Public research organisations and innovation in Europe
Join us online to explore the innovation potential and strategic importance of Europe’s PROs.
Event details
Online event
Event recording
Programme
- 22 October 2025
As Europe prioritises research, competitiveness and collaboration through key initiatives such as the European Competitiveness Compass, understanding the role of public research organisations (PROs) has never been more relevant.
From supporting deep tech ecosystems to driving industrial innovation, PROs – such as Fraunhofer Institute, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) and Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO) – are central to Europe’s future. Yet their contribution, and the challenges they face in translating research into impact through patenting, remain underexplored at a European level.
The EPO Observatory invites you to join us for an online event on 22 October for the launch of a landmark study: the first Europe-wide analysis of PROs through the lens of patenting, spinouts and cross-sector collaboration. The results will be discussed with leading voices from across Europe, bringing together policy, research and practice.
You’ll also discover the latest upgrade to the EPO Deep Tech Finder, featuring PROs and their spinouts for the first time.
10.00 - 10.05 hrs Welcome to the event
Keynote remarks set the stage for new data, expert debate and tools designed to support Europe’s public research ecosystem.
Steve Rowan, Vice President, European Patent Office
10.05 - 10.10 hrs Mapping innovation and patenting in public research organisations
A presentation of the first mapping of patenting activity by Europe's PROs: discover how public research organisations innovate across borders through direct and indirect patents, and how their strategies are evolving.
Ilja Rudyk, Senior Economist, European Patent Office
10.10 - 10.40 hrs Panel discussion: The evolving role of public research in Europe
What role should PROs play in Europe’s innovation-driven future? The panel explores how PROs contribute to European competitiveness and industrial policy – and how different organisations are adapting to the changing role of PROs.
Victor Arribas Martinez, Stream Leader for Diversity and Transformation, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology
Mehdi Gmar, Deputy CEO for Innovation, CNRS
Muriel Attané, Secretary-General, EARTO
Christoph Hüls, Managing Director, Max Planck Innovation
Noa Bach, Deputy Director for University and Research Organisation Relations, Greater Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP)10.40 - 10.45 Inside public innovation: Spinouts, partnerships and the EPO Deep Tech Finder
Find out how PROs collaborate with universities, research hospitals and startups – and discover the newly updated Deep Tech Finder, now featuring PRO patents and spinout data across Europe.
Ilja Rudyk, Senior Economist, European Patent Office
10.45 - 11.30 Panel discussion: Strengthening European competitiveness through collaboration in public research
How do public research organisations build high-impact innovation partnerships? This session explores how PROs collaborate across sectors and borders, to turn research into real-world impact across a united European Research Area.
Victor Arribas Martinez, Stream Leader for Diversity and Transformation, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology
Mehdi Gmar, Deputy CEO for Innovation, CNRS
Muriel Attané, Secretary-General, EARTO
Christoph Hüls, Managing Director, Max Planck Innovation
Noa Bach, Deputy Director for University and Research Organisation Relations, Greater Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP)
Speakers and panellists
- Speakers
Moderator: Victor Arribas Martinez
Stream Leader for Diversity and Transformation, EPO Observatory on Patents and Technology
As Stream Leader at the Observatory, which serves as the EPO's gateway to discovering innovation trends, Victor manages projects focusing on the role of startups, universities and public research organisations in patenting and innovation. Victor is an economist, having studied at Sciences Po Paris, University College London, and the College of Europe in Bruges. He has also worked at INSEAD as a researcher.Mehdi Gmar
Deputy CEO for Innovation, CNRS
Mehdi Gmar began his career at the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), where he spent 20 years supervising instrumentation research and then managing technological research for business innovation. Having joined France’s General Secretariat for Investment (SGPI, formerly CGI) in 2016 as deputy programme director for research promotion, he returned to the CEA in 2019 as director of the organisation’s Technology Dissemination Institute in the regions. In 2021, he was appointed as an advisor to Frédérique Vidal, then Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. In 2022, he became head of CNRS Innovation, which is responsible for protecting and transferring research results, and led several strategic programmes, including on startup creation. Appointed Deputy CEO for Innovation at the CNRS in 2025, he now oversees the organisation's innovation and research promotion strategy. Mehdi holds a degree in physics and a PhD in nuclear instrumentation.Muriel Attané
Secretary-General, EARTO
Muriel Attané is a senior EU public affairs professional with 25 years of experience in EU public relations and policy, business and legal advice, consultancy and communication. She was appointed Secretary General of the European Association of Research & Technology Organisations (EARTO) in 2013. This followed her term as Secretary General of European Automotive Research Partners Association (EARPA), from 2005 to 2013. From 2002 to 2013, Muriel also held several positions at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), where she managed a range of projects across automotive, mobility, science and industry sectors. She is a board member of the European Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) Circle.Christoph Hüls
Managing Director, Max Planck Innovation
With over 25 years of international experience in the pharmaceutical industry, Christoph Hüls was appointed co-managing director of Max Planck Innovation at the beginning of 2025. Prior to that, he spearheaded innovation projects at Merck KGaA, where he worked from 2013 to 2024. These projects included the production of tablets using 3D printing technology. His vast experience also includes in- and out-licensing, and he has managed the Merck Corporate Venture Fund. Further previous positions include managing director of the Max Planck spin-off Protagen and serving as a member of Max Planck Innovation’s advisory board. He holds a PhD in immunology.Ilja Rudyk
Senior Economist, Chief Economist Unit, European Patent Office
Ilja holds a PhD in economics and worked as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition before joining the EPO. He has co-authored several studies in the areas of innovation, patents, technology transfer and technology commercialisation, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises, startups, universities and PROs.Noa Bach
Deputy Director for University and Research Organisation Relations, Greater Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP)
Noa Bach plays a lead role in the Clinical Research and Innovation Department (DRCI) at the Greater Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP), the largest university hospital system in Europe. An AgroParisTech engineer and Sciences Po Paris graduate, she also trained as a hospital director at EHESP School of Public Health. At AP-HP, she works to strengthen partnerships between hospitals, universities and research organisations to foster healthcare research and innovation, including through the support and co-ordination of university hospital institutes. In recent months, she has acted as interim head of the Technology Transfer and Innovation Division of the DRCI, which identifies and protects the industrial transfer of innovations arising from the research activities of AP-HP professionals. The division also supports innovators and fosters strategic partnerships with French and international medical and biomedical companies, as well as other research organisations.