[Bitte nach "english" übersetzen:] RISE Logo
Miscellaneous  |  11/27/2023

The Program Is Available Now! − RISE6 Workshop

On 18 and 19 December 2023, the sixth “Research in Innovation, Science and Entrepreneurship Workshop” (RISE6) from young researchers for young researchers will take place. The program of the RISE6 Workshop 2023 is now available. The participants can look forward to exciting topics, an interesting keynote, and inspiring scientific exchange.

The workshop was first organized by Junior Researchers in 2018, and is aimed at Ph.D. students and Junior Postdocs worldwide. RISE offers them an opportunity to present their work, receive feedback from experienced researchers and connect with peers from other research institutions. Keynote Speaker of the RISE6 Workshop is Ina Ganguli, Professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.


See the Program RISE6 (PDF).


More on the workshop website RISE6 Workshop.

Portrait of Director Dietmar Harhoff
Miscellaneous  |  10/12/2023

Founding Commission of the German Agency for Transfer and Innovation Takes up Its Work

The German Agency for Transfer and Innovation (DATI) is to break new ground in the fostering of transfer and innovation. The aim is to bring research results into application and to people more quickly and effectively, and to unleash new innovation potential throughout Germany. Dietmar Harhoff was appointed a member of the DATI founding commission by Federal Minister Stark-Watzinger at the beginning of October 2023. The commission has now taken up its work.

Portrait of Director Dietmar Harhoff
Dietmar Harhoff was appointed a member of the DATI founding commission by Federal Minister Stark-Watzinger.

Technological and social innovations increasingly determine the competitiveness of the economy and the future viability of a society. Numerous universities and other research institutions in Germany generate new knowledge and explore new technologies each and every day. 


The DATI is set up to bring research results into economic and/or social applications through an effective transfer of ideas, knowledge, and technology. It will operate across all topics and focus on both technological and social innovations. The agency will pursue an innovative and flexible funding approach that is based on the specific needs and competences in the country, and offers transfer from a single source.


The DATI Founding Commission, which convened for its constituent meeting in Berlin on 9 October 2023, has the task of developing proposals for the location and leadership of DATI. It is also tasked with making recommendations on the content and procedural aspects of establishing and expanding DATI. The committee consists of 16 experts from science, industry, associations, start-ups, the federal states, the international sector, and the Parliament.


Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger explained: “In Germany, too many good ideas have so far ended up in a drawer. We want to bring more of them into application, and thus into companies and to people. A key instrument for this is the German Agency for Transfer and Innovation, where we are now taking the next important step with the Founding Commission. The Commission will help us to get the new innovation agency up and running quickly.”


After Dietmar Harhoff had already supported the founding of the German Ferderal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND), whose central task is to find and promote highly innovative ideas with the potential for disruptive innovation, in 2019 as Chairman of the Founding Commission, his expertise is now in demand for the founding of DATI in the area of innovation-oriented transfer.


Dr. Stefan Groß-Selbeck (BCG X, Boston Consulting Group) has assumed the chairmanship of the founding commission. He emphasized: “DATI is an important new element in the German transfer and innovation landscape. As the founding commission, we will closely accompany this process and contribute in particular to important issues such as site selection and the selection of management personnel.”


Further members of the DATI founding commission are:


Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Uschi Backes-Gellner (University of Zurich), Prof. Dr. Jörg Bagdahn (Anhalt University of Applied Sciences), Dr. Anna Christmann, MdB, Dr. Achim Dercks (German Chamber of Industry and Commerce), Andrea Frank (Stifterverband), Prof. Dr. Holger Hanselka (Fraunhofer Society). Thomas Jarzombek, MdB, Prof. Dr. Kira Kastell (University of Applied Sciences Hamm), Prof. Dr. Andreas Pinkwart (TU Dresden), Prof. Dr. Birgitt Riegraf (University of Paderborn), Ye-One Rhie, MdB, Prof. Dr. Stephan Seiter, MdB, Prof. Dr. Anja Steinbeck (Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf) und Philipp von der Wippel (Project Together).

Symbolbild zur Konferenzserie "Global Data Law Conference Series"
Miscellaneous  |  09/22/2023

Comparative Data Law Conference - Program Available, Registration Open

The conference program and registration for the Comparative Data Law conference to take place in Munich on 7 and 8 December 2023 are now available. The event is the final part of a three-part conference series on Global Data Law and part of a larger research agenda related to Global Data Law and Policy and is jointly organized with the University of Passau Research Centre for Law.

Symbolbild zur Konferenzserie "Global Data Law Conference Series"

All information about the conference, the program and registration can be found in the event entry.

Visiting group with scientists in front of the building of the company TQ
Miscellaneous  |  07/01/2023

Pin Factory Visit – Science Learns from the Real World

In the spirit of the NBER Pin Factory Visits – company visits conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research since the mid-1990s to promote field research in economics and make site visits an important part of empirical research – the team of the Institute’s Eco­nomics Department visited several sites of the TQ Group on 23 June 2023. TQ is highly innovative in the field of electronic products and services.

Visiting group with scientists in front of the building of the company TQ
TQ Pin Factory Visit
Group of visitors in a production hall
First insights into production
View on a screen: Reasons why automation is not implemented
Lively exchange on the question of why SMEs in Germany are lagging behind in automation.
Scientist tests robot
A scientist tests the operation of a so-called cobot.

The idea of pin factory visits goes back to Adam Smith, who at the end of the 18th century used the production of pins to illustrate the increase in productivity through the division of labor.


As one of the largest technology service providers and electronics specialists in Germany, the technology company TQ Group offers tailored and innovative solutions to a wide range of industries, from development, production and other services to product lifecycle management. It is active in the fields of E²MS (Electronic Engineering Manufacturing Services), embedded systems, drives, robotics, automation, medical applications as well as aviation and avionics.


In addition, TQ provides a complete range of its own products, such as embedded modules, base boards, human-machine interface systems, and drive and automation solutions. TQ also combines both as an ODM (Original Design Manufacturer). On the basis of its modular service and solution portfolio, the company develops and produces customer-specific products internationally, relying on “Made in Germany”. It is thus exemplary in the area of innovation in many respects and can provide science with interesting insights into the reality of innovative companies in Germany.


Insights at three sites


The team of the economics department visited three sites in six hours. The first route led to the company headquarters in Gut Delling near Seefeld in Upper Bavaria, where the doctoral students and postdocs, together with Dietmar Harhoff, had the opportunity to exchange ideas with the CEO and TQ founder Rüdiger Stahl and learn about interesting topics related to innovation, technology and development. Stahl spoke about the company's history, evolution – from a 2-man firm in 1994 to an international technology company – and innovation strategy. The framework conditions, challenges and regulatory restrictions for innovative companies in Germany came up again and again:


The global economic situation presents German companies with a variety of challenges. Fragile supply chains, geopolitical crises and protectionist laws such as the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act are impacting the ability of German companies to plan and compete. There is a particular need for action in the area of innovation. This also includes traditional sectors such as mechanical engineering and hardware manufacturing, in which continuous innovations must be pursued. Targeted measures are needed to sustainably strengthen innovation in Germany and make German companies competitive on an international level.


At the second site in Inning am Ammersee, Head of Production Julian Hornung gave the group insights into the fabrication of drive systems, from high-performance drives for e-bikes to RoboDrives. Finally, at the third location in Durach, the team took an in-depth look at automation and spoke with Sören Bruckmann, Head of TQ Robotics, Head of Sales Robert Vogel, and Georg Weiß, who heads R&D in Durach. The most debated question was why small and medium-sized companies in Germany lagged so far behind in automation.


In the showroom, a postdoc with research focus on automation and human-machine interactions had the opportunity to test the operation of a so-called cobot, i.e., a collaborative robot that works together with humans and is not separated from them in the production process by protective devices. The final leg of the journey took the team to the Durach production halls, where robots also produce robots.


The Institute’s researchers took away a lot of inspiration and some real-world and practical insights. More pin factory visits are to take place.


To the TQ company website.

RISE Logo
Miscellaneous  |  05/10/2023

Call for Papers – RISE6 Workshop

Young researchers working in the fields of Economics or Management who would like to present an empirical research paper at the “6th Research on Innovation, Science and Entrepreneurship Workshop” are invited to submit it until 28 July 2023.

For the sixth time now, the two-day event is organized by Ph.D. students and Postdocs of the Department for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research headed by Dietmar Harhoff to give young scholars the opportunity to present their work.


The RISE6 Workshop on 18/19 December 2023 aims at stimulating a rigorous in-depth discussion of a selected number of research papers by Ph.D. students and Junior Postdocs, providing feedback and connecting with peers from other research institutions.


Keynote speaker of the RISE6 Workshop is Ina Ganguli (UMass Amherst).


Get the Call for Papers.


See RISE6 Workshop Website.

MSI Logo
Miscellaneous  |  05/08/2023

Munich Summer Institute 2023 - The Program Is Out!

The program of the Munich Summer Institute is now available here. Keynote Speakers are Nigel P. Melville from the University of Michigan, Jana Gallus from UCLA Anderson and David L. Schwartz from Northwestern University.

The goal of the Munich Summer Institute is to stimulate a rigorous in-depth discussion of a select number of research papers and to strengthen the interdisciplinary international research community in these areas. Researchers in economics, law, management and related fields at all stages of their career attend the Munich Summer Institute as presenters in a plenary or a poster session, as discussants or as attendants. The MSI features three keynote lectures, 12 plenary presentations, and a daily poster session including a poster slam.


The Munich Summer Institute focuses on quantitative empirical research. It is jointly organized by ETH Zurich, HEC Lausanne,LMU Munich, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Northeastern University, and TUM.


More information on the MSI website.

Miscellaneous  |  04/13/2023

Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition Signs the Diversity Charter

The Max Planck Society and its Institutes are convinced: Diversity yields excellence. Against this background, the Institute has now signed the Diversity Charter Charta der Vielfalt to indicate to the public that top performance in research relies on talent, creativity and passion - not on gender, origin, religion, age, disability or sexual identity.

In March 2023, the Institute signed the Diversity Charter.
In March 2023, the Institute signed the Diversity Charter.

With this signing, the Institute wants to emphasize the importance of the values that also characterize the work of the Equal Opportunity Officers. You can find out more about this commitment on the Institute’s equal opportunities pages


Charta der Vielfalt e.V. is the largest employer initiative to promote diversity in companies and institutions in Germany. At the heart of the association is the “Charta der Vielfalt” (Diversity Charter), which was launched jointly by companies and politicians in 2006 to recognize and incorporate diversity in work culture. In January 2011, the activities were transferred to an association.


The goal of the initiative is a prejudice-free working environment and that all employees —  regardless of age, ethnic origin and nationality, gender and gender identity, physical and mental abilities, religion and world view, sexual orientation and social origin — are valued.

Miscellaneous  |  03/31/2023

Roundtable “Rebuilding Ukraine: The Case of the Health Sector”

After a first explorative online roundtable on 1 December 2022, the Institute hosted the Roundtable “Rebuilding Ukraine” on 21 March 2023, which was organized in a hybrid format and featured Ukrainian guests and speakers. The overarching goal of this lively exchange was to help lay the groundwork for a rebuilding of the Ukrainian health sector.

 Some participants of the Roundtable Ukraine on site
Some participants of the Roundtable Ukraine on site
f.l.t.r. Oksana Kashyntseva, Vitalii Pashkov, Nataliya Gutorova
f.l.t.r. Oksana Kashyntseva, Vitalii Pashkov, Nataliya Gutorova
Liudmyla Petrenko
Liudmyla Petrenko
f.l.t.r. Vitalii Pashkov, Nataliya Gutorova, Kateryna Militsyna
f.l.t.r. Vitalii Pashkov, Nataliya Gutorova, Kateryna Militsyna
f.l.t.r. Anastasiia Lutsenko, Ivan Vyshnyvetskyy
f.l.t.r. Anastasiia Lutsenko, Ivan Vyshnyvetskyy
f.l.t.r. Oksana Kashyntseva, Reto M. Hilty
f.l.t.r. Oksana Kashyntseva, Reto M. Hilty

The roundtable was organized by Liudmyla Petrenko, Daria Kim, and Oksana Kashyntseva, and focused on health-related policies and regulations in Ukraine.


The speakers represented a wide range of institutions, including the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the Kyiv National Economic University, the Ukrainian Association for Clinical Research, the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine, and the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University.


The Ukrainian Pharmaceutical Industry: Strategic and Industrial Policy Perspectives


In the first panel, moderated by Dietmar Harhoff, the discussion focused on the high rate of pre-war development of the industry, its potential, and the devastation of the first year of the war.


Ukrainian pharma has over 100 years of history. The first industrial pharmaceutical production was established in Kharkiv in 1907. During Soviet times, approximately 70 % of the industrial pharmaceutical and research capacity of the Soviet Union was concentrated in Ukraine. In the year before the war, Ukraine’s pharmaceutical market totaled over 3.6 billion USD. The pharmacy segment accounted for 3.2 billion USD, while the hospital segment accounted for 0.4 billion USD.


As of today, 1,400 buildings in Ukraine have been damaged or destroyed, including 574 health care facilities. The majority are primary, emergency, and specialized care institutions. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of reconstruction is about 1 billion USD. Correspondingly, the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market losses in 2022 compared to 2021 amounted to 22.4 % in physical terms (units of drugs), 26.7 % in monetary terms, and 19.2 % in pharmacies, of which nearly 4,000 were closed. As a consequence, the access to medicine was disrupted all over Ukraine.


Drug Research and Development in Ukraine


The second panel, moderated by Anastasiia Lutsenko, focused on clinical trials.


Clinical research before the war had a significant economic impact. Every year, Ukraine’s share of patients in clinical trials was 2 % of the global patient pool (30,000 active participants in 500 studies), which is a great share for such a small country. In the five years before the start of the war, the number of new clinical studies increased by a factor of 2.5, the number research sites grew by 20 % and the number of active researchers in the field by 44 %.


The plan for restoring the Ukrainian health care system from the consequences of the war for the next decade provides for exemption from VAT on imports of medicines for clinical trials, tax, and other incentives for companies involved in conducting clinical trials, the development of the research infrastructure and research potential, and the introduction of an insurance system for clinical research in the form of compensation for possible damages to all participants in clinical trials.


A Regulatory Framework Outlook for the Ukrainian Pharmaceutical Sector


The presenters of the third panel, moderated by Daria Kim, criticized the practice of pharmaceutical marketing in Ukraine.


They accused the inadequate approach of pharmaceutical and medical professionals in performing their duties, for example, by promoting products that are either dangerous to patients or without proper therapeutic effect to receive an improper benefit. They also addressed the monopolization of pharmacy activity, which is carried out in covert form and results in significant price increases for pharmaceutical products, and the adulteration of pharmaceutical products.


The tacit support of monopolization of pharmacy activities by the state, especially by local governments, and the creation of pharmacy mega-chains has led to minimization of economic competition and abuse of monopoly power. The state’s tacit consent to the development of marketing agreements in the pharmaceutical market has increased the cost of medicines. Comparison with prices in reference countries has shown that, before the war, prices for pharmaceutical products in Ukraine were inflated by 40 % due to the use of marketing agreements.


Perspectives on Intellectual Property in the Pharmaceutical Industry in Ukraine


The last panel, moderated by Reto M. Hilty, showed that Ukraine has significant production capacities with about 120 pharmaceutical companies, which offers options for further cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union:


  • Contract manufacturing for major international producers of medicines, transfer of new technologies and production of innovative pharmaceuticals (to supply the markets of the EU, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and Middle East and North Africa)
  • Integration of Ukraine into reduced supply chains through the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) for the needs of the EU
  • Production of mRNA-based vaccines in Ukraine
  • Guarantee of uninterrupted supply of generic medicines (by replacing supplies from China and India)
  • Conducting clinical trials in Ukraine to replace the Russian market, where trials are now suspended by most international companies due to international sanctions.

The roundtable ended with appeals to the EU and international partners to develop and implement programs to encourage international companies to cooperate on technology transfer and the localization of drug production in Ukraine, and to make use of the country’s logistical advantages. It was also suggested to create financial support programs for the development of API production in Ukraine. The regulatory barriers for the export of Ukrainian medicines to the EU should be simplified through the implementation of special inspection procedures to ensure good manufacturing practice (GMP) following EU GMP standards, and special inspection procedures for the domestic market of Ukraine (PIC/S GMP standards) as well. This should be accompanied by the establishment of training programs and the appropriate validation of inspectors issuing certificates according to EU GMP standards for Ukrainian producers.


We thank all speakers and participants, especially our guests from Ukraine, as well as the organizers for their valuable contributions, and look forward to further Roundtables to help rebuild Ukraine for a properous future.


See the full program with all speakers and their affiliations, and all topics.

To the short review of the first exploratory roundtable held on 1 December 2022.

Yuriy Kapitsa at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Miscellaneous  |  03/28/2023

Yuriy Kaptisa Returns to Kyiv and Continues His Work There

After one year, Yuriy Kapitsa has concluded his research stay at the Institute and has returned to Kyiv. There, the director of the Center for Intellectual Property Studies and Technology Transfer of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine will continue his work for the harmonization of the Ukrainian legal system with EU law and can thus actively contribute to the integration process of Ukraine into the EU.

Yuriy Kapitsa at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Yuriy Kapitsa at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Yuriy Kapitsa at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Yuriy Kapitsa at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

The project implemented by Yuriy Kapitsa is dedicated to the modern development of intellectual property law in the European Union and the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with the EU acquis. The project envisages a complex study of current trends in the development of EU policy and intellectual property law in 2017 – 2022. Furthermore, within the project a comparative study of the EU and Ukrainian legislation and the definition of directions for the approximation of Ukrainian IP law to the current changes in the EU legislation.


The relevance of the project is related to the integration of Ukraine and the EU within the framework of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine of 2014 and Ukraine’s status as a candidate for EU membership, which implies the alignment of Ukrainian legislation with EU legislation. The research was characterized by a creative atmosphere, in which he discussed with Silke von Lewinski, Heiko Richter and other colleagues, issues of the development of EU legislation.


Currently, Yuriy Kapitsa continues his work at the Centre for Intellectual Property Studies and Technology Transfer of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. He is actively working with the new Ukrainian Patent Office – the Ukrainian National Office for Intellectual Property and Innovations – on the approximation of Ukrainian and EU legislation in the field of intellectual property and other issues of European integration. The scope of his work also includes legal support for the creation and commercialization of intellectual property rights at the institutes of the Academy of Sciences. This concerns, in particular, the extension of the application of the current forms of technology transfer and R&D agreements at the institutes of the Academy.


About Yuriy Kapitsa:
Yuriy Kapitsa, Dr. of Legal Sciences (habil.), J.S.D., is the Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property Studies and Technology Transfer of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and has been engaged in comparative studies of EU and Ukrainian intellectual property law and protection and commercialization of intellectual property in academic institutions for many years. He led the National project on approximation of Ukrainian legislation in the field of intellectual property to the EU legislation within the framework of the national program on approximation of Ukrainian legislation to that of the European Union. He has also participated as an expert in a number of EU projects on the approximation of third country legislation to the EU acquis. He is the author and co-author of the books European Union Intellectual Property Law: Formation, Institutes, Directions of Development, 2017, 2021; Copyright and Related Rights in Europe, 2012; Intellectual Property Law of the European Union and the Legislation of Ukraine, 2006; Inventive Activity in Academic Organizations, 2021; National Report Innovation Ukraine 2020 etc., as well as a number of academic articles (ResearchGate), co-author of the Civil Code of Ukraine (Chapter 4 “Intellectual Property Law”), the Laws on Science and Technical Activities, on Innovation Activity and many others. Dr. Kapitsa is a member of the Working Group on Recodification (Updating) of the Civil Legislation of Ukraine established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Working Group on Intellectual Property Law of the European Federation of National Academies of Sciences (ALLEA).

Call for Papers: Global Data Law Conference Series
Miscellaneous  |  03/06/2023

Call for Papers: Global Data Law Conference Series – Comparative Data Law

The conference is co-organised by the University of Passau Research Centre for Law and Digitalisation (FREDI) and the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition. The event is the final part of a three-tier conference series on Global Data Law and element of a greater research agenda with respect to Global Data Law & Policy. With this call for papers, we are inviting academic scholars to contribute to the conference.

Call for Papers: Global Data Law Conference Series

Submission Process and Contact Details
Please send us your anonymised abstract (300 - 500 words) on the conference topics described in the Call for Papers by 31 May 2023.Your submission should be accompanied with your short bio / CV / list of publications in a separate document (max. 2 pages). Every paper selected shall be presented at the conference and the conference proceedings shall be published in an open access format (de Gruyter series on Global and Comparative Data Law). Presenters will be required to convert their presentation for the publication and submit them by 31 December 2023. Presenters will receive – subject to specific conditions – travel allowance and lodging. Updates on the conference will be posted at the Institute’s website and at www.jura.uni-passau.de/globaldatalaw. Please send submissions and / or inquiries to fredi.digitalisierung(at)uni-passau.de.