Innovation in Action

IMI, together with six other joint undertakings (JUs), held an exhibition with the theme 'Innovation in Action' in the Espace Emilio Colombo in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, from 23 to 26 October 2017.

The official opening of the event included a speech by Carlos Moedas, the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, who underlined that 'partnerships are one of the most important things we do in research'. He also praised JUs for their flexibility, citing IMI's Ebola+ programme as an example of how we can rapidly respond to emergency situations.  The opening ceremony was also attended by Günther Oettinger, European Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, as well as around 14 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

The JUs also held a working breakfast with MEPs, during which representatives of our respective industries explained the added value of the JUs to their sectors. IMI was represented by Professor Lysiane Richert, founder and scientific director of KaLy-Cell, a French small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) that was a partner in IMI's liver toxicity project MIP-DILI.

Staff from the JUs were on hand at the exhibition throughout the week to present the activities and successes of their respective programmes.

All events were kindly hosted by Miroslav Poche MEP.

• Download the event brochure, featuring profiles of all participating JUs.

About the JUs

As European public-private partnerships (PPPs), the JUs were set up to drive innovation in key industrial sectors, namely aviation (Clean Sky and SESAR), railway (Shift2Rail), electronic components & systems (ECSEL), health research and drug development (IMI), fuel cells and hydrogen for transport & energy solutions (FCH), and bio-based products and materials (BBI).

JUs are mission-oriented organisations addressing major global challenges. By mobilising actors and investors across sectors, disciplines and borders, JUs are able to create new innovation ecosystems and work at the scale needed to deliver transformative breakthroughs. JUs do this by combining excellent science with a collaborative, open innovation approach that brings together partners and stakeholders from industry, SMEs, universities, research centres, civil society etc.

Since the launch of the first JUs in 2007-2008, JUs have more than demonstrated their ability to deliver concrete results that are both scientifically excellent and have practical applications in areas that are vital for the European Union. Deployment of these results is already underway across Europe, offering benefits to citizens and businesses alike.

JUs leverage significant investments from both public and private sectors; for every euro invested in the JUs by the EU, an additional funds are provided to the programmes by other investors from the public and private sectors. JUs stimulate further growth in Europe’s private sector allowing for new jobs creation and boosting competitiveness.