Dr. Petra PüchnerCommissioner for Europe of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg
Since January 2018, Dr. Petra Püchner has been the Commissioner for Europe of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of the State of Baden-Württemberg. At the same time, she heads the Steinbeis Innovation Center 'Steinbeis IDEA Europe' of Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH, which is financially supported by the Ministry.
The focus of her activities is on strengthening the innovative power of Baden-Württemberg's economy, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, the so-called ‘Mittelstand’. This includes, above all, making greater use of European research and innovation capacities and initiatives. She thereby builds a bridge between innovation activities in Baden-Württemberg and the goals and implementation initiatives of the European institutions, especially for the benefit of companies. It is also important to establish a broader network of innovation regions in Europe, the so-called innovation ecosystems, in order to jointly have more influence on e.g. European regulations.
Petra Püchner has been a member of Steinbeis Europa Zentrum management team for 25 years and founded Steinbeis 2i GmbH together with Dr. Jonathan Loeffler in 2016. For many years now, she has been an active member of various expert groups on innovation in SMEs of the European Commission, the state and the federal government, and acts as a member of the speaker group of the German Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Thereby, she also contributes to shaping European cooperation with a special focus on SMEs. Her expertise covers all areas of research and innovation policy, innovation management for SMEs, open innovation, key enabling technologies and transnational technology transfer. In 2012, as part of the 'KIC InnoEnergy', she founded the network 'Women4Energy' ("European Network of Women for Innovative Energy Solutions), which connects women from research and industry internationally on all energy-related topics.
Steinbeis IDEA EuropeTHE TEAM OF THE COMMISSIONERFOR EUROPE
Since 2018, Steinbeis IDEA Europe has supported and coordinated the activities and tasks of the Commissioner for Europe of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg. On a wide range of topics related to EU research and innovation policy, this allows her to identify current and future-relevant developments at an early stage and to advocate for the goals of Baden-Württemberg's economy in close coordination with the Ministry.
Activities and offers provided by Steinbeis IDEA Europe:
- Strengthening the innovative power of Baden-Württemberg’s economy, in particular of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs)
- Increased use of European research and innovation capacities and initiatives, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- Bridge to European institutions and provide information as well as exchange on innovation topics
- Networking with relevant ecosystems in Europe, with the aim of promoting interregional exchange and strategic innovation projects
- Analysis of current political developments in the field of European innovation policy
supported by
Contact to the Commissioner for Europe and her team
General questions about Steinbeis IDEA Europe: idea@steinbeis-europa.de
Concrete questions about SEZ activities in the field of innovation policy: innovationspolitik@steinbeis-europa.de