Panayiotis Rougalas
Stefan Dobrev, chairman of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, called for a “new European self-confidence” in the age of artificial intelligence, speaking Thursday at the Digital Agenda 2025 conference under the theme “Beyond AI.”
“If you think Europe is lagging behind in innovation, you might be right, but we haven’t lost the game yet. The race has just begun,” Dobrev said.
Dobrev emphasized that technological leadership is not achieved through isolated efforts but through ecosystems where universities, businesses and governments collaborate.
Risk and failure
“Invention is not born in laboratories on its own. It needs testing, risk, failure and, most importantly, connection,” he said. “Just as the steam engine needed railway tracks to change the world, AI needs a support network to truly transform business and innovation.”
Central to his presentation was Europe’s industrial and scientific diversity. Dobrev said the continent’s mosaic of industries and disciplines can create innovations that are truly unique.
“America has technology-driven companies; China has finance-driven ones; Europe’s mix is more hybrid,” he said.
He highlighted European startups using AI not as an end in itself but as a tool to improve production, sustainability and performance.
A tool, but Europe must move fast
“Artificial intelligence is not the end of the road; it is a means and it gains meaning when it becomes part of a broader value-creation process, such as in energy, food and other sectors,” Dobrev said.
He warned that Europe risks falling behind if it does not act quickly. “If Europe remains stagnant, it will end up buying technologies it could have developed itself. What we need is courage, not fear,” he said.
Research that doesn’t reach the market
Dobrev noted that Europe produces excellent research, but much of it never reaches the marketplace. Returning to his train metaphor, he said what’s missing is “the last carriage of the train, the one that connects research to practice and the marketplace.”
“We must learn to accept failure as a step toward progress,” he said. “Only then will the great European successes of the future be born.”
The food ecosystem
The EIT chairman singled out the food sector. “From food quality and safety to sustainability and innovation in production, Europe has the tools to lead globally if it unites its forces, from policymaking to the private sector. Let’s dare, collaborate and move fast,” he said.
