Unlocking the innovation potential of FET technologies

10 FET Innovation Launchpad projects participated in a clustering workshop on intellectual property and market strategy earlier this week.

The FET Innovation Launchpad (ILP) clustering workshop was designed to stimulate networking, develop collective intelligence on innovation management and exchange best practises.  

Ten FET projects had the opportunity to participate: DeLight, Talvin,  GFAB, HYSCALA, SMARCOS, Hermes SR, MEDISS, NanoMAGIQ, OPTIMISM and QUAKE.

Project participants especially appreciated to receive answers to urgent questions with their business strategies, and to meet like-minded researchers and innovators.

The workshop forced us to think in the very short term, for example on the steps needed to reach the market or on the strategies to protect intellectual property, explained Pere Roca Cusachs from project Talvin.

For Yael Geva from project Hermes SR it was a première in Brussels: it was very helpful to see other projects and listening to the difficulties they face. It made me realise the different strategies and ways of thinking.

Prior to the event, project coordinators had identified key areas on which coaching would be helpful for the commercialisation process. Three round tables were organised around the following topics:

• Intellectual Property identification and innovation
• How to build an innovation & IP strategy for Co-Creation, Collaboration and Licensing to industry
• Development of a Business Case and a Go to Market strategy.

During the workshop, two high-value services for innovators were presented - the business coaching services offered by the European Innovation Council and the access to a large network of  investors through the  European Investment Project Portal.

The participants also performed the Innovation Radar exercise, which gave the project teams concrete feedback on the maturity of their innovations and advice on possible next steps.