Institute News

Spatial computing, extended reality (XR), and AI-powered wearables are transforming how we perceive the world. Streets, schools, courthouses, and public spaces are increasingly becoming “phygital”: physically shared but digitally individualised – annotated, filtered, and algorithmically overlaid in real time. Perception itself becomes a site of intervention. The traditional boundaries between online and offline, public and private, infrastructure and interface are dissolving.

The workshop asks: Who governs phygital spaces when digital layers are controlled by private platforms, but physical space is subject to public law? How can privacy, dignity, and democratic accountability be protected when perception becomes a resource – for data collection, algorithmic nudging, or sexualized digital violence?

The event is organized by humanet3 – a joint initiative of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, and the Max Planck Institute for Foreign Public Law and International Law – in cooperation with Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler and Romi Mikulinsky. The Max Planck Law Network is supporting the promotion of the event.

We invite contributions from researchers in law, political science, sociology, philosophy, and related disciplines who are exploring the “Editable World” concept as a new object of governance – ranging from the regulation of phygital spaces to questions of democratic public sphere and the political economy of digital perception infrastructures.

We welcome position papers, conceptual contributions, and early-stage theses. The workshop is intended as a space for exploration, interdisciplinary exchange, and the joint development of an agenda.

Key Facts at a Glance:
 

• Date: 5 – 6  November 2026
• Venue: Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition, Herzog-Max-Str. 4, 80333 Munich, Germany
• Deadline for Abstracts: 15 July 2026
• Contact:editable-worlds(at)mpil.de
• Notification of Acceptance: 15 August 2026
• Deadline for Contributions: 4 October 2026 (1,500 to 2,500 words)

In exceptional cases, funding for travel and/or accommodation may be considered upon request.
 

Abstract Submission

In his research paper “Access to the Frontier: Open Source AI and Downstream Innovation” Dominik Asam studies the impact of openly available frontier AI models on innovation dynamics in downstream markets.

His paper examines the downstream innovation impact of the leak of Meta’s Llama model on model creation on Hugging Face. After the leak, new developers entered the “market”, enhancing competition, whereas incumbent developers moved to domains where their expertise remained a source of differentiation. The study illustrates competitive reactions to the entry of new developers and highlights the innovation-related welfare loss of keeping frontier models private and closed.

The jury particularly commended the interesting and highly relevant novel context, as well as the strong empirical identification setup based on the unexpected leak of the Llama model. The jury further emphasized that the overall question is highly important – namely, the dynamic welfare implications of closed versus open foundation models. The paper was praised for being interesting, well-written, and well-researched.

The DRUID Best Young Scholar Paper Award is dedicated to Steven Klepper, a professor of economics and social sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, who passed away far too soon in May 2013. An internationally recognized scholar, Klepper made fundamental contributions to the study of entrepreneurship, innovation, and industrial evolution.

Since 1995, DRUID has been a hub for premier research on innovation and the dynamics of structural, institutional and geographic change. The conference originated from the Danish Research Unit for Industrial Dynamics and was founded by scholars from Copenhagen Business School and Aalborg University. It has grown into one of the world’s leading platforms for exchange among researchers in innovation studies, management, economics, and entrepreneurship. Held annually at rotating international locations, DRUID brings together both established and early-career scholars. Recent editions have taken place in Toronto, Nice, Lisbon, and Copenhagen.

The Patent Conference (PatCon) is the world’s largest annual conference for patent scholars. The conference is jointly hosted by KU Law, Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, the University of San Diego School of Law, and Boston College Law School.

This interdisciplinary forum enables researchers from law, economics, business administration, public health, the history and philosophy of science, engineering, and other disciplines to share their findings. In addition, PatCon is distinguished by its commitment to involving judges, staff from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and representatives from industry in order to promote the application of scholarly insights in broader practice.

Jointly organized by Stefan Bechtold (ETH Zurich), Dietmar Harhoff (MPI and LMU Munich), Joachim Henkel and Hanna Hottenrott (both TU Munich), Tobias Kretschmer and Daniel Obermeier (both LMU Munich), Christian Peukert (HEC Lausanne), and Imke Reimers (Northeastern University), the MSI 2026 featured an ambitious program: a Ph.D. workshop, 24 paper presentations with dedicated discussants, 17 poster slams across two sessions, two keynote lectures, and ample opportunities for informal exchange throughout a welcome reception, a Bavarian conference dinner, and guided city walks through Munich.

A Platform for Emerging Scholars

The MSI Ph.D. Workshop, held on 20 May 2026 ahead of the main conference, has become a well-established tradition, with this year marking its fifth edition. This year’s workshop brought together doctoral researchers working on artificial intelligence, digital platforms, digitalization, innovation, and human capital. Participants presented ongoing work and received detailed feedback from junior faculty and peers alike.

Among the contributors from the Munich research community, Denzel Glandel Tafur (ISTO, LMU School of Management) presented his dissertation project “Social Evaluation of AI-Disclosed Content in a User-Generated Media Commons”, with discussion from Marina Chugunova (MPI). The workshop’s Best Paper Award went to Katarzyna Swiech (Georgia Institute of Technology) for her solo-authored paper “A Tale of Two Zones: The Impact of Time Zones on Collaboration and Knowledge Flow” – a well-deserved recognition of an impressive piece of independent scholarship. The paper examines United States Patent and Trademark Office data on within-state pairs of co-patenting cities – some in the same time zone, some split – to show that even a minimal temporal distance can meaningfully influence inter-regional collaborations. The paper was discussed by Jordan Bisset (MPI).

This year’s Ph.D. workshop was organized by Daehyun Kim (lead), Dominik Asam, and Johannes Könemann (all MPI), together with Chengdi Fa and Svenja Friess (both ISTO).

Three Days of Research at the Frontier

The main conference opened with a session on digital platforms, ecosystems, and market power – a fitting start for a conference whose themes are highly topical. The following days covered a wide arc of contemporary questions: AI and digital knowledge production, decision-making and reputation in digital settings, venture capital and innovation finance, and the law and economics of intellectual property.

Researchers from the Munich community were again strongly represented throughout. Jonathan Jensen and Alexey Rusakov (ISTO Alumni) presented work derived from Alexey’s dissertation: “The Dynamic Returns to Generative AI on Knowledge Breadth vs. Depth: Evidence from GitHub”, discussed by Karin Hoisl (Affiliated Research Fellow at the MPI, and University of Mannheim). Frederike Eulitz (ISTO) served as a discussant in the afternoon session on digital labor markets, drawing on her dissertation research. Manfredi Aliberti (incoming MPI Senior Research Fellow) presented “Beyond the Lab: The Effect of Ph.D. Programs on Innovation”, and Michael E. Rose (MPI Senior Research Fellow) contributed a poster on “Better Science as a Byproduct: The Institutional Revolution in the German Empire”. Elisabeth Hofmeister (MPI Junior Research Fellow) co-authored a paper presented in the closing law and economics session on “Commercial Regulation and the Production of Science: Evidence from New Genomic Techniques in Agricultural Biotechnology”.

Two Keynotes on Big Questions

The conference featured two standout keynote lectures. Hong Luo (University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management) explored the intersections of safety, liability, and innovation. In her keynote, “Regulatory Innovation: Using Health Innovation Policy to Realign Health Care Economics with Today’s Biomedical Innovation Ecosystem”, Ariel D. Stern (Hasso Plattner Institute and University of Potsdam) delivered a wide-ranging talk on regulatory innovation and health care economics, prompting rich discussion across disciplinary lines.

Looking Forward

With its combination of high-level research presentations, a genuinely supportive atmosphere, and strong local roots in Munich’s research community, the MSI continues to offer a uniquely valuable forum for scholars at all career stages. Researchers with interests in innovation, digitalization, entrepreneurship, strategy, or intellectual property are strongly encouraged to consider applying or attending the conference when it returns in 2027. The date will be announced soon (see link below).

Svenja Friess & Myriam Rion

More information: https://www.munich-summer-institute.org/munich-summer-institute

The project “Expeerience” has officially joined MAX!mize, the start-up incubation program by Max Planck Innovation for researchers within the the Max Planck Society. The program supports scientists in developing entrepreneurial skills and translating research-based ideas into viable innovations. MAX!mize is part of the Max Planck Society’s start-up initiative MAXpreneurs, which is an overarching network within the Max Planck Society. The aim of the initiative is to combine several efforts to unlock more start-up potential, empower start-ups and serve founders’ needs. Alongside Max Planck Innovation, the Planck Academy and the Max Planck Foundation are also partners of MAXpreneurs.

Following a three-day bootcamp consisting of workshops, expert challenges and a final jury pitch, “Expeerience” was selected to advance to Phase 1 of the program. During the six-month exploration phase, the team will receive needs-based funding up to 50,000 € as well as hands-on coaching to assess the project’s market potential and further develop its application prospects.

At its core, “Expeerience” explores the application of natural language processing in the fields of digital healthcare and well-being. Further details on the project and its technological approach will be shared at a later stage. The project is spearheaded by a team of two researchers, Anastasiia Lutsenko and Lyubomyr Matsekh, who are leveraging their combined expertise in science and entrepreneurship to take this idea from the lab to the market.

Anastasiia O. Lutsenko, founder and project lead, joined the Institute’s Department for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in April 2022 from Kyiv Academic University of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine after being displaced by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Her research focuses on system resilience, with particular emphasis on the resilience of national science systems in times of crisis. With an academic background in innovation management and more than 15 years of experience spanning academia and business, she combines research expertise with entrepreneurial ambition. She has received numerous international scholarships and awards, including the Institute’s Scholarship, Marketing Trust Scholarships (UK), and awards from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP, USA).

The project team is complemented by Dr. Lyubomyr Matsekh, who serves as adviser on cognitive linguistics. He heads the sustainability consulting practice at ELEKS, an international software engineering and IT consulting company specializing in digital transformation and technology solutions for global clients. In addition to his role at ELEKS, he teaches leadership, sustainability and social entrepreneurship at Reutlingen University. Within Expeerience, he contributes expertise in cognitive linguistics and entrepreneurial strategy.

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

The RISE9 Workshop on 14/15 December 2026 aims at stimulating a rigorous in-depth discussion of a selected number of research papers by Ph.D. students and Junior Post-docs, providing feedback and connecting with peers from other research institutions.

Get the Call for Papers RISE9.

See RISE9 Workshop Website.

Germany has a robust research landscape, a high-performing industrial sector, and a highly skilled workforce. Nevertheless, the country often fails to translate technological innovations into marketable applications quickly enough – with noticeable consequences for competitiveness and value added. The transfer between research, development, and industrial scaling remains a key challenge for Germany as a business location. The Innovation Council is therefore calling for a reorientation of innovation policy: away from short-term thinking focused on legislative terms, and toward a long-term, evidence-based strategy.

Eight leading figures from science, business, and society will develop concrete recommendations for a more implementation-oriented innovation policy within the Innovation Council. While many debates take place at an abstract level, the Council consistently focuses on the practical realization of innovations. A decisive factor here is the technological, regulatory, and economic framework under which new solutions are actually put into practice. As an independent, interdisciplinary body, the Innovation Council contributes a technology-oriented perspective to the discourse on innovation policy.

5 Impulses for Germany as a Location for Innovation

In its impulses for Germany as a location for innovation, the Innovation Council calls for a holistic approach to the topic of innovation and its impact on Germany as a business location:

1. Establishishing a Long-Term Innovation Strategy
Innovation should not be viewed in terms of legislative cycles. Germany needs a fact-based, long-term strategy with clear priorities regarding key technologies, infrastructure, resources, and skilled workers.

2. Designing Regulation to Foster Innovation
Faster procedures, less bureaucracy, and greater trust are needed. Real-world testing grounds, experimental clauses, and the reduction of “gold-plating” should facilitate innovation – including through Germany playing a more active role at the EU level.

3. Strengthening Investment and Scaling
Key technologies require long-term investment and a willingness to take risks. The goal is not only to develop innovations but also to scale them up in Germany—by creating better conditions for companies, start-ups, and collaborations.

4. Reorienting Education and the Workforce
An innovation-oriented education and labor market system is essential. Lifelong learning, upskilling and reskilling, and the systematic development of talent are crucial to reducing skills shortages.

5. Targeted Advancement of Key Technologies
Germany needs to regain a leading role in technologies such as AI, microelectronics, biotechnology, and robotics. This requires competitive framework conditions, sufficient energy, and consistent industrial implementation.

Dietmar Harhoff emphasizes: “We must now reshape our country and reform our institutions. We can succeed if we rediscover our enthusiasm for innovation and technology. If, like me, you observe start-ups, young people at universities, or apprentices in companies, and see how they use technology every day to improve people’s lives, it is impossible not to be optimistic. The best is yet to come. The Innovation Council can help usher in a new era of success for Germany and Europe – one built on a willingness to innovate and on entrepreneurship.”

The “Future of Germany 2050” initiative was launched by the Association of German Engineers (VDI). Since 2026, the German Informatics Society (Gesellschaft für Informatik) has also been involved, particularly in the field of AI. In this way, the Innovation Council brings together the expertise of two major technical and scientific communities with a combined membership of over 160,000 individuals. Independent of individual business interests, the initiators are pooling their strengths to bring a clear, fact-based voice to the discourse on innovation policy.

Further Members of the Innovation Council are:

Prof. Dr. Lutz Eckstein (RWTH Aaachen and President of the VDI)
Prof. Dr. Veronika Grimm (Nuremberg Technical University and Member of the German Council of Economic Experts)
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kühling (University of Regensburg and Chair of the Monopolies Commission until 2024)
Dr. Anne Lamp (Founder and entrepreneur in the circular economy sector, traceless materials)
Dr. Melanie Maas-Brunner (Former member of the Executive Board and Chief Technology Officer at BASF, member of the Senate of the Max Planck Society, and, starting in June 2026, President of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft)
Adrian Willig (Aerospace engineer and Director and Executive Board Member of the VDI)
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Wolf (Aachen University of Applied Sciences and President of the German Informatics Society)

More information:

To the Innovation Council for Germany (in German)
To the initiative „Future Germany 2050“
To the VDI

The workshop is a cornerstone of the broader, VolkswagenStiftung-funded research initiative Playbook Ukraine, which which seeks to design a strategic framework for integrating Ukrainian pharma­ceutical manufacturing into European supply chains while addressing structural vulnerabilities in the EU system. Further background on the project can be found here: VolkswagenStiftung Funds Project to Revitalize Ukrainian Pharma Industry.

The methodology workshop convened a multidisciplinary team of researchers and experts, including Prof. Dr. Liudmyla Petrenko, Prof. Dr. Natalia Mazaraki, Dr. Peter R. Slowinski, Prof. Dr. Karin Hoisl, Elisabeth Hofmeister, and Viktoriia Kyrylenko.

The session focused on discussing scenarios for the future of the Ukrainian pharmaceutical industry within the EU regulatory and industrial ecosystem. A central objective was to stress-test the project’s guiding hypothesis: that targeted cooperation and strategic industrial alignment can simultaneously support the rebuilding of Ukraine’s pharmaceutical sector and contribute to reducing supply-chain vulnerabilities within the EU.

A key contribution came from industry expert Dr. Alexei Slobodianski, Lead EU Qualified Person at Thermo Fisher Scientific in Germany. With over two decades of experience in GMP-regulated environments – including vaccines, advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs), and blood products – Dr. Slobodianski provided a practitioner’s perspective essential for grounding economic theory in industrial reality. His insights helped resolve key uncertainties the research framework and clarified specific operational priorities, establishing a concrete roadmap for the project’s next steps.

Beyond its analytical function, the workshop strengthened interdisciplinary collaboration between legal, economic, and industry-oriented perspectives, ensuring that the project remains closely aligned with real-world pharmaceutical manufacturing constraints and regulatory requirements.

More information:

See Research Poster “From Legacy to Leadership – A Playbook to Rebuild Ukraine’s Pharmaceutical Industry in Partnership with the EU” (PDF) with details on data and methodology, strategies, as well as potential applications and impact.

More (in German) on the acatech website.