Andreas Pyka, University of Hohenheim, Germany

New economics of innovation by Andreas Pyka, University of Hohenheim, Germany

The course aims at familiarizing students with the ideas of the new economics of innovation in order to enable them to better assess their professional expertise and its socio-economic effects and potentials. Special emphasis has been placed on the knowledge-based bioeconomy and the possibilities of chemical engineering in the bioeconomy domain.
• The first day was devoted to highlighting the importance of technology and innovation for the development of the economy and society, with a particular focus on the issue of transformation towards sustainability.
• The second day focused on the central role of knowledge in the innovation process: which actors can contribute which knowledge and how does collaboration work.
• On the third day, the most important schools of modern innovation economics were presented and the field of bioeconomics and chemical engineering were discussed specifically in relation to the need for sustainability transformation.

Throughout the course, students actively engaged in the discussion and independently searched for possible applications of the presented knowledge in their field. The course achieved its goal of making students aware of their own opportunities in a knowledge-based bioeconomy and sparked interest in further innovation economics content.