The Platform for Innovation in Germany (PFID) successfully hosted the congress series "Innovation Forum” as a digital event this year. In his keynote speech, Professor Dr. Thorsten Posselt, Institute Director of Fraunhofer IMW Leipzig, posed the question: why promote innovation ecosystems?

The pandemic has increased the pressure on many companies and institutions to innovate, and new concepts, especially with regard to digitalization and so called, “New Work,” are on the agenda.

The Innovation Day therefore focused on the dynamization of Innovation Eco Systems. In his presentation, Prof. Dr. Thorsten Posselt provided arguments for a stronger formation and use of innovation ecosystems. From a socio-economic point of view, Prof. Posselt explained the advantages of innovation ecosystems, namely that they allow for greater leaps in innovation, that companies can act more resiliently and that a well-coordinated innovation ecosystem is internationally successful.

In addition, the Fraunhofer IMW's Price and Service Management Research Unit offered a workshop. The team runs the Open Workshop of the Competence Center SME 4.0 at Fraunhofer IMW. The researchers and participants worked together to discover which offerings are needed to open up new digital business models and digitize existing business models.

In addition to the online format, there was another innovation this year. For the first time, the PFI-D also specifically offered students a podium, with a hybrid hackathon initiated by the Fraunhofer IMW's Datamining and Value Creation Unit, which took place in parallel to the entrepreneur workshops. Around 25 students plus 10 coaches from different disciplines all over Germany were called upon to develop ideas on specific issues and work out solution spaces in four competing groups.