drivers of intrapreneurial innovation: a study of innovative individual behavior in organizations (Kör & Schmeitz 2024), and how does international M&A influence the effectiveness of R&D cooperation using patents as the R&D output (Wei et al. 2024).
The track presentations came from a wide range of innovation related topics and were all followed by positive constructive discussions highlighting the need for further innovation research and also resulting in possible future collaboration projects. All in all, the conference gave insight into current international research trends in innovation and entrepreneurship with a positive and collaboration enhancing approach.
Author
Kristiina Brusila-Meltovaara is a principal lecturer in the Technology department at LAB University of Applied Sciences.
References
Bar-El, R., Schwartz, D. & Bentolila, D. 2024. A revealed innovation strategy as a response to national constraints. 2024. Presentation at the 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Brusila-Meltovaara, K., Makkonen, P., Siakas, K. & Lampropoulos, G. 2024, Open innovation capablities and comptences. 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024), 110‒117. Cited 30 Sep 2024. Available at https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.19.1.2944
Hecklau, F., Will, M., Kidschun, F., Kohl, H., Pavim, A. X. & Böhm, J. L. 2024. Technology Audit: Results of the Assessment of the Technological Maturity of Brazilian Innovation Institutes, 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024) 245‒251. Cited 30 Sep 2024. Available at https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.19.1.2944
Henderson, E. F. 2015. Academic conferences: representative and resistant sites for higher education research, Higher Education Research & Development, 34:5, 914‒925. Cited 30 Sep 2024. Available at DOI 10.1080/07294360.2015.1011093
Kör, B. & Schmeitz, L. 2024. Drivers of Intrapreneurial Innovation: A Study of Individual Innovative Behaviour in Organisations, 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024) 255‒362. Cited 30 Sep 2024. Available at https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.19.1.2944
Lahtinen, A., Saaranen, P. & Nykter, S. 2024, Innovating Sustainability: Digital Marketplaces as Catalysts for Circular Economy on the Reuse of Electronic Devices. 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024), 406‒415. Cited 30 Sep 2024. Available at https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.19.1.2944
Sala, K. 2024. Ecological Innovations in Hotel Companies: A Case Study of Poland, 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024), 686‒693. Cited 30 Sep 2024. Available at https://doi.org/10.34190/ecie.19.1.2944
Wei, Y., Spithoven, A. & Hou, J. How does international M&A influence the effectiveness of R&D co-operation? Using Patents as the R&D output. Presentation at the 19th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
