Re:thinking Europe

Recently, the European Union has been lacking a comprehensive discourse about its future. This strategic deficit has led Europe into a dead end resulting in UK’s Brexitvote or the growing influence of right-wing nationalist movements. And yet, openness, creativity, innovation and the ability to reinvent itself are a constitutive element of Europe. Throughout its history, Europe has frequently demonstrated that it is capable of innovative restarts. Today, given the global grand challenges and geopolitical shifts such a restart seems overdue. „Re: thinking Europe“ is the contribution of the Austrian Council for Research and Technology Development to the advancement of the common European project. The articles of this anthology sketch ways for and strategies towards a competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society and economy, which is based on innovation as growth engine and a successful digital transformation as well as the capability of greater social cohesion and sustainable development. The book provides ideas for the social, economic, digital and ecological renewal of the EU. And it poses the question of which role education, science, research and innovation might play. The Council for Research and Technology Development is the advisory body to the Austrian Government for education, science, research, technology and innovation policies. The main goal of its work is to provide an independent, evidence-based and scientifically grounded contribution to an informed, outcome-oriented and effective policy – with special focus on the relevant areas of the future.