LIST Tech Day Attracts 150+ Decision Makers
The first edition of the LIST Tech Day, held on Thursday 21 June 2018, attracted over 150 decision-makers, managing directors and research directors to disucss the importance of collaborate research and industrial partnerships.
Source : chronicle.lu
Publication date : 06/25/2018
The crucial importance of these elements to national economic and business growth in particular was firmly emphasised at the very first LIST Technology Day (LIST Tech Day), organised by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST) and devoted to innovation in Luxembourg. Attendees were accompanied by representatives of the Ministry of Research and Higher Education and the Ministry of the Economy.
The event firstly drew participants' attention to the advantages of a collaboration with a Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) and how it works in practice. The main role of an RTO (LIST being the only one in Luxembourg) is to harness science and technology to further innovation, improve quality of life and boost economic competitiveness. Unlike conventional research bodies, such as universities, which focus on education and the development of scientific knowledge, LIST seeks to convert existing scientific knowledge into usable technologies. It therefore places great importance on industrial partnerships interested in implementing these innovations in order to convert science into usable technologies in a practical, cost-effective and sustainable way.
Several practical examples of collaboration between LIST and private and public partners were then highlighted at the event. From space research to nanotechnology, some fifteen manufacturers discussed their experiences with LIST researchers in activities in the strategic fields of materials and environmental research and innovation in information technologies. In terms of materials, a number of manufacturers gave presentations, including CARLEX and Circuit Foil, with which LIST works closely on the development of a new generation of windshields that reduce the ecological impact of car heating and cooling systems and to develop a new generation of copper to construct lightning-resistant composite aircraft. This feedback gave participants not only a better understanding of the form that cooperation between LIST and their company might take, but also prompted them to consider their own innovation needs and perhaps take the plunge.
LIST also used this celebration of collaborative research to sign a partnership agreement with the Luxembourg company International Lacquers Cosmetics, which makes nail varnish and cosmetic products. Together, the two future partners have committed, over a period of three years, to develop the nail varnishes of the future – long-lasting and hardwearing – as part of a research project undertaken in the framework of a public-private partnership (PPP) supported by the Ministry of the Economy.
Given the success of this first edition, LIST Tech Day 2018 aims to become a central forum for the advancement of collaborative research and industrial partnerships in Luxembourg.
