Hangzhou, Vienna, 29 September 2024 – With the conference proceedings available now the Center for Innovation Management and Sustainable Competitiveness at Zhejiang University in collaboration with Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis (United States), Peking University School of Management, McDonnell Academy at Washington University in St. Louis, Institute of Intellectual Property Management at Zhejiang University School of Management and School of Management at Shandong University, organised the conference on ‘Innovation and Intellectual Property (IIP 2024) - Firm Strategies and Policy Challenges in a Rapidly Changing World’. Conference venue was the Zijingang Campus of Zhejiang University from May 25 to 26, 2024. Zhejiang University is the place where the Western concept of innovation and innovation management was for the first time addressed in Chinese academia and transferred into the corporate world in China in the 80ies of the twentieth century. Against this backdrop CDA came to Hangzhou following an invitation by the organisers to join scholars from the leading Chinese universities, from universities in the United States and Europe as well as experts from corporations and governance to deepen understanding of the opportunities and challenges faced by countries in responding to new technological revolutions and industrial transformations in the context of innovation driven global development.
CDA President Alexander G. Welzl contributed to the panel on ‘IP Management and Innovation of Multinational Enterprises’ chaired by Professor Minyuan Zhao from Washington University in St. Louis (United States). He gave a brief presentation on ‘IP and Intangible Assets in MNEs – Building Blocks of 21st Century’s Regional/National Innovation Ecosystems’ and contributed to panel discussion as well as Q&A. Alexander G. Welzl is one of only very few experts in Europe who gained experiences in practice and held professional positions in all segments that build National Innovation (Eco)Systems (NIS) – from research and university teaching to start-ups, venture management and multilateral enterprises, financial industry, federal public administration as well as standard setting.
Panel from left to right: Minyuan ZHAO (Professor, Washington University in St. Louis, United States), Frans Greidanus (Guest Professor, Zhejiang University), Shanshan HU (Nielsen China), Alexander G. Welzl (President, CDA), Weijun Zhang (Professor, Zhejiang University)
In his remarks CDA President Welzl briefly outlined the corporate level of framework conditions for intangible asset-based value creation where intellectual property (IP) is embedded in the innovation process of multinational enterprises as a main value driver. Using the OECD best practice case of European chip-producing corporation Infineon Technologies he presented a corporate innovation ecosystem described by Infineon as ‘brainport’ on the microeconomic level. Corporate IP generated within Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) is an important building block for value and wealth creation as well as national competitiveness on the macroeconomic level within Regnional and National Innovation (Eco)Systems (RIS/NIS) of regions and sovereign states. As practical examples Welzl used in his remarks the NIS of China (on sovereign state level) and the ‘brainport’-approach of the Dutch region of Brabant.
Panel from left to right: Shanshan HU (Nielsen China), Alexander G. Welzl (President, CDA)
As a result of corporate global value chains (GVC) and bilateral collaborations between sovereign nations as well as world regions a multitude of operational and strategic interactions between NIS of Europe, Asia (China) and beyond emerged. In his remarks Welzl framed these global innovation processes as ‘geo-innovation’. Following his definition ‘geo-innovation’ addresses the Grand Challenges of mankind (UN SDGs) with strategy-based collaboration of sovereign National Innovation (Eco)Systems (NIS). This process includes government institutions, universities & research organisations, MNEs (their global value chains, GVCs) and financial industry to nurture joint crossborder science, technology and innovation (STI). In this way accelerating mutual learning and investments in tangible and intangible assets like IP. As an excellent practical example Welzl presented the global aerospace industry with the novel Chinese aircraft producing corporation COMAC. The airplane COMAC 919 is a result of international collaborative innovation and global value chains integrating know-how, intellectual property and innovation capacities from China, Europe and the United States.
Panel from left to right: Alexander G. Welzl (President, CDA), Minyuan ZHAO (Professor, Washington University in St. Louis, United States), Frans Greidanus (Guest Professor, Zhejiang University), Shanshan HU (Nielsen China), Weijun Zhang (Professor, Zhejiang University)
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