Innovation is vital in our modern society. To drive knowledge advancement and engagement across different sectors, it is imperative to facilitate innovation. This requires a multidirectional flow of knowledge between academia and non-academic sectors, with a broad and critical understanding of the concept of “innovation”. Emphasising diverse perspectives and collaborative efforts is crucial to foster meaningful innovation that addresses complex societal challenges and promotes inclusive and sustainable development.

The activities of this work package aim at equipping the EC2U Innovation Sphere, with an ongoing state-of-the-art expert discourse on innovation, with a joint understanding of what it takes to nurture a versatile innovation ecosystem, with training modules and staff exchanges, and with innovation-oriented activities.

• Produce an online lecture series aimed at deepening our understanding of innovations and the various roles they play in shaping the world of tomorrow.
• Establish a sustainable network between organisations that participate in the production of innovation in different fields – the Lighthouses of Innovation.
• Organise staff exchanges to facilitate the sharing of experiences among Lighthouses of Innovation.
• Edit and publish the ‘Recipes of Innovation’ – An EC2U Cookbook, a guidebook that showcases best practices for fostering innovation.
• Organise an EC2U Makeathon to challenge the status quo and generate innovative solutions for today’s and tomorrow’s pressing societal challenges.

By the end of the project, the “EC2U Innovation Sphere” will be established among the seven EC2U communities, populated with scientists, students, citizens, artists, managers of innovation centres, representatives from the culture industry and the cities, and entrepreneurs. Such enhanced networking space will enable increased Knowledge transfer and collaborations between academic and socio-economic stakeholders and will become a major instrument of the future Pan European Knowledge Ecosystem (PEKE).

D5.1 – Virtual EC2U Innovation Lecture Series

D5.2 – Virtual Lecture Series

D5.3 – Lighthouses of Innovation part 1 Increasing Visibility

D5.4 – Lighthouses of Innovation part 2 Staff exchange

D5.5 – Recipes of Innovation, part I

D5.6 – Recipes of Innovaton, part II

D5.7 – Makeathon