Panel conversation – Building competitiveness / innovation – Setting up high-performing and fast-moving innovation ecosystems for impact and growth
Innovation is more easily talked than done and, in most cases, implementing transformative initiatives to advance innovation is time-consuming and comes with lots of challenges. To build initiatives that can have impact at scale and change economic realities, leaders need to have a clear understanding about innovation processes, the existing opportunity areas, global benchmarks, the characteristics of local ecosystems and be able to create a compelling vision to mobilize the attention and the efforts of partners. This panel will review and draw lessons from initiatives and strategies to accelerate innovation in different countries.
Catherine Warren, CEO, Edmonton Unlimited, Canada
George Nounesis, Chairman of the Board, National Center for Scientific Research
Spiros Dimolitsas, Senior Vice President for Research & Chief Technology Officer, Georgetown University
Eldar Abdrazakov, CEO, Centras Group, Kazakhstan
Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Director of Strategic Innovation, Entrepreneurship & Economic Development, Qatar University
Moderator: Michael Amiridis, President, University of South Carolina, USA
Discussion questions:
- What is the secret to build impactful initiatives to advance innovation at speed?
- What are the best contemporary innovation ecosystems cases that we should all know about?
- What are the key topics and opportunity areas to focus innovation efforts?